I’ve been meaning to make apple cider doughnuts, and I already added a box of apple juice in my Tesco cart the other day. Then after a few trips to the doctor’s by different members of the household, I realized I needed to take even more control over what ingredients I use, of what I serve to my loved ones.
We had a whole bunch of apples in the fridge, and I had some extra time on my hands, so I ended up making my own batch of apple cider. The straining process takes a bit of effort, but with my handy pressure cooker, I at least saved quite a bit of cooking time.
I took some time to figure out which apple varieties to use. I wanted a sweet cider but with a little bit of depth, so about 80% of the apples (by weight) are comprised of two to three types of sweet apples, and the remaining 20% some tart apple varieties. After some research for recommendations and narrowing the list down to varieties available in Malaysia, here were the possible options:
- Sweet: Royal Gala, Envy, Fuji, Golden Delicious
- Tart: Granny Smith, Pink Lady
The result was a flavorful cider infused with wonderful aromatic spices, which would have been perfect when served warm on a chilly Autumn day. It’s extra hot and humid right now here in KL though, so we’ll definitely be having this chilled. I also liked the fact that I could make the cider less sweet to start with, and everyone can add additional honey if they like. A portion of this apple cider went to making Apple Cider Doughnuts. So worth the trouble!
Original recipe by Gimme Some Oven, with my own adjustments and written for the Philips HD2139 pressure cooker.
Pressure Cooker Apple Cider
Ingredients
- 2 kg (about 10 to 12) medium apples, a mix of Granny Smith, Royal Gala and Fuji or any combination you prefer, quartered and cored
- 1 orange, quartered
- 4 sticks cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon cloves (cengkih)
- 1 teaspoon whole allspice (optional)
- 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
- 1 inch piece fresh ginger (optional)
- 1/2 cup brown sugar OR honey, plus more to taste (approx. 1/4 cup)
Directions
In your pressure cooker pot, add all the ingredients. Add enough water to reach the Max water level.
Wipe dry the bottom of the pot, and place in your pressure cooker.
Close and lock the lid and start the Soup program or equivalent, 30 minutes.
When the program has finished, release the pressure using the quick release valve.
Carefully remove the lid and, using a wooden spoon, mash the apples and oranges against the sides of the pot.
Cover and seal the lid again, and start the Steam/Stew program, 30 minutes.
Strain the liquid using a fine mesh sieve, pressing down on the pulp to drain out all the liquid.
You can also use a cheesecloth to strain out the liquid.
Sweeten further with the additional sugar or honey, to taste.
Serve warm or chilled. The cider will keep up to 5 days in the fridge, or up to 3 months in the freezer.
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