How to get regular apple juice to taste like cider (plus a cider taste test and cider mulling tips)

It’s apple season and, of course, that means fresh-pressed apple cider from all of those road-side apple stands. It is a treat of the fall for us to venture over to California’s central coast and to travel along See Canyon road tasting apples and returning home with lugs of fresh apples and gallons of cider. We missed it this year and I still feel this little pang of regret in my heart. It is just so fabulous.

“Apple juice” that you buy in the store just isn’t the same and when I watched the Half Pints record this video and heard Frederick’s review, I wanted to cheer. “Yes, you get it!” Really, had I ever told him that in commercial apple juice they just water down the real thing and add more sugar? I don’t remember ever having such a conversation but his palate is getting sophisticated and that is, in fact, just what it tastes like.

But what if you don’t have access to the real thing and still want to enjoy some apple drinks? Check out the Half Pint tasting and their comparison of fresh apple cider and mulled apple juice (from commercially available apple juice).

Here’s the recipe but, really, make it to suit yourself. If you don’t have allspice or whole cloves, just use what you do have. It’s hard to go wrong.

Apple Cider Ingredients

• Half gallon of apple juice
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 2 allspice berries
• 2 whole cloves
• 2 peppercorns

Apple Cider Steps

1. Place ingredients in a crockpot
2. Turn crockpot on “low” setting and allow to mull overnight or for 8 hours or so
3. Strain out the spices and retain the liquid.
4. Serve.