Canning Apple Cider
Canning apple cider is the best way to preserve fresh-pressed cider for the pantry shelf. Heated gently and water bath canned, it keeps its fresh cider flavor for a cup of cold or mulled cider all winter long.
Servings: 1 quart, scale up as needed, see notes
Equipment
- Mason Jars (half pint, pint, quart, or half gallon)
- Cider Press or strainer and jelly bag
Ingredients
- 1 quart fresh-pressed apple cider from about 4 to 5 lbs apples; scale up as needed
- 1 Tbsp bottled lemon juice per quart jar; use 1/2 Tbsp per pint or 2 Tbsp per half gallon
Instructions
- Wash the apples well and press them to extract the juice. Peeling is not necessary, since the skins add flavor and color.
- If you want a clearer cider, refrigerate the fresh juice for 24 to 48 hours so the sediment settles. Ladle the clear juice off the top into a large stainless steel pot and leave the sediment behind.
- Prepare your water bath canner, jars, and lids. Preheat the canner for hot pack, keeping the water at a gentle simmer around 180 to 190 degrees F.
- Heat the cider to 190 degrees F over medium-high heat, stirring gently. Do not let it boil. Hold it at 190 degrees F for 5 minutes to sterilize, then turn off the heat.
- Measure bottled lemon juice into the bottom of each hot jar: 1/2 Tbsp per pint, 1 Tbsp per quart, or 2 Tbsp per half gallon.
- Ladle the hot cider into the hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Wipe the rims, center the lids, and screw the bands down to fingertip tight.
- Process in a boiling water bath canner for 10 minutes for all jar sizes below 1,000 feet in elevation (adjust for altitude, see notes). Make sure jars are covered by at least 1 inch of water.
- Turn off the heat and let the jars rest in the water for 5 minutes before removing them. This helps prevent siphoning and thermal shock.
- Cool the jars completely on a towel, then check the seals. Refrigerate any unsealed jars and use within about a week. Store sealed jars in a cool, dark pantry.
Notes
Yield ~ This recipe scales to however much cider you press. Figure on roughly 15 to 18 pounds of apples per gallon of finished cider. This recipe is for 1 quart of cider, which requires around 4 to 4 1/2 pounds of apples.
Altitude Adjustment ~ 0 to 1,000 ft: process 10 minutes for all jar sizes. 1,001 to 6,000 ft: 10 minutes for quarts and smaller, 15 minutes for half gallons. Above 6,000 ft: 15 minutes for quarts and smaller, 20 minutes for half gallons.
Don't boil the cider ~ Heating only to 190 degrees F, rather than a hard boil, preserves the fresh-pressed cider flavor. Overheating is the most common cause of canned cider tasting flat.
A note on lemon juice ~ Bottled lemon juice is included as the most conservative option, following Ball's 2024 recommendation to acidify all home-canned apple products. The National Center for Home Food Preservation has not yet added this step. Cider made with a good share of tart apples is naturally high in acid.
Half-gallon jars ~ Apple cider and grape juice are among the only foods with tested half-gallon canning methods, so half gallons are safe to use here.
Nutrition
Serving: 1quart | Calories: 439kcal | Carbohydrates: 108g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 0.2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Sodium: 38mg | Potassium: 971mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 91g | Vitamin A: 10IU | Vitamin C: 14mg | Calcium: 77mg | Iron: 1mg
