If there are two foods that epitomize Vermont for me, they are maple syrup and apples. In late winter, conversation frequently turns to “how’s the sugaring going?” (at least in my circles of friends and acquaintances!) and come spring, every rural roadside is white with the blossoms of apple trees. That’s why I think this small-batch maple cider recipe is the perfect artisanal beverage to capture the taste of our new home.
Her book goes beyond traditional brewing to include unique and whimsical recipes such as Blueberry Muffin Mead, Elderberry and Rose Hip Wine, Flower Garden Cider, and Mugwort Beer. These recipes embody the bounty of gardens, orchards, forests, and meadows, capturing seasonal flavors in fermented form.
One thing I appreciate about this book is that it is specifically designed for one gallon batches. Small batches invite the use of small amounts of foraged goodness, and allow you to play with creative flavor combinations without the fear of “ruining” an entire 5 gallon batch.
If you’ve always wanted to try your hand at brewing, but have been afraid to invest in equipment and time, this is the perfect beginner’s book. If you’re already skilled at brewing, I think you’ll be as excited about these beautiful seasonal recipes as I am.
If you’d like to try to make your own maple syrup to use in the recipe below, here are a a few how-to’s to get you started:
Making Syrup in Your Backyard Get Ready for Sugaring Before the Snow Flies How to Tap Black Walnut Trees for Syrup
Maple Syrup Cider
Reprinted with permission from Artisanal Small-Batch Brewingby Amber Shehan, Page Street Publishing Co. 2019. Photo credit: Jen CK Jacobs.
Maple syrup and apples are just perfect together. The tart, sharp apples and the silky, sweet maple blend in this brew to make a very classy dry cider. Pair this cider with crumbly white cheddar, maple-bacon flavored treats or smoked nuts.
Gather your ingredients and sanitize your supplies. For this recipe, you’ll need a 1- or 2-gallon (3.8- or 7.5-L) stockpot, a long spoon, a funnel, a strainer, a gallon (3.8-L) carboy, a raking cane and a bung and airlock.
Warm 1/2 gallon (1.9 L) of the apple juice in the stockpot, but only to about 90°F (32°C). Don’t let it boil or you run the risk of creating a pectin haze from the apple juice. Add the maple syrup, brown sugar and tea and stir until it is all mixed well.
Using the funnel and strainer, pour the warmed apple juice mixture into the carboy and top it off with as much of the remaining 1/2 gallon (1.9 L) of apple juice needed for the must to reach the neck of the jug. Pitch the yeast, cover the mouth of the jug and give it a few good shakes to aerate the must and wake up the yeast.
Seal it with the bung and airlock. Label the jug with the brew name and date. After 2 weeks, rack it over to a new sanitized carboy to get it off of the lees and help it start to clear.
Bottle (page 84) your cider after it has cleared and fermentation has stopped. Since this cider is brewed with wine yeast and has a higher potential alcohol, you shouldn’t try to carbonate it unless you plan on bottling in champagne bottles with wire clamps! Save the priming sugar for the ciders made with ale yeast.
Recipe Note: This still cider is neither mellow nor maple-flavored at bottling, but it changes quickly! At two weeks, the dry cider will mellow out and reveal the maple aroma and flavor that you hoped for. Wonderful when dry, Maple Syrup Cider is just as delicious with a bit of Basic Simple Syrup (page 143) or maple syrup added to the glass at serving.
More Homebrewing Inspiration
Hooked on small-scale brewing? Try your hand at making hard cider at home! With only one ingredient – fresh pressed apple cider – it’s sure to be a favorite!
How to Make Hard Cider in 5 Easy Steps
Yield: 1 gallon
The tart, sharp apples and the silky, sweet maple blend in this brew to make a very classy dry cider. Pair this cider with crumbly white cheddar, maple-bacon flavored treats or smoked nuts. Recipe reprinted with permission from Artisanal Small-Batch Brewing by Amber Shehan, Page Street Publishing Co. 2019. Photo credit: Jen CK Jacobs.
Ingredients
1 gal (3.8 L) apple juice, divided
2 cups (480 ml) maple syrup
½ cup (100 g) packed brown sugar
1 cup (240 ml) strongly brewed black tea
½ packet (2.5 g) Lalvin 71B yeast
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More homesteading inspiration!
How to Make Hard Cider in 5 Easy Steps
Fermented Cranberry Salsa Recipe
How to Bottle Hard Apple Cider
How to Make Kombucha in 3 Simple Steps!
Dandelion Soda Recipe :: Naturally Fermented with a Ginger Bug!
Honey has an amber color similar to maple syrup, and while it might be a touch sweeter, it makes a wonderful swap. It'll be similar in texture as well, if only a smidge thicker. The only place you may notice a difference in flavor is if you're topping your breakfast with it. In baked goods, it will be negligible.
