How to make apple cider at home. How to make cider at home correctly

Still from the film " Good year»

There is a legend that cider was invented by King Charlemagne when he once sat on a bag of overripe apples. We hasten to disappoint you: it is no longer customary to make apple alcohol this way.

In the more than a thousand years that have passed since the significant discovery of cider making, we decided to choose the simplest possible recipe suitable for home use.

And even if you don’t have “your own” apples that you “didn’t pour all sorts of nasty things on,” it doesn’t matter - we’ll take store-bought ones.

Ingredients:

10 kg apples

1.5 kg sugar

Equipment:

three liter jars

medical gloves

juicer

medical IV tubes (sold at the pharmacy)

Step 1: Preparing the Apples

Wipe the apples with a dry cloth. They cannot be washed because they live on the surface of the fruit. wild yeast which are needed for fermentation. Remove leaves and tails.

Step 2: Put the apples in the juicer

There is no need to peel the apples before doing this - process them together with the peel and seeds.

Step 3: Pour sugar into jars

Don't forget to sterilize the container first. Place four tablespoons of sugar in each jar.

Step 4: Pour in the juice

Fill the jars no more than 2/3 of the volume; free space is needed for foam and carbon dioxide. Don't forget to stir.

Step 5: Place the seal on the jar

We put a glove and a small hole over the neck so that it does not explode.

Step 6: Wait a few days

Let our future cider ferment in a dark and warm place for about a week. You will understand that he has stopped doing this because the glove will change position from vertical to horizontal.

Step 7: Strain the Sediment

To do this, pour the juice from the jar into the pan through cheesecloth. And then into a clean jar.

Step 8: Repeat steps 4, 5 and 6

This time we wait twice as long - four days will be enough.

Step 9: Strain the sediment again

But now we do it with the help of tubes. We place one end in the middle of the jar, the other - above the pan. To get the process going, suck in air from the free end of the tube as if you were about to drink your cider. Why can't I use gauze again? Because now we need to act more delicately, without disturbing the harmful sediment at the bottom. The process is slow, but necessary.

Step 10: Final Pull

Close the jar with a lid and let it sit for another ten days. Then repeat point 9, and the finish line!

Step 11: Bottle the Cider

Cover the bottles with caps. That's all.

How to make cider carbonated

According to the recipe above, we got “still” apple wine, but if you want sparkling wine, you can add them if you make two more simple steps.

Add sugar (10 grams per 1 liter) to the bottom of each bottle and leave 5-6 cm of free space from the neck. Shake it up.

Then transfer the containers to a dark room at room temperature for 10-14 days. Check the gas pressure once a day so that your bottle does not explode, otherwise it will be a pity for the apples and your efforts.

Just a couple of years ago, the variety of alcohol in our stores was limited to wine, beer and something stronger, although recipes for making low-alcohol cider have been known for quite some time. The industrial production of this amazing drink, originally from sunny France, in Russia was established relatively recently. This is probably why its popularity is just beginning to grow and develop. Any craftsman can figure out how to make cider at home, especially if he has experience in this matter. If it doesn’t exist, then it won’t be difficult to start from scratch.

Excellent quality homemade cider

To figure out how to properly make cider at home, you first need to find out what it is and how it differs from other alcoholic drinks. First of all, I would like to talk about the raw materials for its production. These are ordinary apples, but sometimes pears, cherries, raspberries or other fruits from our orchards are also added at the initial stages. This is not provided for in the original Norman recipes, but it will certainly help to diversify the taste.

Apple homemade cider in the original it is fermented (fermented) Apple juice, without the participation of cultivated yeasts and sugar. In home recipes, these rules may be violated, but if you want to get a product that is as close as possible to the source, then you will have to strictly adhere to all recommendations and strictly follow the technology.

The alcohol content in cider is low, but the taste is fresh and pleasant, which is why girls and women rate it very highly. In English versions of the drink, the strength reaches only 1.2-1.7%; in France, consumers prefer stronger versions, from 3.5% to 12%, just like in Russia. It is believed that in natural product must be at least ninety percent natural juice without preservatives, but in fact, many dream that part of it does not fall below at least thirty percent.

Making cider at home involves many different recipes, both using pure juice from late apples and with all kinds of additives. Let's put our business aside and figure out how to properly make cider at home, breaking down the whole process step by step. Homemade cider will be tasty, aromatic, and also extremely healthy if consumed in moderation and competently.

Making cider at home

So that making cider at home does not turn into real torture and flour, and in the end you do not have to throw all the raw materials into the trash, you will have to strictly follow the technology and recipe. For example, if the apple sourdough is slightly over-sitting, the taste will be hopelessly spoiled and it will be impossible to drink. In such cases it is suitable exclusively for distillation into brandy, but we want to get cider and nothing else.

