You may have already switched to pumpkin coffee and added Pumpkinhead to your shelves, but today is actually the first official day of fall.
The autumnal equinox has a way of convincing otherwise rational people to run out to their local apple orchard to pick as many apples as humanly possible. It’s always fun to get outside in the crisp fall air and spend some quality time with family or friends, but what are you supposed to do with all of those apples when you get home? You can only make so many apple pies/crisps/crumbles/tarts before your pants start to get tight and you curse the day you decided to pick ten pounds of apples.
Believe us, we’re speaking from personal experience here.
Another option for all of those apples? Make your own hard apple cider. Forget the bottled stuff, you’re going to have plenty of fresh cider to get you through autumn. Be sure to start off small because there’s definitely a learning curve and you don’t want to make any big, expensive mistakes.
For the first portion of this two part series, we’re simply going to teach you how to make homemade apple cider out of all of those apples. Then on Monday, check back here and we will tell you how to transform your creation into hard apple cider.
You’re going to need:
- A sharp knife
- Apple corer
- Blender or food processor
- Cheesecloth
- A container for the cider
- About 36 apples per each gallon you want to make
Instructions:
- Wash all of the apples, core them and then cut them into quarters
- Toss the apples in the blender or food processor and grind them up really good until they’re totally pureed.
- Spread the cheesecloth over a container and pour the puree into the cloth. That cheesecloth is going to let all of the juice filter through and keep the other stuff out.
- Flavor it to your tastes – most people will normally use things like cloves, nutmeg, ginger or lemon peel.
And your cider is done. Check back on Monday when we tell you how to make it alcoholic. If you’re impatient and want to drink it now, add a little rum – we won’t judge you.