Ingredients
Units
- 4 bags of apples
- Cinnamon bark or sticks (about 6)
- 1 tablespoon nutmeg
- About 6 crushed whole cloves
- 1 orange
- 1 gallon spring water
Instructions
- Juice the Apples
Core and slice apples with an apple slicer, then put all the apple slices through the juicer. 4 bags will make about ½ gallon of apple juice. Save the pulp! - Simmer Down the Pulp
Put all the apple pulp into a large stockpot and add 1 gallon of spring water. On medium-high heat, bring the pulp to a boil and keep it at a rolling boil for at least 5 minutes. - Strain the Pulp
Ladle the boiled pulp into a fine-mesh sieve and press the liquid into a pot or container. - Combine All Ingredients
To a stockpot, add:
½ gallon of the freshly juiced apples
All of the strained liquid from the pulp
About 6 cinnamon sticks
About 6 crushed cloves
1 tablespoon of nutmeg
1 sliced orange
Alternately, place cinnamon sticks and whole cloves into a cheesecloth, tie it up and throw it in the pot. - Simmer
Simmer the cider on low heat for an hour.
Notes
When selecting the type of apples to use for homemade cider, it simply comes down to personal preference. You can choose to use a combination of sweet and tart apples like Gala and Granny Smith. If you prefer the taste of Fuji apples, use all Fujis for your recipe. There are no wrong apples to use for hot cider.
For our hot spiced apple cider, we use 1 bag of Red Delicious, 1 bag of Granny Smith, and 2 bags of Galas.
One more thing to note: the orange can be sliced and simmered in the cider (my preferred method), used as a garnish, or left out entirely. Sully doesn’t care for the orange addition, so he leaves it out. Serve with a shot of brandy!
- Prep Time: 20 minutes
- Cook Time: 1 hour, 5 minutes
- Category: Drinks
- Cuisine: English