Apples

The classic recipe for a drink from Normandy involves the use of only certain varieties, but it is unlikely that you will be able to find at least half of them in our area. Making cider at home will not be difficult, because you can take absolutely any fruit. The only thing that should definitely be taken into account is juiciness and tartness, since the final taste of the drink will directly depend on this.

All apples should be carefully sorted, immediately discarding rotten and damaged fruits. It's better to keep this debris out of the cider, otherwise it will taste bad.
You should choose juicy, sour, and tart varieties; they give the drink the “right” piquant notes. It is optimal to mix apples as indicated in, which is already posted on our website.
Try not to use only one type of apple, as your drink will be dull and uninteresting and will lose its special flavor.
Never wash fruits before making cider; this is unacceptable. Since yeast is not added to start the fermentation process, you can only rely on wild ones that live on the surface of the fruit. If you wash them off, then your product may not even try to ferment, but will simply turn sour.
Before you start making cider at home, place the apples in a dry, dark place and let them sit for two or three days. This way they will finally “reach” and be prepared for subsequent processing.
In general, if we talk about yield, then ten kilograms of apples, ripe, of medium juiciness, will yield at least five liters original drink.

Carefully ensure that no debris, stalks, leaves, etc. get into the workpiece, otherwise this will also spoil the taste and color of the final product. If necessary, the apples can be wiped with a dry, clean, soft cloth to remove traces of dirt or dust.

Cut the apples into slices and then puree them. Any device will do: a home juice press, a blender, and even a regular meat grinder. Some recipes use pure apple juice, then it should be carefully strained and squeezed, and the pulp should be discarded or mixed with brandy (moonshine). Everything here will depend on the recommendations of a specific recipe, so be careful and careful.

Dishes

It wouldn’t hurt to say a few words about the utensils you will use when making homemade cider. There are special requirements for it, without knowing which you can spoil the raw materials. If you do not want to throw away all the preparations, try to follow all the advice and recommendations from professionals that we voice to you.

It is optimal to take ceramic or glass containers for making cider. These materials do not react with aggressive environments, so it would be a good idea to focus on them.
Metal cider tanks, vats and pans are not suitable unless they are enameled. In the latter case, you need to make sure that the enamel is not knocked down or chipped anywhere, otherwise you can ruin everything.
You shouldn’t hope that fermentation will “hide all traces” and use dirty dishes, for example, that haven’t been washed since last time, even if it was just yesterday. Cider does not tolerate such experiments and the starter from the juice may rot instead of fermenting.

To be on the safe side, it would be better to boil all containers in advance or sterilize them in an oven or autoclave, if possible. In France, everything is done in sterile conditions, and winemakers always wear gloves so as not to introduce pathogens into their drinks, which will lead to complete spoilage.

Fermentation and fermentation

Cider is made in several stages, the first of which can safely be called fermentation of apple wort. If you want to go the traditional route, then the matter may take quite a while. The point is that in original recipe You can only use the juice itself, without pulp, sugar or yeast. But the process in this case drags on for several months, and to speed it up, you can add a little sweetness and cultivated fungi. This can also significantly reduce the time for standing and ripening.

Place juice or applesauce and add sugar and yeast to it if necessary.
Cover the vessel with gauze, which can be folded in several layers, and place it in a dark and fairly warm place for four days. The temperature in the first days should not be below twenty degrees Celsius. Stir the contents thoroughly at the same time every day.
When the active fermentation process begins, around the third or fourth day, the juice must be separated from the pulp, for which it will have to be filtered very carefully. For this, use a cotton-gauze filter, which you can make at home using improvised materials.
The juice should be poured into a clean glass bottle with a narrower neck, where it will be convenient to install a water seal, which is what needs to be done. Leave your future cider in a dark place for the entire period of vigorous fermentation, which can take about thirty days.

If you do not have a standard, factory-made water seal, you can use the method of a rubber glove, which is placed on the neck of a bottle or a tube lowered into a glass of water. Make sure that during this period the air temperature in the room where the drink is ripening does not fall below 25-27 degrees. Upon completion of fermentation, a fairly dense yeast sediment usually falls on the bottom of the vessel, and the liquid itself becomes noticeably lighter and more transparent. As soon as the bubbling stops, the cider should be drained immediately, otherwise it will overstay and be suitable only for distillation.

