Basic Recipe For 1 Gallon Of Cider
For every gallon of apple juice you press from your apples makes one gallon of cider. Approximately 24 lbs/11 kilos of apples makes a gallon of apple juice.
Wash apples thoroughly in cold water. Cut up apples and pulp with a piece of hardwood (or pulp with a pulpmaster) Badly bruised apples should be disregarded. If you have apples from different trees make a blend of apple juice or maybe a single variety is required. Once pulped the apple pulp can either be pressed using a wine press or strained through a coarse straining bag. At this stage is is advisable to use a hydrometer to test the original specific gravity of the apples. The starting gravity ideal for cider is 1.050/55. If the S.G. is low add white granulated sugar to adjust this. The juice can then be poured into a one gallon glass demijohn or one gallon PET plastic demijohn and the yeast added.
The fermentation period if kept at approximately 75f/23c will be in the region of 3/4 weeks. During this time you might like to rack (syphon) the cider off any sediment. For carbonated cider with the hydrometer reading is 1.010 this can be bottled in any bottle that has previously held pressure i.e. plastic PET bottle, beer bottles champagne bottles, not wine bottles which are not made to withhold pressure. After a few weeks in a cool place the cider should be clear.
For still cider once clear, rack into a clean demijohn and add one campden tablet to preserve the cider. The cider will need to be left to mature for at least 3 months!