# Apple Cider Syrup (aka Boiled Cider)



## SLOweather (Jan 23, 2012)

A couple of months ago, we watched my friend Edward at Creekside Farms up in See canyon press fresh cider.

4 boxes of apples makes about 13 gallons, and there's nothing like tasting it right out of the press! The run we watched was almost syrupy, which got me to thinking.

I've purchased "apple syrup" before, but it was just sugar syrup flavored with apple. Why couldn't fresh cider be boiled down to syrup?

Serendipitously, I found this recipe in our old copy of "Putting Foods By" while looking for something else.

The book calls is "Boiled Cider" which is boring and not very descriptive. I think "Apple Cider Syrup" is more appropriate.

So, we got a fresh gallon of raw cider from Creekside and we made some.

It's really simple.

Boil the unfiltered cider hard for 30 minutes, then reduce the heat and boil more gently for 15 more minutes, stirring often both times.

Strain the cider through muslin, a jelly bag, maple syrup felt or similar. I used 4 layers of an old pillowcase. This removes the coagulated solids and clarifies the juice.

Clean the pan, pour the juice back into it and start gently reboiling the cider to further reduce the volume. Stir occasionally.

It's done when the syrup streams off the back of a metal spoon, rather than running off in drops. The syrup will thicken more on cooling.

For the batch we made, we got just over 2 half-pint jars, a reduction of about 8x volume! It took 2 or 3 hours

That's it. No added sugar, nothing else.

Since the first time, we've made several other batches. Unlike other apple farms in the canyon that use a single variety for their cider, Edward uses field run apples, whatever they are picking that day, in any combination. So like wine, every run of cider has a different character, flavor, mouth feel...

And so does the syrup from each batch.

The cider can even be boiled all the way down to hard candy! I tried that with the remnants of a batch. Just don't trust a candy thermometer. I scorched it because of that.

BTW, the syrup is AWESOME! We've had it on French Toast and vanilla vanilla ice cream, and I took a couple of jars to a pancake breakfast where everyone raved about it and no one even cracked the Aunt Jemima or Log Cabin.


----------



## saramc (Jan 23, 2012)

*Boiled Cider available commercially too*

You can also purchase Boiled Cider by way of the King Arthur Flour website, in case you are not adventurous enough to make it yourself. It is good stuff whether you take the time to make it for yourself (think gift time during holidays) or buy some. Sara


----------



## aloedrink (Dec 29, 2016)

Can you do this with aloe vera? Aloe on the body is very good, I would like to try it. more:http://www.okyalo.com/blog/2016/11/aloe-vera-juice-effects/


----------