Worth considering

If you don't want to wait that long, the preparation of cider can be significantly speeded up by initial stage. To do this, you need to let the pulp ferment for some time (5-7 days), and then stop this process. Squeeze out the juice using gauze and refrigerate for three days. All that remains is to drain the finished juice from the sediment with a tube and pour it into dark bottles. Cider can be stored for up to three years at a temperature not exceeding five degrees Celsius.

Maturation and bottling

After rapid fermentation of cider, it must be decanted, that is, drained from the sediment using a special straw. Try to do this as carefully and carefully as possible so that the taste of the final product does not deteriorate.

Stir the juice very well and vigorously for 20-30 minutes to remove any remaining carbon dioxide from it.
Pour the cider almost up to the neck into the fermentation vessel and reinstall the water seal.
Place the containers in a dark but cool place, where the drink will mature on its own for a long time without outside intervention. The room temperature should be within 10-15 degrees.

After a month, sediment may form at the bottom again; it will also have to be removed exactly as the first time. After this, install the water seal again and leave the drink for two to three months for final ripening. It is recommended to bottle cider exclusively in dark glass bottles, as ultraviolet rays will spoil the taste and color. It is advisable to pour almost up to the neck and seal tightly. Keep it like this amazing drink can be refrigerated for three or even five years, without any significant loss in taste or aroma.

Sparkling homemade cider

Traditional, classic cider does not always turn out carbonated, but this zest is what makes it unusual and in demand. In Spain, the drink is poured into a glass from a great height in a thin stream so that it is saturated with oxygen and has a certain sparkling flavor. Real carbonated cider can be made at home, giving it this property through simple manipulations.

Before you spill it already finished product bottles and seal, you need to add one teaspoon of sugar to them.
Be sure to pour cider into bottles up to the neck and seal them tightly. To prevent traffic jams from siphoning, you can use regular postal sealing wax.
You need to leave the bottles in a dark and warm room for another four days. During this time, the remaining unfermented yeast will feed on sugar and add carbonation to the drink.

The fermentation process must be stopped immediately after due date. To do this, all bottles are placed in the refrigerator for at least a week. After this, you can store the cider in the same way as usual, without resorting to any special measures or conditions.

Video hint on how and what cider is made from

Anyone can make cider, since this process does not require special knowledge or skills. The main thing is to follow the steps of the process exactly. If you have any additional questions, watch the video below, it will be useful and interesting to many.

Many people unfairly ignore cider, completely unreasonably considering it a drink for the “lower strata” of society. Perhaps the drink gained notoriety due to the cheap cans of low-alcohol drink that spread across Russia a couple of decades ago. apple flavor, a pronounced smell of alcohol and, neither to the village nor to the city, the inscription “Cider” on the packaging. Let me make a reservation right away - this, forgive the frankness, swill has absolutely nothing in common with cider.

The birthplace of the original drink is France, and the cider itself is sparkling wine, predominantly made from apples. But, as is commonly believed, the French know a lot about good alcohol, right?

So let’s not believe stupid stereotypes, and to dispel this offensive misconception, there is no more effective way than making apple cider yourself, following the recipes and production technologies. In this article we will look at how this drink is prepared, how to make it yourself, and also give various options preparations.

In order to make real dry homemade apple cider, you should use only apples. Their needs to be processed into pulp, in which, due to the sugar content, the process of live fermentation occurs. Making cider without adding sugar will allow us to kill several birds with one stone:

Get a more natural taste, not “clogged” with sugar. It's no secret that dry wines allow a fuller range of flavors to be revealed. And cider, like a sparkling wine, can be dry, and in this case is called exactly the same - brut (see:).
Reduce the calorie content of the product (which women will especially appreciate).
Get a product that is light in alcohol content. Real cider made by natural fermentation without added sugar, it can be unusually light - even 2.5-3 degrees. Weak dry cider is easy to drink, perfectly quenches thirst and does not (if consumed wisely) put you in an overly “heated” state.

How to make cider with sugar?

Many compatriots prefer sweeter cider, so sugar is often used to produce this drink. Let's look at how to make cider at home with added sugar.

To make sweet homemade cider you will need 10 kilograms of apples and 1.5 kilograms of sugar. In some cases you will have to resort to adding large quantity water (up to 1 liter). The simplest recipe as follows:

