Ingredients for Making Cider
One variety of apple alone will not make for a balanced cider. The chances are that it will lack flavour, body, and in fact, most of the characteristics of a good cider. Almost any sort of garden apple may be used but do use some sweet, a few sharp and, if possible a few dry sorts of apple, or some pears not over-loaded with juice. It would not be sensible to recommend any particular blend of apples simply because one will have to use those available; only those living in cider-growing areas will have the true cider apple at his disposal and he will already have someone at his elbow to tell him how best to handle them.
To select the right type of apple for the job would involve knowledge of the acid, sugar and tannin content of each variety, and hardly any amateur is likely to have such knowledge at his disposal. If he had, he would not necessarily know how to utilize it.
So, at first attempt, chances will have to be taken on just how the final cider comes up to hopes and expectations. But with a little experience gained in making a few lots, any operator should be able to learn how to blend the apples he has available in order to make the cider he is after. Alternatively, he can make several different sorts in small quantities and then blend them to get an improved produce as wine makers blend their elderberry, damson and plum wines. You would be surprised (if you are not already a wine maker), just how this making of small lots of varied, yet similar wines and then blending them makes for some really top-class products. This does not mean that the individual wines are not in themselves top-class products. It is merely that in a poor season one of these wines might disappoint. It is at times like this when blending with other wines will make that disappointing wine into something quite remarkable.
And so it is with ciders. Small lots may be improved by blending with each other, but a large amount of one sort if it is not up to expectations has to be drunk as it is. So use of your common sense will bring you very close indeed to making the cider you like at first attempt - even if it does mean blending two or three lots made with different sorts of different mixtures of varieties of apples.
Sugar
White household sugar is quite suitable, but very good results are obtained when golden syrup is used. Try this, for many people find this gives some character and flavor to a cider made from unsuitable apples. Demerara sugar should not be used; nor should other brown sugars. Either white sugar, which adds nothing but sweetness, or golden syrup, which adds both color and some little flavor, are the best to use.
If golden syrup is used, more will have to be used to raise the gravity to the required level. Stir in a little at a time, taking the readings after each addition until the required reading is obtained. Pound for pound, there is less sugar in syrup than in dry sugar itself, this is the reason for using more syrup than sugar.
Water
Many people find sugar additions difficult, or they fear that adding water will reduce the flavor of the cider. They therefore overheat the juice to dissolve the sugar, and thus dissolve or make active pectin in the apple, and as every wine maker knows pectin causes cloudiness difficult to remove. So let me make it clear that the use of a little water will not reduce to any appreciable extent the flavor of the cider provided the amount used is the absolute minimum needed to dissolve the sugar, this being about one pint to two pounds of sugar.
Put the sugar in the water and bring slowly to the boil, stirring frequently to avoid sticking to the bottom of the saucepan or burning. When sugar is dissolved, cool the resulting syrup and then stir into the apple juice. The procedure after this is the same as already stated.
Method
The apples should be washed in water, and even if a press is available, they will first have to be pulp. This is best done if they are put in an open tub and pounded with the end of a stout pole. Mincing small quantities is a good means of extracting the juice. Large quantities are a problem, but if you know a friendly butcher, he might be willing to mince them for you with his much larger machine.
Modern domestic fruit juice machines are ideal for small amounts of ordinary fruit, but are not suitable for apples or pears. One can overcome to some extent the problem of pressing to get the maximum juice by fermenting the pulp-pounded apple. This method of making cider is described separately.
When using a press, put in only small amounts of pounded apple at a time otherwise you’ll not be able to screw down properly. Directions are supplied with the different presses and because each is used in a slightly different way and the directions will vary with each press; for this reason I cannot give here general purpose instructions to cover each one. Minced apple may be strained through a strong coarse cloth and wrung out, that is, when all juice that will drip out has done so, two people may twist the cloth in opposite directions while the part containing the pulp is held over the vessel catching the juice.
Having produced all the juice you can, strain a sample as free as possible of particles of apple pulp and take the reading using a specific gravity hydrometer reading from 1.000 to 1.100 - the same as that used for home brewing. From this reading you will be able to see how much sugar the juice contains .and calculate how much to add to raise the gravity to give the amount of alcohol you want to make.
Having done this, the sugar is added (or syrup if this is being used). Dry sugar will have to be dissolved in a little of the juice warmed until the sugar is dissolved. Do not make juice hot otherwise a clearing problem may crop up later on.
Where only a gallon or so is being made and therefore comparatively little sugar being added, this may be dissolved in a little hot water - say half a pint and then added to the juice. This half pint is not likely to reduce the flavor of the juice to any great extent, but because it will reduce slightly the hydrometer reading, another ounce per gallon of juice should be added.
The type of vessel used for fermentation purposes will depend on the amount of cider being made. If ten or so gallons are being made an open barrel will be needed. But if it’s just a gallon or two a two-gallon polythene pail will be ideal - these hold a little over two gallons.
Having produced the juice and added the sugar, the amount you have should be assessed as accurately as possible or measured, for it is at this stage where we must destroy the yeast and bacteria in the juice.
To each gallon crush and dissolve one Campden fruit preserving tablet. Dissolve this in about an egg-cupful of warm water and stir into the bulk. Leave for a few hours, stir vigorously and then add your yeast. This adding of Campden tablets may be carried out before adding the sugar if you wish.
It is now time to add the yeast. A good all-purpose wine yeast is quite suitable, but when these are used, fermentation is rather slower than when one of the vigorous yeasts in granulated form is used. The granulated yeasts do not settle and stick hard to the bottom of bottles as wine yeasts do. But this is not important where a draught cider is being made. Dried wine yeast in tablet form may be started off as a nucleus as directed for reclaiming yeasts from commercial beers. The tablet is put into a small amount of water in which some sugar has been dissolved by boiling. When cool, the tablet is put in; in a few days the yeast will be fermenting. This should be prepared three or four days in advance of preparing the juice. Dried yeast in granulated form may be added as it is, as this usually starts fermenting within a few hours, whereas wine yeasts take several days to get going, and it is important not to leave the juice inactive for this period. Fermentation will be seen as frothing on the surface. After about ten days, the cider is transferred to gallon or two-gallon jars - according to the amount being made. Fermentation locks are then fitted. The use of these is included in the chapter on beer making.
When the lock has been fitted the cider is kept in a warm place until all fermentation has ceased.
This will be draught cider of an alcoholic content according to the amount of sugar used. It will also be dry.
Sweetening this or making it into a sparkling cider has been described in Cider Varieties.
Cider does not improve greatly on keeping. But it should be kept for three months at least. After six months there is never an improvement.