Spiced Apple Cider – Filtering Experiment

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 was so friendly. Making this apple cider reminded me of what a lovely week we had.

Making spiced apple cider is also a tasty way to learn about filtering!

Ingredients for spiced apple cider

You’ll need

10 Apples

Spices – cinnamon sticks, cloves, nutmeg and cardamon

Large pan

Stove

Muslin cloth

Potato masher

Bowl

How to make spiced apple cider

Core the apples and cut into large chunks.

Place them in a large pan and cover with water, add a selection of herbs and spices.

Heat the apples until the water starts to boil. Turn down the heat and leave to simmer for about 10 minutes.

Use a potato masher to squash the apples thoroughly.

Place the muslin cloth over a bowl and carefully pour the apple mixture over the top.

The apple juice will drip through the muslin leaving the pulp behind.

Gather up the ends of the muslin and squeeze the pulp over the bowl to extract all the juice.

Discard the pulp and enjoy your lovely apple cider!

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 ( perhaps the muslin cloth folded over ), to separate more of the solid bits from the liquid.

If you liked this activity you’ll love my new book Snackable Science which has 60 fun edible experiments for kids ( and adults )

Last Updated on February 23, 2023 by Emma Vanstone