Picking apples. Ideally, apples for cooking should be picked after they have fallen. On their peel live very useful inhabitants - wild yeast, which makes the fermentation process possible. That is why the collected apples should not be washed under any circumstances; the maximum that can be done is to wipe the fruits with a dry rag.
Now we need to get applesauce. This can be done using a meat grinder, food processor, or even a regular blender, after removing the leaves and stalks.
Next you should pour applesauce into thoroughly washed (and equally well dried) containers in which fermentation will take place. At the same time, a third of the volume should be left free - this space is necessary for foam and carbon dioxide.
Add sugar. For every kilogram of puree you will need 100-150 grams, the exact amount is determined by taste - the puree should not become cloying.
Wrap the neck with gauze, put the container in a dark place. For three to four days, our future cider should be kept in a dark place at room temperature. Every day you need to stir the wort and be sure to submerge the foam in the apple juice.
Squeeze out the juice and pour it into a perfectly clean, dry container, in which the fermentation process will take place for 1-2 months. If you have one, install it on the container; if not, a medical glove with a pierced finger will do.
Drain off the remainder filter the resulting liquid through several layers of gauze. Then we bottle it and send it to a cool room for three months.
Enjoy resulting in a wonderful real cider!

Remember that the recipe for homemade cider can be modified by you personally, feel free to experiment!

Cider from juice

Apple juice cider is another way to make this wonderful drink without adding sugar. To make cider from juice at home, you need to squeeze out the juice (separating it from the “puree”), let it sit for 24 hours, then drain the remainder and pour it into containers equipped with water seals (or with the same glove).

To speed up fermentation, you can place the wort in a warmer room - up to 27 degrees. In this case, the process will take about a month. In principle, the drink can be consumed in a month, but it is better, as in the previous recipe, to keep it for 3-4 months in a dark room.

It is important not to disturb the sediment when pouring the drink from the fermentation tank into the bottles in which the cider will be aged; for this you can bottle it through a straw.

After aging, it should be filtered and poured into containers in which it will be stored. In the refrigerator, such a drink will not spoil even in three years. Cider made according to this recipe will be quite strong - from 6 to 10 degrees depending on the sugar content of the apples and the fermentation time.

Carbonation

Let's discuss how to do it apple cider at home carbonated. To do this, put a little sugar at the bottom of each bottle before filling - about 10 grams per liter of drink. The presence of sugar will cause fermentation to begin and the drink will become carbonated due to the released carbon dioxide.

When carbonating, bottles of the drink are placed in a dark, cool room for two weeks, and it is important to periodically assess the pressure. The easiest way in this case is to use plastic container– it is enough to periodically try to push the bottle with your fingers.

If you decide to make homemade apple cider, we recommend not limiting yourself to one recipe. You can experiment - when making part of the batch, use the simplest recipe, and for another part, for example, try not adding sugar.

Many people like to use various spices and additives, for example, cinnamon, which gives the cider an extraordinary aroma. Your homemade apple cider recipe will continue to evolve as long as you aren't afraid to experiment.

I am sure that after some time this noble light drink will become a regular part of your diet!

Here we will talk about how to make cider at home - delicious apple juice, only carbonated and alcoholic. Is it possible to find best use apples? Maybe make birdhouses for pigeons out of them!

Where did cider come from?

Spain, France and England are arguing about which of them is the true birthplace of apple drink. They didn't even bother to come up with a lot of legends. For example, about Charlemagne, who sat on a bag of rotten apples and thus squeezed out the first cider. Or about the sailors who took apple juice instead of water on long journeys, which fermented in the middle of the journey and brought much, much joy to the crews of the ships. In fact, cider has been around for thousands of years. The first mention of the drink is attributed to Pliny, who in his writings noted that fermented apple juice was not disdained in the 15th–13th centuries BC. e. inhabitants of the Nile River valley. Gradually, grapes began to displace apples from the southern lands farther away, that is, to the north, and by the 8th–9th centuries AD. e. There were so many fruit trees in Europe that they started making cider there. Even the monks collected part of their tithe with apples, from which they prepared alcoholic juice. At this moment, the drink acquires a generally accepted production scheme, which has survived to this day. Real cider is still made from special apples and is not added yeast or pasteurized. The changes affected only the equipment: electric crushing machines replaced mechanical ones, metal vats (it is easier to maintain the required temperature in them) were replaced wooden barrels and so on. Therefore, the classic cider is considered to be European, and not ancient Egyptian.

How to make cider

We asked blogger Alexander Klimov to teach us how to make cider. He has been making the drink at home for years and sometimes talks about these experiences on his blog. We chose the simplest and fastest cider production scheme. There is one more - correct and almost canonical. We wrote about it separately (search).

Finely chop the apples different varieties(you can turn them into a paste using a food processor). First cut out and discard the cores - everything that would become a core if eaten. The fruits must be free from rot and darkening, juicy and of different varieties. You don’t need to remember the names, just buy green, yellow and red apples at the store or steal from your neighbors’ dacha.

