Homemade Cider

It takes a large volume of apples to produce apple cider.

Apple cider is made by crushing the juice out of apples using a press. This is a labor-intensive and time-intensive activity, which makes it a good occasion for getting some friends together to have a cider-making party. Homemade apple cider is likely to be considerably flavorful than store-bought cider, especially if you prepare your cider during the apple harvest season in the autumn.

Things You'll Need

• Apples, cheap
• Apples, flavorful
• Bucket
• Hose
• Fruit scrubber (optional)
• Cider press
• Apple grinder (may be a part of the cider press)
• Knives and cutting boards
• Large bowl
• Gallon jugs, clean and empty
• Spices (optional)

Instructions

1. Buy at least 20 pounds of apples. Depending on how much cider you want to make, you could easily buy over 100 pounds of apples. It takes about 30 to 40 apples to make one gallon of cider.

2. Save money by buying four to five of the cheapest apples to every one flavorful apple, such as a tart Granny Smith. It's not important if the apples are not perfectly fresh, firm and crisp as long as they haven't spoiled.

3. Rinse the apples in a bucket outside with a garden hose. Clear them of any debris such as dirt, especially if these are freshly picked or bulk apples that haven't been cleaned at all. If the apples have been coated with pesticides, you may want to scrub them individually with a fruit scrubber.

4. Chop the apples into halves or quarters. Do not peel the skins, remove the seeds or remove the stems. Discard any rotten apples, as even a few rotten apples can ruin the entire batch of cider. Soft brown bruises near the surface do not count as spoilage, but discard any with deep-penetrating damage.

5. Put the apples into your apple grinder. Depending on what kind of cider press you have, the grinder may be a part of the press, or it may be a separate machine. Grind the apples and, if necessary, transfer them to the cider press.

6. Place a large bowl underneath the press to collect the juice.

7. Press the ground apples. If your cider press is hand-operated, recruit the strongest people you can find to turn the press as tightly as possible. This will yield more cider.

8. Transfer the cider to clean, empty gallon jugs each time the bowl fills up, and store these jugs in the refrigerator or the freezer. It freezes well, so make as much cider as you have room for in your freezer.

9. Boil any cider you plan to keep unfrozen for more than three to five days. You can also boil all of the cider if you wish. It isn't strictly necessary, however, if your cider press was clean and you did not contaminate the apples while preparing them. If you do boil the cider, this is a good opportunity to add any spices, such as cinnamon, cloves or nutmeg, if you wish to have spiced cider. You can also do this at a later date, by heating the cider prior to drinking it.

Tips & Warnings

• You may be able to rent a cider press rather than buying your own. Check your local business listings.

• If you use exclusively high-flavor apples, the resulting cider may turn out too sweet. If so, you can dilute it with water.

References

• University of Georgia: Making Apple Cider