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I have a beverage conundrum that I'm hoping you fine folks can help me with... I want some proper Apple Cider From the Days of My Youth, which is apparently illegal south of the Mason-Dixon line.
Where I grew up in Michigan, Apple Cider was a wondrous elixir served, IIRC, served cold in the summer and hot in the winter at nearly every country corner orchard, but down here in TX, nobody's even heard of the stuff and we're stuck with:
Apple Juice — good, but not what I want
Unfiltered Apple Juice, often improperly labeled as Apple Cider — also good, but also not what I want
Hard Apple Juice/Hard Apple Cider — still good, but still not what I want. The "Fall" variety of Woodchuck Hard Cider tastes like it might've been made from what I'm looking for (and is by far my favorite hard cider at the moment), but I'm really not looking for an alcoholic drink.

I did find "Grandma's Spiced Cider Mix" or somesuch thing that you could mix in with hot water, but it was awful.

Any ideas? I'm not rich enough to fly up to MI every time I get thirsty.

Dave2 wrote:I have a beverage conundrum that I'm hoping you fine folks can help me with... I want some proper Apple Cider From the Days of My Youth, which is apparently illegal south of the Mason-Dixon line.
Where I grew up in Michigan, Apple Cider was a wondrous elixir served, IIRC, served cold in the summer and hot in the winter at nearly every country corner orchard, but down here in TX, nobody's even heard of the stuff and we're stuck with:
Apple Juice — good, but not what I want
Unfiltered Apple Juice, often improperly labeled as Apple Cider — also good, but also not what I want
Hard Apple Juice/Hard Apple Cider — still good, but still not what I want. The "Fall" variety of Woodchuck Hard Cider tastes like it might've been made from what I'm looking for (and is by far my favorite hard cider at the moment), but I'm really not looking for an alcoholic drink.

I did find "Grandma's Spiced Cider Mix" or somesuch thing that you could mix in with hot water, but it was awful.

Any ideas? I'm not rich enough to fly up to MI every time I get thirsty.

Funny, but last week I was talking to a friend at work who just got back from a vacation in Michigan and we were talking about cider. Drinking it with donuts!

Try some Martinelli's apple juice or cider. It made by a California company, but it's the best I've had since I moved from Michigan. IMO, one of the reasons that most of the commercial apple juices are so bad is that they are made from concentrate rather than fresh apples. Martinelli's tastes like you are biting into a fresh apple.

If you go to their website, they state that they juice and cider are the same product, except for the label on the bottle. I buy mine at Randall's. Their sparkling apple juice is also excellent. It is great for festive occasions when you want a non-alcoholic "champagne". Try it and let me know what you think. If you don't like it I'll give you your money back!

in the last few months they have come out with some new drinks that have seen at Kroegers and other grocery stores - lemonades, etc. I bought a few bottles to give them a try and was very disappointed. There were suprisingly bad.
http://www.martinellis.com/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Moved from Michigan in 1994, also miss the cider mills and orchards every fall. If you find anything please don't hoard it

I can almost smell the fresh donuts - mmmmmm

This has been a tough year for Cider. They had a freak warm snap in March that sent the temps into the 80's and they stayed warm for two weeks, long enough to force the buds on the fruit trees. Then late winter temps returned and most of the buds were frozen resulting in a losses estimated to be close to 90% of this years crop. The result is, cider if you can find it is running around $10/gal. Most of the stores have stocked only half gallon bottles in an effort to keep the price near the $5 mark. Just had applefest up north last week and the supplies were scarce. I only got one bottle and am saving that for a party this weekend. Now to find the fresh donuts!
Also hit the cherry crop badly. Traverse City Had to import cheeries from all over to hold their annual cherry festival.

I'm sorry, but I don't have any ideas. I know what you mean. I miss me some good cider too. I grew up barely a quarter mile from an apple orchard in upstate NY that made their own cider. It was gooood stuff. I checked their website and they do not ship any cider.

This place is in Michigan and will ship cider year round. http://www.countrymill.com/giftship.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I grew up in Mass. and miss apple picking, hot cider and yummy little handmade donuts this time of year also. But def. not enough to live back in that socialist hole. lol

Try the southern version of apple cider. It comes in a mason jar...

Have you thought about trying to make your own?

You may be surprised at how delicious the end result can be. I was, when I started full grain beer brewing.

With the "innernets", all the information you need is at your fingertips.

I am trying to understand apple cider being “illegal”. Many years ago, there was a road side stand in South Texas that sold quart bottles of cider. It was great. They also had a few bottles that had “gone bad”. I would buy a couple bottles of that too. Had to promise not to tell anyone where I bought it.

The “bad” cider was pretty good cold. Never tried it hot. A couple of glasses and you felt pretty good no matter what the weather.

I also managed to pick up a bottle of Apple Jack every now and then. But that is another story.

having grown up N of the mason dixon

I also remember Cider mills and fried cakes

The sad thing is the nanny state is insisting that the cider mills pasteurize the juice now ...
Takes some of the "goodness" out of it

I still get apples via mail every november since the apples here are almost all cold storage apples with no flavor ....

link http://www.schuttsapplemill.com/giftboxes.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
the gift boxes arent cheap but the apples are GOOD

VoiceofReason wrote:I am trying to understand apple cider being “illegal”. Many years ago, there was a road side stand in South Texas that sold quart bottles of cider. It was great. They also had a few bottles that had “gone bad”. I would buy a couple bottles of that too. Had to promise not to tell anyone where I bought it.

The “bad” cider was pretty good cold. Never tried it hot. A couple of glasses and you felt pretty good no matter what the weather.

I also managed to pick up a bottle of Apple Jack every now and then. But that is another story.

"Illegal" was hyperbole on my part. Most of the grocery store people look at me like I'm from another planet when I tell them that unfiltered apple juice isn't the same thing as apple cider. "Of course it's the same... It says so right on the label..." and whatnot.

My wife is from New England and was complaining about this very issue one time. So I took some oranges, lemons, allspice (whole), cloves (whole), and apple juice (all ingredients are organic and/or locally grown) and made my own apple cider. It takes some time to do but is very, very worth it.

that sounds wonderful!!! got a more specific recipe? sounds like it would be good for the holidays

SewTexas wrote:that sounds wonderful!!! got a more specific recipe? sounds like it would be good for the holidays

Sure. Get all the ingredients. Personally I prefer going organic and we are members of several local co-ops. Slice up 2-3 oranges (can also add 2-3 sliced lemons) per gallon of apple juice. Place juice, orange/lemon slices, 24-32 whole cloves & whole allspice berries, and 2-4 cinnamon sticks (roughly broken up) into a large pot (or appropriate sized pot/pan for the amount you are making). Slowly bring the cider up to a rolling boil. As soon as it starts to boil, reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently. Filter out the cloves, allspice, orange/lemon, and cinnamon and serve directly or allow to cool and refrigerate for later.

You can sweeten it by the cup (our preferred method) or all at once. It is better to sweeten it while hot, so if you are going to refrigerate,sweeten first. As for what to sweeten it with, that's up to you. My family likes honey, stevia (raw and granulated), maple syrup (it's my ex-Yankee wife who really loves this one), and other natural sweeteners.

yum thanks I know my husband is going to love this