If the apples are very dirty, rinse them with water. But it’s better not to wash them thoroughly: bacteria involved in fermentation live on the peel. Take three-liter jars or other containers with a wide neck and add chopped fruit so that they fill the vessel by a third (a little more is possible). If desired, add a handful of raisins and 100 g of sugar there. Yes, the move is controversial. But this way the cider will ferment faster and more intensely (which means drinking ready drink you can do it very soon). If, when you bite into the fruit (try it), the juice does not splash in all directions, then the apples are not juicy enough. Get out of this situation by pouring a liter of bottled natural water into a jar.

Put it on the neck of the bottle rubber glove. Firstly, it will prevent the flow of oxygen (fermentation will not work with it: the apples will oxidize, become moldy, and rotten). Secondly, the glove will be an indicator of the stage of fermentation, but more on that later. And yes, do not close the jar with a lid, otherwise it will not withstand the pressure from the carbon dioxide formed and will fly out.

Do the previous three operations several more times (one can will give no more than one and a half liters of cider). Place the workpieces in a warm, dark place and leave for 5-7 days at a temperature of 22-30 ºC. You can use an electric heater for this. To prevent the contents of the jar from overheating, place a thermometer somewhere nearby and monitor the temperature.

Fermentation can be stopped when the glove is inflated as in our photo (to do this, go one step forward). Yes, and don’t pay attention to the fact that the liquid is dark and cloudy: the color of your cider will differ from the factory one, this is completely normal. And further. If the rubber cap has not started to fill with gas even after a week, pour out the mixture and try making cider again.

Using cheesecloth, strain half cider into a saucepan. Wrap the pulp (chopped apples) in the same gauze, squeeze thoroughly and discard. Congratulations! You have done the dirtiest work, and therefore you can rightfully be proud of yourself, write about it on Twitter and start inviting guests to a tasting. You won't try your own cooking masterpiece first?

Pour the liquid into a clean jar and refrigerate for 3-4 days. The drink should not be shaken so that sediment will concentrate at the bottom of the container. Find a hose and pump the top of the cider into the bottle, leaving the sediment at the bottom of the jar. Fill the vessel to capacity (otherwise the remaining air will provoke oxidation and the drink will spoil) and screw it on with a stopper. Ready! This cider can be stored in the refrigerator for about a year.

Drinking rules

Cider is a drink without sniffing, color evaluation, hour-long savoring and other nuances. But, despite all the masculine unceremoniousness of this drink, there are still rules for drinking it.

Cider is often called foamy drink. However, if you fill a glass in the usual way, it does not produce foam. “Take a bottle and raise it one meter above the glass,” instructs Vsevolod Datsevich, general director of the company that produces natural cider St. Anton, that is, “Apple saved.” - You need to pour the cider so that the stream breaks against the walls of the glass and splashes in all directions. The drink will begin to foam, at which time you need to drink it.” During the flight, the coveted moisture languishing in the bottle is filled with oxygen, which allows the accumulated carbon dioxide to be released and the taste to be revealed to the maximum.

Since the foam disappears in the blink of an eye, you need to drink apple alcohol quickly, almost in one gulp.

Based on the previous point, we conclude that it is not worth pouring more than 1/4 - 1/3 of a mug at a time (beer glassware is suitable for cider). Moreover, in some regions of Spain and France there is still a tradition of pouring one bottle of the drink into six glasses at once. True, for this venture you will have to make friends again, and five at once.

Serve the cider chilled. " Optimal temperature“Within plus 12-14 degrees,” says the expert. “This cooling emphasizes the taste and aroma of the drink.”

Mulled wine killer

If you get lost in the forest, you can warm up in a bear's den. But it’s much easier to take a bottle of cider out of the refrigerator, find a microwave and prepare a worthy alternative to mulled wine.

Peel a quarter of an orange. Cut 1/5 of a medium sized apple into cubes. Cut a small slice of ginger (don't forget to peel it). Place the mixture in a half-liter glass, seasoning it with black pepper, cloves and cinnamon to taste. Pour the resulting semi-finished product with cider and put it in the microwave for 5-7 minutes (the liquid should heat up to 80 ºC). To the envy of your guests, drink the warming drink in small sips.

Truth and myths and cider

Cider is apple wine

“Contrary to popular belief, calling cider apple wine incorrect, otherwise it would have been called that in the first place. Let's say they sell plum wine or fruit and berry,” says Vsevolod Datsevich, already familiar to you, and explains that in order to turn into wine, the apple drink needs to ferment longer than allowed. Anything that contains more than 7 degrees of alcohol is called wine. In cider, the level of degrees ranges from one and a half to six.

