Soft Cider

This stuff is great. When I was a kid at home we used to make this in a bucket and leave it in an outhouse for a few days. Once bottled up it gets it’s fizziness, but if the bottle is sealed tight it can explode! Fermentation happens in this drink, but not really for long enough to give it any great alcohol content. The longer you leave it, the more alcoholic it gets, but don’t bother, it doesn’t taste as good when it’s old. The fermentation uses natural yeast found in the fruit, so no need to add any yeast. If it’s just made, I think it’s the best time to drink it.

To make this, the apples can be rough old windfalls. Chop out the really bad bits then mince up the bits. If you have an old fashioned hand-cranked meat mincer, it works well for this, if not, coarse chopped in a food processor will do nicely.
 
Clean 3lbs cooking apples and mince up, including peel and cores.
Put in a bucket and pour on 6 quarts of cold unboiled water.
Put a cloth over the bucket, leave for a week, stirring night and morning.
Strain the liquid then stir in 2lbs granulated sugar.
Add the grated rind and juice of 3 lemons.
Set aside for 24 hours, then strain and bottle, corking lightly.
Drinkable within a week, possibly sooner, depending how warm it is.

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