Homemade Apple Cider (Easy Recipe) - Sally's Baking Addiction (2024)

FAQs

How to make cider easy? ›

There are essentially 2 simple ways to make cider. One is to add campden tablets to the juice to remove any bad bacterial that may spoil the whole batch. Then 24 hours later, add cider yeast. The alternative way is to not add campden or yeast, and leave the juice to do its own thing.

Sugar: Adjust the sugar to your taste. We usually use 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar for a spicier cider. If you prefer your apple cider on the sweeter side (like the kind you buy at the store), use 1/2 cup (100g) of granulated sugar.

Apple cider will stay good in your refrigerator for 2 weeks. Be sure to let it cool down completely before storing in an airtight container and popping it in the refrigerator.

The apple varieties that we generally find in stores and that are used for the making of modern-style ciders include McIntosh, Golden and Red Delicious, Goldrush, Honeycrisp, Cortland, Idared, Jonagold, Granny Smith, Gala, and Fuji.

Just like with other types of brewing, sugar is essential to cider making. Simply because without sugar you cannot produce alcohol. You can find more information about this, the fermentation process, in a previous Ragus blog post.

Each 5° of specific gravity is equivalent to about 1% Alcohol (ABV). To raise the gravity by 5° add about 10g of sugar per litre of juice. i.e. 10g of sugar in one litre of juice will give a potential alcohol increase of 1%.

Ground nutmeg imparts the perfect amount of flavor. Light brown sugar. Use your favorite sweetener, if desired. Suggestions include: dark brown sugar, coconut sugar, honey, and maple syrup.

Cider contains more of apples' polyphenol compounds than clear commercial apple juice. Fresh cider from cider apples may contain from two to four times the amount of these healthful compounds compared to clear commercial apple juice because of the apple varieties used and the extra processing to make clear juice.

After several weeks, depending on storage conditions, cider develops a slight fizz that is the result of natural fermentation. According to cider makers, many older folks like fizzy cider while younger consumers do not. Regardless, it's safe to drink, but may contain traces of alcohol.

What to do with apple pulp after making cider? ›

Yes, that supermarket favorite will add some juicy sweetness! These apples are crisp and mildly sweet, so use these to make a mellow cider. You also can pair these with strong-flavored apples for a delicious balance. Honeycrisp apples top the list when it comes to fresh-eating apples.

As a general rule you will need in the region of 9 kg (20 lbs) of apples to produce 4.5 litres (1 gallon) of juice. Before you start it's a good idea to try and secure a good mix of different apples.

When it comes to cider you can use any apples but you'll get varying degrees of quality. The main apple varieties used in cider making are… Bittersweets – These can vary from full bittersweet to mild bittersweet, with a full bittersweet generally being too tannic (bitter) to use as a single variety cider.

Making wine or cider takes fewer steps than making beer, and it's what I recommend if you're doing all of this for the first time. You add yeast to fruit juice and wait. How you get your juice—whether you press it yourself or buy it from a store—is the most important choice you can make.

If we say it cost a total of $2.75 to make this batch of 48oz, that would come out to $7.15/gallon. If cost is your only factor, then once you add up the ingredients, and the time spent making the cider, it would probably be faster and cheaper to stick a gallon or two in your cart next time you visit the store.

Yes, you can make cider from store-bought apple juice.

On average, most hard ciders are 4.5% - 7% alcohol by volume (ABV), while some ciders have an ABV as high as 10% or 12%. Drier ciders usually have a higher ABV because the yeast consumes a majority of the cider's natural sugars.