GOST guarantees that the drink is natural

In some other country - perhaps. “According to the Russian standard, manufacturers have the right to write “natural apple cider” on the labels, even if it was made from concentrated reconstituted juice, and then added sugar and artificially carbonated,” explains the expert. This is why reading the “composition” column on the label is so important.

Cider can be made from any apple

This is permissible at home. Serious producers produce special technical varieties of apples that are only suitable for cider production. There are four types in total: sweet, sour, bittersweet and bittersour. “The taste of such fruits is similar to wild ones: they are impossible to eat due to the sharp, often bitter taste,” says our consultant.

For long-term storage cider needs to be pasteurized

“A properly prepared drink can be stored for three years without pasteurization,” assures Vsevolod Datsevich. That is, when you find the inscription “pasteurized” on the bottle, think about whether the contents can really be called cider.

Cider and food

We asked our experts to create a table of drink and food compatibility. This resulted in two categories of combinations:

Classic

Original

Recognize low-quality cider by sight

“Start by reading the label,” instructs Vsevolod Datsevich. “Real cider is not made from concentrated wort; sugar, dyes, flavorings, and especially yeast are never added to it.” The taste of proper cider can be described as “fermented apple juice”, and only that. Therefore, if you feel a taste that is unusual for apples, let someone else finish the poison. By the way, we include not only chemical additives as foreign tastes, but also yeast. Since sugar is not added to cider, it should not be unnaturally sweet. Genuine alcoholic juice quenches thirst, not causes it (a sweetened drink will sooner or later make you ask the waiter for water).

For those who respect the rules, we publish 100% correct scheme cider production in apartment conditions from Vsevolod Datsevich. Keep in mind that this cider takes about six months to prepare.

“The worse the apples taste, the better for the taste of the future drink,” says the expert. So bypass the store and go to the nearest park. Since you won't find any special cider apples, limit your search to wild apple trees. Pick fruits that are still hanging on the branch but are about to fall.

Extract the juice in a juicer. In this case, throw away the pulp immediately, we won’t need it anymore. Pour the juice into a jar and install a water seal (available at hardware stores) - a device that releases carbon dioxide from the container, but does not allow air inside. IN as a last resort You can limit yourself to the glove from the previous recipe. Leave the container with juice for 3-4 weeks, ensuring it is at 20 degrees temperature regime, darkness and peace. “After a month, you need to do decanting: using a hose, drain the liquid into a clean container until there is sediment,” our consultant instructs. Close the jars with lids and place them in a dark room (this time the constant temperature should be +10 ºС) for 3-4 months. After this period, bottle the cider (under the neck, as you remember) and put it in the refrigerator, where the alcoholic juice can be stored for 3 years.

Among low-alcohol drinks, cider is a very special product, low strength, and unique “apple” make it closer to juice than ordinary ones. alcoholic drinks. Pleasant fruity taste and refreshing bubbles make it suitable for consumption on hot days. summer days, as well as wonderful additions to poultry and pork dishes.

Cider prepared under industrial conditions has disadvantages: it contains preservatives and flavorings, and is also saturated with carbon dioxide, which is of little benefit to the human body. The long shelf life allows us to doubt the presence of useful substances in such a drink.

But there is an alternative - you can make cider yourself! In this article, we will look at methods for preparing classic apple cider, as well as its various modifications.

Cider is not only a tasty product, but also healthy. Of course, subject to the culture of drinking, albeit weak, but still alcohol. The drink contains benefits for the body:

vitamins C, B12, B6, B1;
potassium, magnesium;
pectin;
iron, calcium;
antioxidants;
natural yeast cultures.

Small doses of cider are an excellent prevention of cancer, cardiovascular diseases, digestive tract disorders, and anemia. Apple drink improves metabolic processes in the body, helps reduce the level of “bad” cholesterol, removes toxins, and allows the walls of blood vessels to remain soft and elastic.

Preparing such a drink does not require a large number of ingredients and skills. Suitable for him ripe apples having a sweet or slightly sour taste.

Ingredients:

5 kg apples;
0.5-0.7 kg of sugar.

In countries where cider is traditional drink, special varieties of apples were bred that are ideal for making the drink. They contain large quantity tannin and other components necessary to obtain high-quality cider. For cooking in our conditions, in the absence of such fruits, it is best to take assorted apples from different varieties: tart, sweet, sour.

Even “wild apples” will do; there is no point in buying selected apples to make cider; use whatever is at hand.

Main selection condition– ripeness, apples should not have wormholes or rot, all “doubtful” places are cut off before chopping. On average, 1 part apples of good ripeness yield ½ part cider.

Preparation:

Advice. Standard cider has an ABV of 7-12%, which is comparable to beer or low-alcohol cocktails. If you want to make it stronger, you can add a little cognac to the drink; this will not only change the strength upward and give the cider new nuances of taste, but will also protect the drink from spoilage.

