Rae Udy

RECIPES: Spiced Cider, Mulled Cider

By Rae Udy

America’s second president, John Adams, drank hard apple cider at breakfast to soothe his stomach. Water was often contaminated in the Colonial Era and the fermentation process in making apple cider destroyed harmful bacteria and made it less harmful than well water of the time.
From the 1600’s to the 1800’s hard apple cider was by far the most popular alcoholic beverage in America. English colonists brought great quantities of apple seed to plant in the New World and the main reason was for the making of hard cider.
English cider making peaked around the mid-17th century when almost every farm had its own cider orchard and press. The apples used were more closely related to wild crab apples than ordinary eating apples.
Apple cider continued its popularity into the 1850’s until the introduction of beer. The quicker fermentation and sophisticated brewing process of beer became more common and family farm processing of apple cider could not compete.
The Temperance movement urged farmers to stop making apple cider and many even chopped down the apple trees on their farms. Soon, Prohibition spelled doom for the apple cider industry. Beer production steadily increased after Prohibition was repealed in 1933 but apple cider never recovered to its former glory.
In recent years, the popularity of cider has witnessed a revival. Most cider is made from fresh apple juice with only the wild yeast present in the apples to cause fermentation.
Sweet cider is filtered at an early stage to retain the required percentage of unfermented sugar to remain alcohol free. This variety is most common and often sold in grocery and health food stores. Spiced Cider warms up the body with its sweet taste and spicy smell and the recipe makes enough for a party. This simple to make beverage contains just a trace of fat and just 80 calories per serving.
Hard cider remains in vats or barrels to mature for about three months. The mixture is sometimes filtered for a clear drink but most often is processed with the traditional cloudy appearance. Mulled Cider packs some punch against the cold weather. Remember hard cider contains alcohol. Hard ciders range from four to eight percent alcohol by volume and each have a unique flavor because of the blend of apples included.

Sources:
www.drinkfocus.com/apple-cider
www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cider

SPICED CIDER
1 gallon sweet apple cider
¼ (one-quarter) cup brown sugar
10 cinnamon sticks
2 Tablespoons whole cloves
2 Tablespoons allspice berries
½ (one-half) teaspoon mace
Place apple cider in a large soup pot. Tie cinnamon sticks, cloves and allspice in a cheesecloth bag. Add spice bag, brown sugar and mace to cider. Bring slowly to boiling. Simmer about 15 minutes. Remove spices and serve hot in mugs or cool and serve in tall glasses over ice. Serves 10.

MULLED CIDER
1 gallon hard apple cider
1 quart orange juice
¼ (one-quarter) cup lemon juice
2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon whole cloves
1 small orange, sliced into thin slices
Combine hard apple cider, orange juice and lemon juice in a large soup pot. Tie spices in a cheesecloth bag and add to cider mixture. Bring to boil and simmer for five minutes. Remove spice bag and pour into large mugs. Float fresh orange slices in mugs. Yields twelve servings.

We savor apple cider while we watch our wild deer, Bambi.