Apple Cider Recipe for Canning
An easy recipe for apple cider that is safe for canning.
Servings: 5 quarts
Calories: 946kcal
Equipment
- 1 Fruit Crusher and Cider Press or cold press juicer
- 1 water bath canner
Ingredients
- 20 lbs apples
- 1/4 cup bottled lemon juice see note below
Instructions
- Press apples in a cider press or cold press juicer, remove any remaining solids through a sieve.
- Prepare canning jars, rings, and lids.
- Pour into a large saucepan and heat on medium-low until the cider begins to simmer. Do not boil. Stir in lemon juice.
- Ladle hot cider into hot jars, leaving a ¼ inch of headspace. Wipe rims with hot water. Add lids and rings. Tighten to finger-tip tight.
- Place jars in a water bath canner. Boil for 10 minutes for both pints and quarts, adjust time for altitude. At the end of the processing time, turn off heat and remove the canner lid. Wait 5 minutes and remove jars from the canner without tilting.
- Let sit for 24 hours and check the seals. Remove rings and wipe down jars, label, store in a cool, dry, dark place.
Notes
Note #1: I did a ton of research on whether or not bottled lemon juice is a necessity for apple cider or juice. I checked my two trusted sources, Ball Canning and The National Center for Home Food Preservation.
The Ball book requires 1 tablespoon bottle lemon juice per quart jar. The National Center for Home Food Preservation has NO added bottled lemon juice in their apple juice recipe.
The pH of the majority of apples is within the range of acidity for safe water bath canning. My personal opinion is that the lemon juice is added for a very, very few outliers of apple varieties that have a higher pH and/or to keep the color.
I debated heavily on whether or not to have the added lemon juice in this recipe. In the end decided to add it, just to be on the safe side. Its effects on apple cider flavor are very minimal.
You may choose whether or not you’d like to add it. I've done it both ways and had no problems.
Note #2: Before pressing cider, the fruit must be crushed or chopped. Be sure to remove any bad spots before crushing apples and pressing.
In our cold press juicer, we remove the seeds and bad spots before pressing. The juicer does both the crushing and pressing in one machine.
Nutrition
Serving: 1quart | Calories: 946kcal | Carbohydrates: 251g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 18mg | Potassium: 1954mg | Fiber: 44g | Sugar: 189g | Vitamin A: 980IU | Vitamin C: 88mg | Calcium: 110mg | Iron: 2mg
