I remember drinking spiced apple cider on a ski holiday in New Hampshire about 13 years ago when we stayed in North Conway at a beautiful little Inn. Every afternoon they served apple cider and cookies, just what we needed to warm up after a day snowboarding. One day I would LOVE to take the children there, it was just so beautiful and everyone so friendly. Making this apple cider really took me back.
Ingredients for spiced apple cider
Apples or apple juice
Spices – cinnamon sticks, cloves, nutmeg and cardamon
You will need a big pan, a muslin cloth and something to bash the spices with.
How to make spiced apple cider
We cored about 10 apples, chopped them up and then blended with a hand blender.
The children laid out a muslin and we piled the apple pulp in the center.
We gathered up the corners of the muslin and then the fun began. We squeezed every last drop of apple juice through the filter. All but the very smallest parts of apple and juice were unable to pass through the cloth’s weave.
Image taken from Snackable Science
With a second bit of muslin we added some spices. Cloves, Star Anice, nutmeg, cinnamon, cardamom. We bashed them very loudly in a mortar with a pestel and then tied up the muslin to make a little bag.
We then added the spice and apple juice to a saucepan and heated gently for about 20 minutes.
How does the filter work?
A filter is a porous material which a liquid can be passed though to separate the liquid from solids suspended in it.
In this activity we used a muslin cloth to filter out the big bits of apple, leaving just the juice behind. To make the juice less cloudy we could have filtered it through something with smaller holes, to separate more of the solid bits from the liquid.
This post is part of a Christmas Activity Calendar with other bloggers. You can see the rest of the calendar HERE, with links to all the fantastic activities an amazing group of bloggers have created this month.
I would like to say a HUGE thank you to Creative with Kids for organising the Creative Christmas Calendar.
If you liked this activity you’ll love my new book Snackable Science which has 60 fun edible experiments for kids ( and adults )
Multiple Mummy
December 22, 2011 at 9:14 amFabulous and looks extremely tasty as well!
Cathy @ NurtureStore
December 22, 2011 at 12:50 pmThanks for the recipe. I bet the house smells wonderful when you’re making it.
Jill @ a mom with a lesson plan
December 22, 2011 at 1:45 pmYum…
Jen
December 22, 2011 at 2:34 pmGreat post! I have never made homemade apple juice or cider! Looks amazing and delicious!
Brooke @let kids create
December 22, 2011 at 4:05 pmAll I can say is “yum”. I want the homemade stuff.
maggy,red ted art
December 22, 2011 at 7:00 pmOooh I bet that the fresh apple juice was indeed fantastic. My father make some in the summer and it is delicious! Love the sound of your recipe!
catherine @ sunhatsandwellieboots
December 22, 2011 at 7:41 pmSounds delicious, thanks so much for sharing. We’ll be following your recipe on Christmas Eve! We may even leave a glass for Santa 😉
Rashmie @MommyLabs
December 23, 2011 at 4:55 amThis looks so delicious and the aroma must have been heavenly – filling up the house as you cooked!
Loved the little science note to go with it 🙂
Happy holidays and Merry Christmas!
HELEN
December 23, 2011 at 8:43 amthat looks really good……and messy!
I remember having spiced cider in the US & then being disappointed when I realised it wasn’t alcoholic!
x
maggy,red ted art
December 23, 2011 at 5:07 pm(and thanks for sharing on Kids Get Crafty!)
Maggy
Mama Pea Pod
December 25, 2011 at 3:05 pmMmmm….I just made some and the house smells fantastic! I use store-bought apple juice but it’s the cloudy, unfiltered kind. Wonderful idea, thanks for sharing! Merry Christmas! x