Welcome to the third segment of our beginner’s guide to cider making: Ingredients. From this step onward things will become more interesting I promise. This segment will cover the minimum edible ingredients involved in cider making. As per our equipment guide I will try to keep things as budget friendly as possible. Once again I’ll keep a running tab of the approximate cost involved so you can decide which options are most practical for you.
If you need a refresher of our first two segments covering equipment and cleaning those can be found below.
Beginner’s guide to cider making: Equipment
https://socialcider.org/beginners-guide-to-cider-making-equipment/
Beginner’s guide to cider making: Cleaning
https://socialcider.org/beginners-guide-to-cider-making-cleaning/
Which ingredients will I need?
So, beyond the obvious ingredients, juice and yeast, you’re going to need a few other food-grade items to help the fermentation process run smoothly. Ingredient quantities will be measured out with a 1 Gallon (3.79L) growler in mind as that is the volume stipulated in the equipment guide. Most of the powdered ingredients come in quantities larger than what you will need for a single batch. However these ingredients are relatively cheap and you can use them for multiple batches. Prices for powdered ingredients are for the whole package.
Ingredients in no particular order…
Juice (must)
Price: $0-40
Quantity: 1 Gallon (3.79L)
I know I said no order, but juice (must) is first because it will influence the end product flavor more so than any other ingredient. In a perfect world we would all get juice from our own fruit trees but in reality, the grocery store is probably more likely for your first batch of cider. Whatever your source of juice, make sure it does not contain sulfites, ascorbic acid, sorbates, benzoates, or any other preservative. Preservatives will inhibit your yeast culture and may prevent fermentation from happening altogether. So if your juice is prepackaged, be sure to read the label prior to purchase or ask juice provider if the must contains sulfites and/or sorbates.
Yeast
Price: $0-15
Quantity: * 1 Package
Yeast is the other significant ingredient. This one can be ‘free’ wild yeast or one of the many commercially available strains. Depending on your strain of choice you results may vary. If this is your first foray into cider making I would stick with a commercial champagne style yeast. These are robust, reliable and can tolerate a high alcohol content. Lalvin EC-1118 is the cider industry standard, a good alternative is Red Star Pasteur. Once you’ve purchased your yeast it’s best to store it in a fridge at 4C (39F). If the yeast is kept in a hot environment for any amount of time it may mutate and produce off-flavors, so please don’t leave it sitting in a hot car or in direct sunlight.
Yeast typically comes in packages designed for 5 gallon (18.9L) batches. As such depending on the instructions for your chosen yeast, you may get up to 5 batches per package.
Yeast Nutrient
Price: $5
Quantity: 1 ml (1/4 tsp or 0.03 oz)
Much like all living things yeast needs sufficient levels of nutrients and minerals to perform at it’s best. I won’t bore you with the details, but adding a suitable amount of yeast nutrient goes a long way to help ensure a healthy and complete fermentation.
Yeast nutrient typically comes in 5 gram (0.2 oz) packages or larger.
Optional Ingredients
Pectic Enzyme (pectinase)
Price: $5
Quantity: 1 ml (1/4 tsp or 0.03 oz)
If you would like to have clear cider or wine with or without filtering, pectic enzyme will speed up the process. Pectinase breaks down pectin, the ‘glue’ that binds plant cells together. Without the use of pectinase your cider may end up with pectic haze. While pectic haze isn’t harmful, it can be aesthetically displeasing. If you want to filter your cider later on, pectic haze will contribute to clogging the filter elements. The clearer the cider is to begin with, the easier it is to filter.
Pectinase typically comes in 5 gram (0.2 oz) packages or larger.
Potassium Metabisulfite (KMS)
Price: $5
Quantity: 0.25 ml (0.05 tsp or 0.008 oz)
Potassium metabilsulfite (KMS) or sulfites for short, is an anti-oxidant and chemical sterilant. As you probably know, commercial alcoholic beverages often proclaim “may contain sulfites” on the label. This generally means that the product contains 10-12< parts per million (ppm) sulfites. I list sulfites as optional because some people prefer not to add chemical preservatives, but bare in mind some yeast strains develop sulfites of their own throughout fermentation. Ergo, sulfites may be present in trace amounts without adding KMS directly.
KMS typically comes in 5 gram (0.2 oz) packages or larger.
Potassium Sorbate (ascorbic acid)
Price: $5
Quantity: 2.5 ml (0.5 tsp or 0.08 oz)
Potassium sorbate when used in conjunction with KMS helps to prevent re-fermentation. Much like KMS, sorbate is not strictly necessary, but it is a good insurance policy against bottle bombs.
Sorbate typically comes in 5 gram (0.2 oz) packages or larger.
Final thoughts on Ingredients
That concludes all the edible ingredients you’re going to need to make a basic cider. If you manage to get your hands on some free must and want to roll the dice with wild yeast, you could pretty much spend $0. However most of us are probably going to spend more like $30-40 initially and then just the cost of juice thereafter.
Next week we’ll cover starting a batch and the fermentation process. See you then.