After the fermentation process is completed, the fermented juice must be drained from the jars into a common container and strained twice through paper or fabric filters.
After this, the cider only needs to stand in a cool and dark place for three months. Perhaps after this a small sediment of wort will appear in the bottle - there is no need to strain it.

If the apples are very sour, you need to increase the amount of sugar or add water to the recipe in the amount of 1/10 of the total volume of apple puree.

How to make a drink from apple juice?

Sugar-free cider will appeal to those who watch the amount of sugar in their diet, as well as owners of fruit-bearing apple trees (in this case, there will be no need to purchase ingredients for home production and the drink will be really free).

Ingredients:

10 kg apples;
1 liter of water.

Preparation:

Apples are processed in the same way as when making classic cider.
Using an electric juicer or by squeezing a finely grated apple through cheesecloth, juice is obtained, which is kept for 24 hours in a dark and warm place.
Using a special tube, it is poured into the fermentation container. top part without sediment. Water is added.
At temperatures above 20 degrees, the liquid must be kept for 2 months.
When fermentation stops, the procedure of pouring the juice without sediment is repeated; for the next 3-4 months it should be kept in a cool room (at a temperature of about 10 degrees)
After this period, the cider is ready for consumption. It can be stored in tightly closed containers in the basement or refrigerator for three years. If after three years no sediment has formed and the drink itself has not acquired bad smell- it remains usable.

Advice! For cider from juice, the best varieties of apples are sweet: “Konfetnoe”, “Medunitsa”, “Fuji”, “Bolotovskoe”, “Venyaminovskoe”, “Golden” and “Antonovka dessert”.

With added honey

A fragrant drink made from apples and honey is often called sbiten.

Many people love it for its versatility: when cold, the drink smells like honey and is pleasantly refreshing; when warm, it delights with its rich aroma spiced apple and is easier to drink than similar mulled wine.

Ingredients:

8 kg apples;
2 liters of honey;
6 liters of water.

Preparation:

Each apple is cut into 4 slices.
Place the chopped apples in a clean cotton bag (you can use a pillowcase).
The bag is placed in a pan, covered with a wooden plank on top (it is better to cut it to fit the size of the pan, but ordinary kitchen ones for cutting food are also suitable). A heavy weight is placed on the board, which can crush the apples in the bag with its mass. Usually 15 kg is enough, it is convenient to use containers with water.
In a separate container, carefully mix honey in water.
The prepared honey syrup is poured into a pan with apples, which is then covered with a cloth. The container should be kept in a dark, warm place for 1.5-2 months.
The liquid is drained and the remaining apple pulp is refilled with new syrup. The liquid obtained at the first stage should stand in a cellar or other cool place for a month (while the fermentation process in the second portion is underway).
After 2 months, the liquid is filtered from the pulp. It needs to be kept in a cool room for a month, after which the cider from different stages of preparation can be mixed and poured into tightly sealed bottles for final aging in a room with a temperature of up to 15 degrees for 9 months.

Interesting to know! The entire cycle of preparing an apple-honey drink takes about a year and 2 months. From the autumn apple harvest you can get a wonderful low-alcohol drink with a delicate taste for the next winter holidays.

Cider with raisins

This drink is prepared in two ways; the taste of the drinks is identical when using the same varieties of apples and proportions, so when choosing, you should rely on which is easier.

Method 1

You will need 20 kg. assorted apples from sour and sweet varieties, 50 gr. raisins The fruits are wiped with a clean rag and sent to ripen for 2-5 days. When they become soft, chop or grate them coarse grater. It is important to remember that you should not chop them too much, as the apples release juice much worse. It is squeezed separately from sour varieties and from sweet ones; the juice is kept in an enamel or glass container in a cool place.

After three days, sediment will form in the containers with juice; now you can strain the liquid through several layers of gauze or thick cloth and combine. Pour cider into bottles, adding 5-10 pieces to each bottle. highlight

Method 2

Skip 2 kg. apples through a juicer, add the pulp, and place the collected liquid in the refrigerator for 3-4 days until sediment settles, then carefully drain. Raisins 20-30 gr. pour in

boiling water for 3-5 minutes, add steamed berries to the drink when it is poured into a storage container.

Simple recipe with dried fruits

This drink has original taste and a pleasant aroma of spicy dried fruits.

Ingredients:

1 kg of dried fruits;
3 kg sugar;
10 liters of water;
150 g yeast.

