Fresh and Easy Homemade Apple Cider

My kids were bugging me for apple cider, so I almost bought some at Trader Joes, and then I was like, “Wait, I can frickin’ make that.” So I did, and it was easy and very tasty.

Fresh and Easy Apple Cider
Makes 2 ½ to 3 quarts
10 apples, (I used all Honeycrisp for this) quartered
1 orange peeled and quartered (preferably with a knife, so as to remove as much as the white pith as possible)
4 quarts water
3 cinnamon sticks
1 tablespoon whole cloves
3 to 6 tablespoons granulated sugar
Pinch salt

Into a large stock pot, add apples, oranges, water, cinnamon sticks, and cloves. Bring to a low to medium boil, and cook, uncovered 1 hour.

With a wooden spoon or potato masher, mash the apples and oranges until the mixture looks like a very loose applesauce.

Reduce heat to low and simmer with the lid placed slightly askew. Simmer for 2 hours.

Into another pot, strain out the solids through a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth, pressing on the apples to get as much liquid out of them as possible. The cider won’t be completely clear, there will still be some pulp in the mix, which is how it should be.

Because apples can vary in sweetness, we won’t add all of the sugar right away. Bring the cider back to a low simmer and whisk in 3  tablespoons of the sugar and the salt until dissolved. Give it a taste and add more sugar as desired. When I made it, 6 tablespoons was just right. Serve warm. 

Store leftover in the fridge for up to 4 days. Use leftovers to make these Apple Cider Pancakes.

I do not have the capacity to take nicely styled pictures of things (or to shave, apparently) these days (not that I really ever did), but here is the finished cider in it’s storage container. You can close your eyes and imagine a nice picture of it if you have to. It's brown-ish, like apple cider. Enjoy!