SPEEDY CIDER

SPEEDY CIDER

Have apples? Brew speedy cider. Dead easy and you need nothing more than a bucket, some cheesecloth, and some plastic bottles. No need to add yeast. There's enough yeast on the apple skins and floating in the air at this time of the year.

1.5 kg apples any type. 
5.7 litres water
1 kg sugar
3 lemons

Place the apples in a plastic bag in your freezer for 24 hours, thaw, and when soft and mushy, pulp them in batches, whole, in a blender, adding a little of the water. Pour the pulp into a clean plastic bucket, add the rest of the water and cover with a tea towel to keep bugs out. Stir twice a day for seven days, then strain the liquid through cheesecloth into a second bucket (discard the pulp). Add the sugar and the zest, and strained juice of the lemons. Stir well and put the tea towel over the top again. Leave for 24 hours then strain again and bottle into plastic bottles (not glass as it can get explosive), leaving a little headroom. Twist the lids every couple of days to release some of the gas.

Drink 1-2 weeks later, chilling the bottles prior to opening. It will be sweet and low alcohol at first, turning dry and more alcoholic as it ages. If leaving your brew for a few months, it will turn from cloudy to clear. Note: If your cider or tastes sour or “off” and forms a floating jellyfish of gunk in it, then congratulations you've just made naturally fermented apple cider vinegar instead. It's the same process.

Recipe courtesy NZ Gardener Garden Diary