Homemade Boiled Cider
by Annabelle Nicholson, https://www.kingarthurbaking.com/

How to make this ultra-flavorful secret ingredient.

Boiled cider: a thick, syrupy, apple-scented secret ingredient that brings your favorite apple desserts from good to "how on earth did you make this?!" Wood's Cider Mill creates this pantry staple here in New England, but you can make homemade boiled cider. All you need is fresh apple cider, a pot, and time.

Apple Cider Donuts
Old-Fashioned Apple Cake with Brown Sugar Frosting
Apple Pie (can add boiled apple cider for extra flavor)

How to make homemade boiled cider

So, how much apple cider do you need? A gallon (3,969g) of fresh cider will reduce down to about 2 cups (690g) - 1/8 of its original volume. Since the cider takes up to 6 hours to boil down, I'd recommend starting with at least a gallon to make it more worth your time.

Select a large, sturdy pot designed for long-term stovetop cooking, such as a cast iron pot or Dutch oven. For a gallon of cider, I use a pot that holds at least 5 quarts. Bring the cider to a boil over medium heat. Once boiling, turn the heat to low and let it simmer for 5 to 6 hours, giving a couple of quick stirs twice every hour.

Starting around hour five, stir more frequently — every 15 minutes or so. Note that cook time will vary depending on your stove and which pot you choose. In testing, the boiled cider I made in a metal pot took five hours; in a cast iron pot, six.

How to know when your homemade boiled cider is ready

After the kitchen has been filled with apple-scented steam all day, I feel a little impatient waiting for my boiled cider to be ready. There are a few ways to test if it's done.

Bubble color:

I know it's done when I stir it and dark copper-colored bubbles form, covering the entire surface.

The chopstick test:

The cider will boil down to about 1/8 of its original volume. The easiest way to track this is to place a skewer or chopstick into the cider before turning on the heat. Mark the height of the cider on the chopstick before you start boiling it. Repeat once every hour, marking the new height until it's about 1/8 the original height.

Consistency:

Boiled cider has a similar viscosity to honey; when hot it behaves like hot, runny honey. Once cooled, it mimics thick, room-temperature honey.

What about temperature? Just as water does, apple cider has a boiling point: 219°F. The temperature won't change once it begins to boil. Because of this, the temperature isn't a good indicator of doneness.

 

Be careful of overcooking boiled cider beyond that copper-bubble stage. It'll become too thick to easily pour or bake with. It also becomes unpleasantly bitter and sour.

Infuse your homemade boiled cider with other ingredients

To make your batch truly one of a kind, infuse your cider with other flavors. Simmering on the stove for several hours gives you the perfect opportunity to add a little something special. Cinnamon sticks, your favorite spice blend, a sliced vanilla bean, a splash of rum, or orange peels will make your homemade boiled cider extra special.

It's done!

Run the finished cider through a coffee filter or cheesecloth to remove any impurities, if desired. Store your finished homemade boiled cider in the refrigerator. Boiled cider-fanatics have told me it will keep indefinitely in the fridge, but mine never sticks around long enough to test that theory.

If this seems like a present you might like to give to friends and family, include a note with a few ways to use homemade boiled cider every day, or even your favorite recipes calling for it.

• The intense, robust apple flavor works beautifully as a sweetener in muffins, scones, and quick breads.
• It's also a simple trick for amplifying the apple taste of apple pies, apple cakes, and applesauce. King Arthur Flour adds 1/4 cup (85g) boiled cider to their Apple Pie.
• Since the texture is thick and syrupy, you can also drizzle it over yogurt, ice cream, or oatmeal as you would with a really excellent maple syrup. We use a thick, sweet boiled cider syrup (made with cinnamon, brown sugar, butter, and boiled cider) in place of maple syrup to really turn up the volume on the apple flavor in Apple Pancakes.
• Make a glaze to pour over cakes, doughnuts, or other sweets. It's flavorful enough to be the star of your dessert if you pair it with a neutral baked good, like yellow cake or cream scones or plain doughnuts. But it's also subtle enough to pour over spice cakes or pumpkin bread or even a lemon pound cake.
  
  Boiled Apple Cider Glaze:
  • 2 1/2 tablespoons (50g) boiled cider
  • 2 to 2 1/2 tablespoons (35g) milk, half-and-half, light cream, or heavy cream
  • 2 cups (227g) confectioners' sugar generous pinch of salt
  • 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, optional
    
    Stir all of the ingredients together, starting with the lesser amount of milk or cream. Add additional sugar or liquid if needed to make the glaze the consistency of molasses. Drizzle or spread the glaze atop doughnuts, cupcakes, bars, an iced cake, or pie.