Camp Apple Cider
Shelf-stable cider concentrate that turns into a hot mug in about three minutes.
- calories
- 180
- weight
- 1.8 oz
- cal / oz
- 100
- protein
- 0 g
- serves
- 1, scales
- prep
- 2 min
- cook
- 3 min
- total time
- 5 min
- water
- 300 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Drink
- Canister stove
- Campfire coals
- Liquid fuel
- Alcohol / Esbit
- Car camping
- Backpacking
- Winter / snow
- Basecamp
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Nut free
- One pot
- Dehydrate ahead
- Shelf stable
- Dump and stir
Ingredients
| Apple cider powder | 3 tbsp | pressed cider dried at home, or store-bought unsweetened apple juice powder |
|---|---|---|
| Dried apple slices | 3 or 4 rings | chopped small so they rehydrate |
| Brown sugar | 1 tbsp | optional if your apples were sweet |
| Citric acid or powdered lemon | 1/8 tsp | stands in for the bottled lemon juice |
| Cinnamon | 1/4 tsp |
Method
- Boil 300 ml of water.
- Kill the heat and dump the whole bag in. Stir until the powder is gone.
- Let it sit three minutes so the apple pieces soften and the cinnamon stops floating.
- Drink it hot. Eat the apple pieces at the bottom.
The source recipe presses fresh apples and cans the juice in jars, which is a fine thing to have in a basement and a bad thing to carry uphill. The trail version keeps the same two ingredients — apples and an acid — and removes the water. Run pressed cider through a dehydrator on fruit-leather trays until it goes to a tacky sheet, then grind it. A pint jar of cider becomes about an ounce of powder.
The acid is not a flavoring afterthought. Apple sugars dried alone taste flat and vaguely caramel; the citric acid puts the sharp edge back and keeps the powder from clumping in the bag. If you are buying powder instead of making it, buy unsweetened and add your own sugar, since sweetened versions are mostly maltodextrin by weight.
Packing
One bag per mug. Weigh the powder at home; measuring by headlamp in cold wind is how you end up with syrup.
Variations
- A few whole cloves and a piece of star anise in the bag, fished out before drinking.
- Add a shot of whiskey off the stove if you are car camping.
- Cold soak it in a bottle for an hour on a hot day instead of boiling.
https://www.theseasonalhomestead.com/apple-cider-recipe-for-canning