What is the right way to make apple cider? Apple cider is an all-natural product with countless uses. Not only is it a healthy drink, but it can also be used for household cleaning. If you usually use a lot of raw cider, it will cost you a lot of money. If you know how to make apple cider, the correct ratio of the various ingredients and the fermentation time, you can buy apples to make your own cider, which is convenient and economical.
You will need to prepare
Apples
knife
chopping board
Sugar or honey
Glass jar
Water
White sugar
Gauze
Rubber bands
Wooden or plastic spoon
Glass jars with lids for storing cider
I. Making Apple Cider
1. Choose good quality apples.
Although the fermentation time is long, the taste of cider depends largely on the quality of the apples. Therefore, you should choose the best quality apples in order to make the best cider. Try using different types of apples to make a stronger and more concentrated cider. Prepare two sweet apples, and one sour apple, such as a red apple or a liberated apple. This mixture will make a stronger tasting cider.
In addition to making wine from whole apples, you can also use leftover apple ingredients from other dishes as ingredients in your wine. One whole apple may be the equivalent of the leftovers of two apples. You can store the peel, core and other parts of the apple in the refrigerator before making the cider.
2. Wash apples in cold water
Vegetables and apples are best washed before serving and should not be missed before cooking and fermentation. Brush the surface of the apples in cold water so that the dirt does not get mixed with the wine.
There is no special rule about the number of apples for making wine. In any case, the more apples there are, the more wine there will be. If this is your first attempt at making wine, you can start with three apples. Three apples are enough to make wine, and if something goes wrong, it won’t be too much of a waste.
If you plan to make wine from leftovers, be sure to wash the apples first and then separate the flesh from the skin and core.
3. Cut the apples into small pieces
The larger the area of exposed flesh, the shorter the fermentation time of the wine. Use a clean knife to cut the apples into small, square pieces with 1 cm sides, leaving the cores and skins intact.
If you are using apple leftovers for the wine, you do not have to chop the ingredients.
4. Place the apples in a glass container
Fermentation can take up to three months, so you must put the apples in a sterilized wide-mouth glass jar. The number of apples should not exceed 3/4 of the capacity of the container, so you should prepare a large glass jar. Do not ferment apples in stainless steel containers. During the fermentation process, the acids in the wine will corrode the stainless steel and the final wine may have a metallic taste.
5. Pour water to soak apples
Water must be used to wash the apples. This part of the apple exposed to air will not ferment to produce wine and will rot. To ensure the quality of the wine, it is best to soak the apples in filtered water or mineral water so that no impurities will affect the taste of the wine.
If you put three cut apples into a large glass jar, you will need to pour 800 ml of water. You can increase or decrease the amount of water depending on the situation.
It is better to drink more water than less. Pouring too much water may cause the taste of the wine to be muted or make it take longer to ferment. If there is not enough water, some apples will be exposed to the air and then rot and ruin the entire jar.
6. Pour the sugar into the glass jar according to the standard of one teaspoon of raw sugar for each apple.
Then stir well to ensure that all ingredients are well mixed. The sugar will ferment to produce alcohol and the cider will eventually become apple cider. Raw sugar works best. You can also choose honey or other types of sugar according to your personal preference.
7. Cover the mouth of the glass jar with gauze
After fermentation, the ingredients will turn into cider, and eventually into apple cider. During this process, the ingredients need to breathe in order to ferment smoothly. Cover the mouth of the jar with gauze and secure it with a rubber band. The gauze prevents impurities from falling into the glass jar and ensures that the gas produced during the fermentation process can be released into the air.
Fermentation method to produce fruit wine
1. Place the glass jar in a warm and dark place
Find a suitable place for the apples to ferment for a long time, so that the fermentation process will not be disturbed. The top or bottom of a cabinet, a corner of the kitchen or any place that is not exposed to direct sunlight is suitable for storing glass jars. The ideal storage location will vary from home to home.
Apples should be fermented at room temperature, i.e. about 21°C.
2. Stir the soaked apples once or twice a day
Stirring helps to promote fermentation and changes the position of the apple slices in the jar. For the first week or two of fermentation, stir the apples once or twice a day with a wooden spoon. It’s okay to miss one or two as long as you move them regularly.
If you notice that the apples are floating on the surface of the liquid, use a fermentation stone or other heavy object to gently press down on the apples to completely submerge them in the water.
3. Wait for the apples to sink to the bottom of the jar
Check the condition of the apples daily and notice if there are any air bubbles in the jar. If so, it means that the apples are starting to ferment. After a week or two, the apple slices will have completely sunk to the bottom of the jar, which means the apples have fermented and you no longer need them to make wine.
If there are scum on the surface of the liquid, scoop it out with a spoon and throw it away.
4. Strain the apples from the cider and pour the cider back into the glass jar
Strain the apples with a plastic mesh spoon or another piece of gauze. As with the other steps, do not use metal tools during the straining process, as this may damage the fermentation process. Pour the cider back into the glass jar, cover it with gauze and secure it with a rubber band. The glass jar should still be returned to a warm, dark place.
Filtered apples should be thrown away. These apples are not suitable for eating because they have fermented.
5. Allow the cider to ferment for 3 to 6 weeks, stirring every few days.
During this process, the cider will turn into apple cider. Gently stir the liquid in the jar every 3 or 4 days.
As the fermentation time gets longer, the sweet cider begins to give off a pungent aroma. This means that the cider has become fruit wine as a result of fermentation.
The longer the fermentation, the more intense the flavor of the cider. After about 3 weeks of fermentation, you can taste it every day. If you think the taste and acidity of the cider are to your liking, you can stop fermenting.
The time needed for fermentation depends on the climate in your area. Fruit wines ferment faster in the summer and slower in the winter.
6. Pour fermented cider into glass jars with lids and store
The glass jars in which the cider is stored must be clean and sterile, and the lids must be well sealed to prevent fermentation from continuing and to keep the cider fresh. The cider will stay fresh for a long time as long as it is kept in the refrigerator.
Fermentation should not continue in refrigerated wines, but it may start again if stored for too long. If the flavor of the wine becomes too strong, dilute it with water to reduce the acidity.
Although cider does not deteriorate when stored at room temperature, it will continue to ferment.
Don’t worry if gelatinous clumps form on the surface of the wine, you should be happy. This huge jelly is also known as “mother wine”. You can use it as a primer to ferment more cider. Putting the mothers and apples in a glass jar will shorten the fermentation process.