Preparation:

Dry apples are filled with five liters of water heated to a temperature of 90 degrees. The wort obtained from soaked and expanded apples is allowed to stand for an hour.
Prepared in a separate container sugar syrup by thoroughly mixing the sugar in the remaining water. The syrup and wort are combined in a large saucepan.
Yeast must be introduced into the resulting mixture, cooled to a temperature of 37 degrees.
Cider should ferment at room temperature in a container covered with a cloth for a month or until the foam stops releasing.
The liquid must be drained and filtered through a paper or gauze filter. After this, the cider is left in a cool room for another month.
The drink, which has finally stopped fermentation, can be poured into tightly screwed containers and stored in a cellar or refrigerator for up to two years.

Advice! If the liquid infused with dried fruits does not begin to ferment, you can add a handful of raisins to it, which will speed up this process and give the drink an interesting grape flavor.

With wine yeast

To make this cider you will need whole apple juice and diluted 3% wine yeast:

Take a glass of any berries (raspberries, strawberries, etc.); you cannot wash them. Add ½ cup of water and 1-2 tablespoons of granulated sugar to the berries.
All ingredients are mixed, it is advisable to crush the berries a little, put the mixture in a warm place +20-23°C for three days and stir daily. The container in which the wiring is prepared must have a lid.
The cider container is thoroughly washed, sterilized, the juice is boiled and cooled to room temperature, now you can add yeast mixture to it, cover it with a water seal or glove and give it 3-4 days to ferment.

If the cider turns out to be too dark, it can be lightened by using milk with minimal fat content. Place it in the refrigerator for a day, then remove the layer of cream from it. For every liter of cider you will need 1 teaspoon of milk, pour it into alcoholic drink Stir well and let stand at room temperature for 3-6 days. During this time, the cider will acquire a lighter shade and can be passed through a filter.

How to prepare a non-alcoholic analogue?

This version of cider can be consumed by children, pregnant women and people involved in sports. It can also be safely used by vehicle drivers - you can’t expect intoxication from it.

Cook immediately in large portions Non-alcoholic cider is not worth it - due to the lack of ethanol in the composition, the shelf life is reduced to several days.

Ingredients:

1.5 liters of apple juice;
several oranges;
cinnamon stick;
a piece of ginger root about 3 centimeters;
cloves to taste.

Preparation:

The apple juice is heated over low heat to a temperature of 90 degrees.
Oranges are cut into slices, ginger into thin slices. All ingredients are added to the pan.
The cider is boiled for 5 minutes, after which it is covered with a lid.
After an hour, you can start tasting.

Advice! You can add other fruits to the drink to taste: pear, grapes or a few slices of melon.

Learning to use correctly

Cider is usually served chilled to a temperature of about 10 degrees. They drink it from special tall glasses that widen at the top. To obtain a tasty and soft foam, cider is poured into a tilted glass in a thin stream from a height of about 20 centimeters.

The taste of cider depends on the type of apple used to make it., but the strength of the drink is affected by the fermentation time; the longer this process takes place, the more “stunning” the result will be.

Cider drinking experts unanimously say that the most delicious drink as soon as it is poured into the glass. Therefore, you need to drink it quickly enough, while the specific soft foam has not yet settled. Cider foam is a separate facet of cider culture. So, for example, in Asturias (Spain) cider is poured in a special way. The bottle is held on an arm extended above the head, and a drink pours from it in a thin stream onto the wall of the glass, which is held with the other hand near the waist. It is believed that in this case it is maximally enriched with oxygen and acquires the correct taste.

The Spaniards know how to make cider and know perfectly well how to drink it correctly. In this country they call him the “jealous bride.” Light and fresh apple alcohol absolutely does not tolerate the company of any of its fellows. A person who decides to mix it with other drinks will receive a sudden, deep intoxication, which will develop into a severe hangover. You can mix without damaging your reputation and health only different types cider.

Advice! In hot weather, cider can be a good aperitif before a hearty meal.

There are dishes that maximize the taste of the drink:

hard and soft cheeses;
cold cuts;
fish, steamed or in cream sauce;
Grilled foods: chicken or pork in marinade, baked mushrooms and vegetables;
perfect for desserts light baking, various cupcakes and biscuits with berry filling;
The real move is to serve apple cider with charlotte or strudel.

It is also worth considering that sweeter cider is more suitable for main dishes, and sweet desserts are more suitable for a drink made from sour apple varieties.

Making cider is not the easiest process, but using the recipes and tips given in the article, you can easily become a real apple wine-making guru. Among the variety of recipes, everyone can easily find one that suits their taste.

It is worth remembering that when the right combination cider with accompanying dishes can be achieved perfect combinations taste, revealing the versatility of this drink.

Watch the video recipe for making apple cider: