Apple Cider Taste Test

About a year ago I mentioned our family's habit of doing periodic taste tests and we did another one this past week only we moved on from vanilla ice cream to apple cider.

I'd come across a Cooking Light magazine article for six varieties of apple cider so I made up a couple pots of the basic recipe then took it five different ways and set out to test which was the best.

Here are the recipes along with our feelings about each variety.

Basic Apple Cider:
2 quarts apple cider (not apple juice)
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
15 whole cloves
10 whole allspice
2 (3-inch) cinnamon sticks

Combine the cider and sugar and cook, stirring, until the sugar dissolves. Add the remaining ingredients (if you can't find the allspice pods you can use a dash of the ground stuff) and bring to a boil then let it simmer for about 10 or 15 minutes. Then strain out the cinnamon stick and the pods and the cloves and serve.

Vanilla-Pomegranate Apple Cider:
This time, just before the cider reaches a boil split open a vanilla bean and scrape out the seeds inside. Reduce the heat and add 2 cups of pomegranate juice and let it simmer for 15 minutes.

Orange-Apple Cider:
If you like a touch of citrus in your cider zest one orange (I used a blood orange then squeezed a bit of the juice in as well) while the basic recipe is simmering then serve.

Cranberry-Apple Cider:
For this batch when the cider reaches a boil reduce the heat and stir in 1 cup of fresh cranberries and 2 cups of cranberry juice and let it simmer for 15 minutes then serve.

Vanilla Cider:
After fixing the standard batch of cider serve it up with a spoonful of vanilla ice cream on top.

Rosemary Cider:
Before the basic recipe comes to a boil throw in three four-inch sprigs of fresh rosemary then reduce the heat and let it all simmer for 15 minutes, strain and serve.

RESULTS
Just for future reference apple cider is quite different from apple juice in that cider hasn't been strained and shouldn't be clear the way apple juice is clear. That will make a difference in your final product though you can still make these recipes with apple juice and have them taste darn good.

Surprisingly enough Andrew and I liked the rosemary cider the best, hands down. You might think it's odd to combine a piney flavor such as rosemary with the sweetness of an apple but darn it if it wasn't a party in my mouth. It was subtle and pleasant and not at all overpowering.

A close second for me was the vanilla-pomegranate which had a fun sharpness to it that was nicely complimented by the mellowness of the vanilla. A nice variation on the theme.

Grace and Lillian liked the kind with the ice cream in it the best. That was pretty predictable, ice cream has a way of selling itself like that.

We all agreed that the cranberry-apple was too strong but I think that was my fault. I had made up a double batch of the basic recipe and pulled out enough for each of the other five kinds and left the cinnamon sticks, cloves and allspice in the pot which I made into the cranberry mix and I think leaving the spices in there that extra amount of time made it too strong. Oops.

David liked the orange-apple batch and Spencer was a vanilla-pomegranate fan.

So there you have it, before the weather gets too warm make up a batch and decide which you prefer. (Go rosemary!)

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