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How to make apple cider takes you through the step-by-step process of making tasty, homemade apple cider. While traditionally a holiday beverage, apple cider can be enjoyed any time of year. Standard apple cider is non-alcoholic and made from fresh apples.
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Apple Cider Tips
- Use fresh, unbruised apples for your apple cider. The cider will taste best if the apples are picked directly from the tree.
- Try a mix of red, golden and green apples for varied and full flavors.
- Refrigerate your apple cider in an airtight container.
- Add cinnamon, caramel or nutmeg to the apple cider for added flavor.
- Freeze any unused apple cider and it will remain fresh for up to one year.
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Introduction
- Apple cider has long been enjoyed by people all over the world. While you can purchase apple cider at virtually any grocery store, it can't compare to the taste of fresh, homemade apple cider. You can also feel good about drinking apple cider since it's made from fresh apples. Apples have many health benefits, such as lowering cholesterol and improving lung health.BestApples.com: Apples Keep Your Family Healthy
What You'll Need
- Apple cider actually doesn't require a bevy of ingredients. The only ingredient you absolutely need is apples.
Equipment
- Unlike your ingredients, you will need a handful of generally available tools in order to prepare your cider:
- Knife
- Apple corer
- Blender or food processor
- Cheesecloth
- Container
Step 1: Choose the Apples
- The apples you choose are very important as they define the taste of the cider.
- Most manufactured apple ciders use a variety of different types of applesHomeCiderPress.com: About Making Apple Cider in their standard apple ciders. You can employ this mixing technique or simply use one variety of apple to make your cider.
- Red Delicious, Green Delicious, Fuji, Jonagold and other sweet-tasting apples make for sweet ciderTrueStarHealth.com: Apples. Granny Smith, McIntosh, Pink Lady and other tart-tasting apples will produce sharper ciders due to their tangy flavorsCambridgeCulinary.com: Apples.
- Experiment with a variety of different types of apples, if you are going to mix apple types in your cider. Try to get a good mix of red, green and gold apples.
- Choose fresh apples that are picked directly from the trees. You should never use apples that have fallen on the ground as these may possess toxins and bacteria.TheGreenGuide.com: The Essence of Fall
- Discard any apples that are bruised or discolored. You should only use fresh, healthy apples to make apple cider.
- If you don't grow your own apples, try to visit a local farmer's market to purchase the apples. While you can purchase apples from any grocery store, you'll have a fresher cider if you opt for farmer's market apples.
- You will need a lot of apples to make a decent batch of fresh apple cider. To make one gallon of apple cider, you'll need approximately 36 apples.PickYourOwn.com: Apple Facts and Fun
Step 2: Prepare the Apples
- Before you begin pressing the apples to get the juice out of them, you'll need to first prepare them.
- Wash all the apples thoroughly.
- Core the apples. You can do this manually, however, it's much faster to use an apple corer.
- Slice the apples into quarters.
- Put the quartered apples into the blender or food processor and puree them.
- Continue pureeing the apples until they are very finely ground.HomesteadHarvest.com: Apple Cider: Nature's Treat You will be able to extract more juice from the apples if you attain a very fine ground.
Step 3: Press the Apples
- Now that you have cored and pureed your apples, you are ready to press them.
- Place the cheesecloth over the container in which you'll store the apple cider.
- Pour the pureed apples into the cheesecloth.
- Squeeze the pureed apples through the cheeseclothAbout.com: How to Make Hot Mulled Cider and into the container below.
- Apply firm, steady pressure as you squeeze. This will ensure that you extract all juice possible from the pureed apples.
- If you are making large amounts of apple cider, you may wish to use a cider press.Appropedia.org: Cider Cool Off the Press A cider press is a device with mechanically pulps and squeezes apples, and will extract juice more efficiently than squeezing by hand.Appropedia.org: Cider Cool Off the Press
Step 4: Store the Apple Cider
- Now that you have extracted all the juice from the apples, your cider is ready to be stored. If you wish, you can also pasteurize your cider.
- Cover the container with an airtight lid.RecipeZaar.com: Mom's Homemade Apple Cider The cider should not be exposed to air or it will go bad much more quickly.
- Store your apple cider in the refrigerator. If kept refrigerated, it should stay fresh for about seven days.CookingForEngineers.com: Mulled Cider
- Pasteurize your apple cider by heating it to 160 degrees Fahrenheit.FoodSafety.com: Preparation of Apple Cider for Home Use. This will help to kill any bacteria present. Pasteurized apple cider will stay fresh in the refrigerator for up to three weeks.
- Freeze your apple cider if you won't be consuming it in the near future. When frozen, apples and apple cider will remain fresh for up to one year.CanningPantry.com: Preserving Apples
- According to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, pregnant women, elderly people and childrenFDA.gov: Know the Facts should not drink unpasteurized apple cider as it may contain bacteria.
Variations
- You can have a lot of fun by experimenting with different seasonings and additions to your homemade apple cider. Don't be afraid to try your own variations! You might discover a sensational combination.
- Add cinnamon sticksAllRecipes.com: Hot Apple Cider to your apple cider for traditional holiday taste.
- Mix apple cider with a bit of rum and brown sugarFoodNetwork.com: Hot Apple Cider with Rum for an alcoholic beverage that tastes great.
- Drizzle caramel into your apple ciderRecipeGal.com: Starbucks Caramel Apple Cider for a decadent warm beverage.
- Try various spices in your apple cider. Nutmeg, cloves, ginger and lemon peelMarthaStewart.com: Mulled Cider all add tasty flavors to hot cider.
- Pour apple cider over vanilla ice cream and top with caramel and whipped cream for a rich dessert. Add a slice of pound cakeBigOven.com Pound Cake with Vanilla Ice Cream and Apple Cider Sauce for added texture and taste.
- Blend apple cider with orange juice, ice and honeyMarylandApples.org: Apple Recipes for Kids for a refreshing summer beverage.
Conclusion
- Now that you know how to create homemade apple cider, you can enjoy it year-round in a variety of different forms. Sip your hot apple cider in the fall and winter and relax with cool apple cider in the spring and summer. Enjoy!