First, our maple syrup and cider syrup are handmade in small batches over a wood fire. Then, we blend these two together creating a syrup that is maple forward and balanced with a pop of fresh apple flavor.
Procedure: In a clean carboy mix together 1 gallon of the cider, the sugar, and the liquefied honey then swirl gently until dissolved. Pour in the remaining cider.
To substitute maple syrup in a cookie recipe, honey, corn syrup, golden syrup, and coconut nectar are all great options. With these options, you can substitute at a 1 to 1 ratio and won't need to adjust the other ingredients in your recipe.
Enhance Your Cider with Fruit. Using fruit other than apples in hard cider is common and adds great additional flavor. Some of the more common fruit selections are pear, cherry, peach and pineapple. Other options include mixed berries, blueberry, mango, blackberry.
Maple syrup is a better choice than honey for people who have diabetes or blood sugar problems, for example. This happens because maple syrup has a lower glycemic index than honey. If you have certain diseases like inflammatory bowel, maple syrup can be helpful.
A recent maple syrup study has shown that the delicious liquid contains a molecule called quebecol, which has anti-inflammatory properties. The purpose of anti-inflammatory substances are simple; they work to reduce inflammation!
Cyser is apple mead. Specifically, cyser is made from apples/apple cider, instead of water, and honey. While mead and cider fall into their own categories, what makes cyser special is that it is both and neither at the same time.
The best type of honey to combine with apple cider vinegar for maximum health benefits is raw monofloral manuka honey. Here's why: Raw honey is typically the least processed, which means that any health benefits are going to be the most potent.
Just as wine enthusiasts appreciate the concept of “terroir” in winemaking, syrup connoisseurs value the unique terroir of Vermont Maple Syrup. The soil composition, climate, and altitude of Vermont create a distinct flavor profile that sets it apart from other syrups produced around the world.
Nutritional potentials. In the human diet, maple syrup is considered a source of carbohydrates instead of refined sugars. In addition, maple syrup has been deemed a good source of vitamins (Table 1), and minerals [8] necessary for the human body for biochemical reactions such as the synthesis of enzymes or hormones.
Babies with MSUD are unable to break down amino acids called leucine, isoleucine and valine. Very high levels of these amino acids are harmful. One of the characteristic symptoms of MSUD is sweet-smelling urine, which gives the condition its name.
We recommend adding enough honey to reach a starting gravity of at least 1.060, shoot for a higher number if you want a more alcoholic cider. Honey adds 35 gravity points per pound of honey per gallon of cider. In order to incorporate your honey into your cider you'll need to do a “light decoction” as we called it.
Fruit juice is almost entirely fermentable, so all that sweet sugar will be converted into alcohol and you will be left with a dry cider. You can add sugar, honey, or unfermented juice to back sweeten after fermentation is complete and the cider is cold enough to shut down yeast activity.
Partial invert the ideal fermenting and priming sugar for cider. Partial invert sugar syrup is the ideal pure sugar product for fermenting and, especially, priming. This is because it is sucrose that has been broken down into glucose and fructose via an inversion process.
Because honey and maple syrup have a similar texture, they can generally be substituted in a 1:1 ratio, though the flavour will be slightly different. Canadian maple syrup, made solely from the sap of maple trees, is an excellent honey alternative for vegans and those looking for a richer flavour.
For example, maple syrup is lower in calories than honey, and therefore may be the better choice for someone looking to lose weight. Pure maple syrup also has fewer carbohydrates and is lower on the glycaemic index than honey, which may make it healthier for certain diets.
Honey is a very concentrated substance that packs plenty of sugar into each drop. It makes a wonderful substitute for sugar since you need less to reach the same amount of sweetness. The same is true when putting it up against maple syrup.
If Pectolase is added at the start it will improve the taste in the cider as they help to bring out flavours and without this addition you won't have clear cider. Add one teaspoon per 5 litres (1 gallon).
So look for a non fermentable sweetner and add to taste. Or, you can add sugar at the time of drinking. It's best to make up a sugar syrup using 1 tablespoon of supermarket granulated sugar and 25ml of boiling water. Put them in a glass and stir until dissolved.
For example, maple syrup is lower in calories than honey, and therefore may be the better choice for someone looking to lose weight. Pure maple syrup also has fewer carbohydrates and is lower on the glycaemic index than honey, which may make it healthier for certain diets.
Both offer benefits in the form of either vitamins or minerals, and both offer protective antioxidant activity. Putting taste aside, as the two have different flavors — honey is more floral while maple syrup is more woodsy — maple syrup tends to be the slightly healthier choice, but we enjoy both throughout the year.
6. Pure Maple Syrup Can Be Used as a Natural Cough Syrup. Maple syrup can be used as a natural cough syrup. The syrup's properties can help to soothe a cough and loosen mucus.
Introduction: My name is Wyatt Volkman LLD, I am a handsome, rich, comfortable, lively, zealous, graceful, gifted person who loves writing and wants to share my knowledge and understanding with you.
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