Your own Cider

It is almost impossible to make apple cider without a press or similar device. A mixture of varieties of ripe cider apples should be used and allowed to mellow until they are soft. Wash the fruit and put it in a tub or polythene dustbin and crush it with a masher (a heavy length of timber). Then express the juice by means of a press or by wrapping the fruit a little at a time in a stout cloth and running it through a mangle. Collect the juice in fermenting jars. Add 2 Campden tablets per gallon of juice. If you want a sweet cider add sugar, about 8 oz. per gallon. Add a general purpose or champagne yeast with nutrient tablet and allow to ferment to dryness. Rack in beer bottles and prime with a scant teaspoon of sugar per pint bottle. Mature for at least 3 months, but do not keep for longer than 9 months.