Can I sub apple cider for juice in dressing recipe?

[VictoriaL]

I am going to make the following salad. Can I sub apple cider for juice in the dressing? Or would it taste too strongly cider-y? I'm thinking that perhaps I could sub it, but skip the reduction step and just use 3T cider. Any advice?

Autumn Apple, Pear, and Cheddar Salad with Pecans

1 cup apple juice
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 teaspoon extravirgin olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
10 cup gourmet salad greens (about 10 ounces)
1 cup seedless red grapes, halved
1 medium McIntosh apple, cored and cut into 18 wedges
1 medium Bartlett pear, cored and cut into 18 wedges
1/4 cup (1 ounce) finely shredded sharp cheddar cheese
3 tablespoons chopped pecans, toasted

Place apple juice in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Cook until reduced to about 3 tablespoons (about 10 minutes). Combine reduced apple juice, vinegar, oil, salt, and pepper, stirring with a whisk.

Combine greens, grapes, apple, and pear in a large bowl. Drizzle with apple juice mixture; toss gently to coat. Sprinkle with cheese and nuts.


Yield: 6 servings (serving size: about 1 2/3 cups salad, 2 teaspoons cheese, and 1 1/2 teaspoons nuts)

CALORIES 134(36% from fat); FAT 5.4g (sat 1.2g,mono 2.6g,poly 1.1g); PROTEIN 3.4g; CHOLESTEROL 5mg; CALCIUM 93mg; SODIUM 255mg; FIBER 4.1g; IRON 1.5mg; CARBOHYDRATE 21.1g
Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2005

[sneezles]

I would do it.... Please post a review because the salad sounds wonderful!

[KimberlyS]

I would try it with the cup called for. In addition to concentrating the flavor, reducing it will make it more syrup-y, which is probablu important as there is not much oil in the recipe.

[lindrusso]

I have a recipe that calls for reducing apple cider and it's great. I use at least a full cup AFTER it's reduced and it's not overpowering at all.

Go for it.

[schuh]

I would substitute it, one for one. The only difference between cider and juice is that juice is filtered. Cider doesn't have a stronger flavor than juice. In fact, it's a little less cloyingly sweet. I think it would be better with the cider.

[AZJane]

I made this recipe using apple cider and followed the directions as is. It turned out really great. I'll be using it for Thanksgiving.

[VictoriaL]

Thanks, all! I'll use the cider, then. I have 2 gallons of it in the refrigerator and didn't want to have toi buy apple juice, too. It's for our Supper Club dinner this Saturday, so a review will be posted.

[mom2garret]

I took this to a dinner a couple of weeks ago and everyone loved it. I didn't shred the cheese, I just cut off a portion and cubed it. I didn't wedge the fruit, I cubed that also. I doubled the dressing and didn't quite reduce it all the way down. On the actual recipe, I figured the WW points and it comes out to 2 points per serving. Can't beat that for such a yummy fall salad.