Craft Hard Cider: Recipes, Tips, and Ideas for Making & Enjoying Hard Cider
If I asked you to close your eyes and picture an apple orchard, what would come to mind? Would it look something like this picture? Would it have rows of trees in straight lines? Maybe the trees would be even bigger. It’s interesting how our reference is based on what’s around us. South Somerset Orchard … Continue reading A Day at the Orchard: Orchard Diversity
There is often a debate about the need, use, and benefit of sulfites (or sulphites if you live in many other English speaking countries) when making hard cider or even wine. Using or not using them along with sorbates can be a cause for much debate. Therefore, I wanted to explore the reasons why you … Continue reading Hard Cider Tip #22: Sulfite and Sorbate
I love apples but since I love hard cider, that probably doesn’t surprise many people. However, two of my favorite things in life are finding new hard ciders and new apples that I have never tried. For 2020, I have been exploring some new orchards and that means new apples and ultimately, it will mean … Continue reading A Day at the Orchard: Exploring New Apples
I try to showcase how hard cider can pair with anything: seafood, pizza, vegetarian, spicy, and even dessert. However, sometimes you just want a nice hearty meal. Something that warms you not just from the food but from the memories or emotions. For me, that is food like macaroni and cheese and hamburgers but it … Continue reading Cider and Sloppy Joes
How many apples fit in a 5 gallon (19L) bucket? About 20 pounds (9kg). What about my totes? About 45 pounds (20.5kg) if you don’t heap them too high. I’ve filled them so many times, I don’t even really need to weigh them anymore. I can just tell by looking at them. We picked two … Continue reading Earligold: Sauce, Butter, and Cider
In my book, The Art & Science of Cider, I advocate for making hard cider that represents where you live. Almost every place in the world does or can grow apple trees. However, they also grow many other great fruits, flowers, herbs, and vegetables. Hard Cider is the perfect method to include and highlight these … Continue reading Harvesting Prickly Pears: Dangers and Rewards
I have used a refractometer since I started making hard cider. To me, it seemed like it would be much easier to use than a standard hydrometer. I have since started using a Tilt Hydrometer, but it is completely different from how you use a standard hydrometer. I will spend a little time at the … Continue reading Hard Cider Tip #21: Refractometers
It might have been a touch early but I was itching to get to the orchard and pick some apples. Here in Arizona, we tend to get our first apples in late July. These are usually a small variety called Earligold. They are a green apple and turns gold as it ripens. The problem is … Continue reading A Day at the Orchard: First Fruits
Grocery shopping during a pandemic requires some meal planning flexibility. However, my wife was determined to find ingredients she needed for her scallops au gratin recipe. The problem was she would get one item but not find another before the one she did find needed to be used. It was becoming quite the scavenger hunt. … Continue reading Seafood, Salad, and Cider
As a home hard cider maker, there are a variety of ways you can package your cider. By package, I mean putting it in a container from which you intend to serve it. Surprisingly, there are a number of ways to actually package your hard cider. They have canning machines now. You can also package … Continue reading Hard Cider Tip #20: Bottle Cappers
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