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

FAQs

How much sugar to add to apple cider? ›

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.

You could make cider out of any apple. A large proportion of commercially produced ciders are made from everyday cooking apples such as Bramleys, or all-purpose apples like James Grieve.

Selecting Apples

It takes 15 pounds of apples to produce a gallon of cider.

If you're aiming to make one demijohn of cider, a demijohn takes 4.5 litres (1 gallon) of liquid. As a general rule you will need about of 9 kg (20 lbs) of apples to produce 4.5 litres of juice.

Making apple cider at home without chemicals, yeast, or sugar can be done using a natural fermentation process. Here's a basic recipe for homemade apple cider without these additives.

Yeast need not be added, although it can without any problem. Some fermentation processes call for killing all the yeast in the pure cider with sulfur dioxide, waiting 24 hours and then adding wine yeast. For the homeowner this is not necessary.

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.

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.

Introduction and High-Level Overview. As mentioned above, the basic process of making hard cider is simple and straightforward. To start, combine apple juice with yeast in a container to start a process called fermentation. During fermentation, the yeast converts the sugar in the juice into alcohol and gas.

How much yeast for 1 gallon of cider? ›

Add yeast and nutrients: Add ½ teaspoon (~2 grams) of yeast nutrient (Fermaid K) per gallon of juice. Carefully swirl to mix. Add ¼ teaspoon (~1 gram) dry yeast per gallon of juice by sprinkling across the surface of the juice. After a few minutes, gently swirl to mix.

Ferment in primary for about five to seven days, then rack into a secondary and ferment until specific gravity gets to 1.000 (0 °Brix), or a bit lower. Check the hydrometer reading to be sure fermentation is complete, and wait for the fermenter to clear — typically takes about two to three weeks for cider.

Dark liquors like bourbon (my pick) or dark rum are traditional, but they are by no means the only option. Vodka pairs well with apple cider and is a good light option. You can even let guests each pick their own.

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A gallon of apple cider is made from approximately one-third of a bushel, or 36 apples. Composed of these fruits and nothing else, apple cider has no cholesterol and is a good source of potassium and iron.

In my experience, a decent yield is 100 lbs of apples to make 5 gallons.

You need a good amount of apples to make cider. Approximately 30 to 40 apples will yield one gallon of cider. The apples need to be as ripe as possible. It's OK to use less-than-perfect apples on the ground at any orchard or old apple farm.

A decent press will give 60% yield so for a litre of juice you would need 0.6kg of apples, for 10L = 6kg. If you use a basket press it will be more like 50% yield.