Nothing says fall like a warm mug of spiced cider and the smell of apples mingling with cinnamon and spices. This mulled crab apple cider recipe is crazy delicious, and a great, low-sugar alternative to jelly. Once you taste it, you might think twice about dumping a gallon of regular cider in the slow cooker for your next holiday gathering. It's also easy to make with 100 % foraged ingredients if you have the right crab apple trees.
How to Make Crabapple Cider
The traditional way to make crab apple cider is pressing them in a cider press. After pressing, the juice can be made into fermented crab apple cider.
My recipe is a shortcut made by cooking small, red crab apples to make crab apple juice, adding maple syrup and spices and simmering to make an addictive warm drink.
I think it's an ingenious way to make homemade crabapple cider without a cider press. It's also naturally bright red in color, so there's no need to add handfuls of cinnamon candies like red hots.
Step-By-Step
The recipe starts the same as making crab apple jelly. First you'll need to make crab apple juice by cooking the apples with water.
The apples are washed, put in a pot, covered with water and brought to a boil. The apples are cooked until soft, then mashed with a potato masher.
The apple mash is poured into a colander lined with cheesecloth and allowed to drain. After cooling, the cheesecloth can be squeezed to yield a generous amount of extra juice, although it won't be as clear as the first batch.
The finished crab apple juice is mixed with water and maple syrup to taste, as well as orange zest, a small piece of cinnamon, and other spices like clove, spicebush or allspice, if you want.
How to Serve It
When the cider's hot, you ladle it into mugs and serve, preferably with a halved crab apple garnish. Just like regular mulled cider, it can be held warm in a slow cooker for guests to serve themselves.
The finished product will be a brilliant red. It can be served hot and sipped from a mug, or, for a twist, served cold, where the mouthfeel of the pectin will be noticeable, and, strangely pleasing.
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Mulled Crab Apple Cider
Equipment
- 1 gallon pot or pasta pot.
- 1 Potato masher
- 1 Cheesecloth as needed
- 1 2 quart sauce pot for heating the mulled cider
Ingredients
- 5 cups crab apple juice from about 5 lbs of crab apples
- ½ cup maple syrup
- 1-2 cups water *see note
- 1 inch piece of cinnamon preferably Ceylon cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon spicebush berries optional
- 1 inch strip of orange zest
- 10 small crab apples as a garnish
Instructions
Crab Apple Juice
- Wash the crab apples you’ll make juice from. Save an apple or two for each person to use as a garnish in the mug, if you like.
- Put the apples in a pot and cover with water. Bring to a simmer and cook until the apples soften, about 15-20 minutes.
- Mash the apples with a potato masher then simmer for another 5 minutes.
- Pour the apple mash into a cheesecloth lined colander or strainer and allow to cool.
- Squeeze the cheesecloth to extract as much juice as possible. From here the juice can be refrigerated or frozen until needed.
Mulled Cider
- Combine all ingredients and bring to a simmer, then turn off the heat and allow to infuse for 20 minutes. Skim any scum that rises to the surface.
- Halve the crab apples you saved for a garnish and add them. Note that crab apples with a mealy texture may break down if cooked too long.
- Adjust the seasoning until it tastes good to you. If it's slightly astringent, add a little more water and maple syrup. Ladle into mugs and serve. You can also keep it warm in a slow cooker.
- You can serve the cider warm or cold. You can adjust the consistency by adding more water and maple syrup to taste.
Video
Notes
- The water is added to taste here as a way to curb any astringency and stretch the juice. I list 1-2 cups as a place to start but 1-3 or even more can be possible depending on your preference and the crab apples you're using.
- High acid or astringent crab apples may need more water. The less water you add, the more the pectin's silky texture will be noticeable when served cold.
- The type of apple you use here as a garnish is important. Mealy crab apples that disintegrate when cooked will turn your cider cloudy.
Nutrition
Sarah Tysk
You mention having the 'right' crab apple trees - are there specific kinds you look for?
Alan Bergo
Taste them to make sure they're not overly astringent.
AC
Sounds really good! Thanks for the recipe.
Can you freeze the cider in jars to use throughout the winter in MN?
How long would crabapple last in the garage?
Alan Bergo
Hello. Yes you can freeze it. I just did a gallon, I portion into quart containers and freeze.
Arwen
This has got me creeping around for crabapples! In the meantime, what is this fancy ladle??? Google Lens just leads me back to you!
Alan Bergo
Hey Arwen. Cool name. This cider is so good I've been making all kinds of variations of it. I got sick this week and drinking it warm, still thick with pectin worked wonders on my throat. Then I cut it by 50% with water and has it as tea. Definitely try if you have some crab apples near you. I can't remember where the ladle is from, prob Williams Sonoma, many years ago.
Allan Gaudette
This recipe just missed this year's crop from my tree. The apples seemed to be larger than my first, last year's I think from lot,s of rain!
Thank you for the down to earth,s recipe.
Do you know what the bumps are from? Allan .
Alan Bergo
Hey Allan. I'd assume the bumps are genetic.
Jenny
This was absolutely delicious.
Christine Merriman
Made crabapple jam and cider today! The cider is so fantastic and love the fact that I can control the amount of sweetness! It isn’t cloyingly sweet after adding a bit of maple syrup.
Alan Bergo
Yeah you can just sweeten it to taste, if it's a little tannic or sweet, just add a splash of water. Super flexible.
Sarah
I have a glut of freshly picked crab apples, so I will be making this today! Thank you for sharing this recipe (and all of your recipes). ❤️
Alan Bergo
Hey Sarah. It's sooo good. One of the coolest parts is tasting it cold vs warm. When it was still hot in MN a couple weeks ago I served it ice cold at an event. The pectin is noticeable cold and is really refreshing. Let me know how you like it!