Homemade apple cider is a quintessential fall drink and we’re teaching you how to make a simple version using a slow cooker.
There’s something very special about homemade apple cider. You’ll savor its aroma as the mixture cooks, the delicious ways you can serve it all season long, and the fact that it’s made with real ingredients. We have a feeling you’ll make this recipe an annual fall tradition and you can even use it in apple cider sangria or as a crucial ingredient in apple cider donuts.
Tell Me About this Homemade Apple Cider
Consistency: The cider is smooth once you strain out the fruit.
Flavor: This is non-alcoholic apple cider made with just apples, citrus, cinnamon, cloves, and sugar (plus water). We usually make it so it’s more focused on the spices and not the sweetness, but you can sweeten the mixture as much as you like.
Ease: This is a very simple drink recipe requiring just 5 ingredients.
Time: Set aside30 minutes to prep plus 8 hours for slow cooking.
By the way, if you happen to have a little extra cider and need a quick and easy dinner recipe, use it in this apple cider chicken!
If you don’t have a slow cooker, use a large stock pot instead. Place all ingredients into your pot and bring everything to a simmer. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 2 hours. Continue with mashing the fruit, cooking for an additional hour, and straining as instructed below.
Best Apples to Use in Homemade Apple Cider
For the best flavor, we strongly encourage using a variety of apples—some sweet, some tart. We recommend a variety when making apple pie, too!
Sweet apples we love:Jazz, Honeycrisp, Pink Lady, Gala, Fuji, and Cortland
Tart apples we love:Granny Smith, Braeburn, Jonathan, and Pacific Rose.
Why the orange? A little citrus balances out the apple flavor and pairs wonderfully with the spices.
You Control the Sugar
Sweeten to your taste. What we love most about homemade apple cider is that you can control the amount of sugar and spices. We all have different preferences, so make sure that you add enough sugar to suit your tastes. We usually only add 3-4 Tablespoons. For apple cider similar to what you purchase at the store, we recommend using 1/2 cup granulated sugar.
Overview: How to Make Homemade Apple Cider
This is aset it and forget itcrockpot recipe.The full printable recipe is below, but let’s walk through it so you understand each step before you get started.
Place everything in the slow cooker.
Add water.Use enough to cover the fruit.
Cook.6-7 hours on low heat or 3 hours on high heat.
Mash the fruits.Take a giant spoon and begin mashing up all those warm apples and oranges. (At this point, they’ll be super soft.)
Simmer.Allow this liquid mash to cook for another hour.
Apple cider is a quintessential fall drink and we’re teaching you how to make a simple homemade version. For the best flavor, we strongly encourage using a variety of apples such as some sweet and some tart. See post above. For directions to make on the stove, see recipe notes below.
Ingredients
1orange
10medium apples (use a variety—I use Honeycrisp and Granny Smith)
Peel the orange and place the segments in a 4 quart or larger slow cooker. (Pictures show unpeeled, but we prefer peeling it for a less bitter flavor.) Rinse the apples, cut into quarters, and place in the slow cooker. Add the cinnamon sticks, ground cloves, and sugar. Add just enough water to cover the fruit.
Cook onlow heat for 6-7hours. (Or high heat for 3.)
After 6-7 hours, the fruit will be very soft. Use a large spoon to mash the fruit and release its liquids.Allow the cider to cook on low for 1 more hour.
Very slowly strain the chunky liquidthough a fine mesh sieve into a large pot or pitcher. You can discard the solids. Strain the cider one more time to rid any other solids.Servethe cider warm.
Leftover cider keeps well in the refrigerator for up to 5-7 days. Warm up on the stove before serving or enjoy it cold.
Notes
Freezing Instructions: Cider can be frozen up to 3 months. Thaw in the refrigerator.
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.
No Slow Cooker? No Problem! In step 1, place all of the ingredients into a large stock pot instead of a slow cooker. Turn the stove up to high heat and bring everything to a simmer while stirring occasionally. Once simmering, reduce the heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 2 hours. Mash the fruit as described in step 3. Then, allow the cider to cook for 1 more hour. Continue with step 4.
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.
You only need about 1 1/2 pounds of apples plus a smidge of sugar (pennies) and water (free) to make a liter of apple cider vinegar. And there's no waste involved—you use the entire apple, peels & cores, too. Should you find yourself on an apple sauce and pie making bonanza, you can even just use cores and peels.
Caroline advises that with the addition of a little apple juice or elderflower cordial there is every chance that you will be able to turn your cider from puckering to perfect. Just don't put the lid back on it and pop it in the cupboard as it may well start to ferment again.
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.
If you are relying on the wild yeasts which naturally occur in apples, it may take one or two weeks for the fermentation to get under way. If there is still no fermentation after 2 weeks, add a cultured yeast, such as Vigo Presses cider yeast, which is a high quality cider yeast widely used by commercial producers.
A typical dose is 1–2 tbsp. (15–30 mL) mixed with water and taken before or after meals. Research doesn't support claims that it can improve digestion and prevent heart disease, cancer, or infection. Apple cider vinegar is a relatively safe supplement to consume in moderation but has not been extensively researched.
Standard dosages range from 1–2 teaspoons (5–10 mL) to 1–2 tablespoons (15–30 mL) per day mixed in a large glass of water. It's best to start with small doses and avoid taking large amounts. Too much vinegar can cause harmful side effects, including tooth enamel erosion and potential drug interactions.
The most commonly used yeast is a champagne yeast. Being a very aggressive yeast, it ferments quickly to a very clean, dry flavor that suits the apple character very well. This yeast is cheap, easy to use, and makes a delicious, consistent beverage.
If you want it stronger just add more sugar. 17 grams of sugar per litre of juice will increase the ABV by 1%. Whether you've added sugar or not it's now time to add yeast. Use a cider yeast and add a 5 gram sachet.
Liquid sugar is one of the most widely used sugars in cider production because its 67% sucrose content and low viscosity enable it to deliver consistent and reproducible results.
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.
If you want to make sure wild yeast is not participating in the fermentation, campden tablets should be added. One tablet per gallon, crushed, goes into your cider. You should then wait 24-36 hours and then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
For sweeter cider, try Gala, Fuji, Cortland, Golden Delicious, or Red Delicious varieties; for a more acidic ghostwriter seminararbeit, tart flavor, go with Pink Lady, Braeburn, Jonathan, or McIntosh. A blend of apples from both the sweet and tart flavor families is sure to be a hit!
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.
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.
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Introduction: My name is Duncan Muller, I am a enchanting, good, gentle, modern, tasty, nice, elegant person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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