I was looking at some apple recipes this past weekend and a few of them mentioned “boiled cider.” I’ve never heard of that term before and I thought it was just heated up apple cider. I turned to my BFF, Google, and found out that boiled cider is actually boiled down apple cider and the result is a thick, syrupy consistency that brings out the apple flavor and it’s the quintessential kick off into Fall!
There actually isn’t a whole lot of work involved with making boiled cider. You just set it on the stove and let it reduce down for 4-5 hours. You just have to stir it every now and then but that’s it! You can literally walk away from it and watch a movie and a half – not to mention your entire house will smell like apple goodness. It sure beats buying a bottle of it for $11!
You can put boiled cider on pancakes, crisps, tarts, apple slices…the possibilities are endless! The recipe I’m sharing with you tomorrow requires boiled cider and it’s a yummy one!
Boiled Cider
Ingredients
- 1/2 gallon of fresh apple cider
Instructions
- In a large, heavy stockpot (such as a Le Creuset dutch oven), bring cider to a boil over high heat. Reduce to medium-low heat and cook uncovered for 4-5 hours, stirring occasionally.
- The boiled cider is done when it can coat the back of a spoon and the consistency is like maple syrup.
- Transfer to a clean jar, cool, then use immediately or seal it tightly and store in the fridge indefinitely.
Notes
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You had me at “basically fall’s liquid gold!” Oh my gosh, my husband would DIE for this and I’m working to clean up the drool on my desk right now! Wow… what a great idea and so many uses. I will definitely be adding this to may fall line up of recipes! Thank you for sharing! Do you come up with all your recipes on your own, or grab inspiration from other places? Thanks again for the delishhh post!
Hi Abbe! Haha you made me laugh with that drool comment! Half the recipes on my blog I come up with on my own, the other half I grab inspiration from restaurants, my travels, and then some recipes are adapted from magazines & other food bloggers’ blogs.
Can’t wait to grab a bottle of apple cider from the farmers market, thanks!
Oh Julie, this looks gorgeous. I love boiled cider on my apple crumble, you made yours perfectly brown and thick!!!
Um, this looks like the BEST thang evvvvvvver! NEED.
I have been looking for a new way to get more fruity flavors into my pulled pork. I currently use granny and golden apples and marinade the pork shoulder in a honey/apple solution and then I inject it with apple juice while cooking. This would be PERFECT though as an injection into the meat, or score the top before it goes on the smoker for 10hrs and let it just seep in, and caramelize on the outside. Gonna give it a try this weekend.
Love love love this! Can’t wait to try it. Who needs a fall candle?! This will make the whole house smell yummy AND you get to eat it afterwards :)
umm how have I never heard of this before either! I must try it..I can ONLY imagine how amazing this will be..
Would you believe I bought apples today to make apple cider? Now I really can’t wait!
What a great and easy sauce! I imagine it would be fantastic over ice cream or pie too!
I’ve never heard of boiled cider either! I’d love to spread this on pecan pancakes!
I made this last fall, and seriously wanted to drink it – it’s so good! Looking forward to seeing what you do with it!
This must of made the house smell INCREDIBLE! I will be making this just to have the house smell like fall all day long! yay!
I bet this is so good and I am so excited for tomorrow! I know whatever you are sharing it is going to be killer!
Fall’s liquid gold: best description ever! I want to pour this on just about everything in my life right now.
Excellent how-to, Julie! Just beautiful. I enjoy cooking and baking with cider reductions and I LOVE this recipe because it is boiled down to a syrup. So many applications! Thanks for sharing. Pinning!
These look completely out-of-this-world-good! I especially wanted to compliment your pictures… They are AMAZING. Guess that has something to do with your love of photography :) Many hugs and sprinkles, Amy @ Design Sprinkle
Aw thank you so much!!
Yummm- I had never heard of boiled cider either, but it sounds genius. Over top vanilla ice cream? Swoon.
I’ve never heard of this but this sounds delicious! I wonder how this would work with hard cider – like pumpkin cider for caramels. Hmmm..
Never heard of boiled cider, but I must make it and those caramels! Do you think I could make this in a slow cooker? Maybe boil it on the stovetop and then put it in the slow cooker for the rest of the time?
Hi Allison..I honestly don’t know if this could be done in the slow cooker. I’ve never done it that way and have never heard of it being done that way. The best advice I can give is for you to give a try and see if it yields the same results! Good luck!
Thanks so much for sharing this recipe! Boiled cider = amazing! We’ve eaten entirely too much of it this week. Each day we’re thinking, “What else can we put this on?: :)
This sounds great. I’d love to make it but just want to check what you mean by “fresh apple cider”. I’m in Australia and sometimes recipe ingredients get lost in translation. If you could describe the product a little it might help me find the equivalent here as often we just call the same thing by a different name.
Hi Anna! Apple cider in the US and Canada is an unsweetened and unfiltered, non-alcoholic beverage made from apples. It’s also called sweet cider or soft cider. I hope that helps a bit!
I’ve got a question , Could you make this with alcohol based apple cider ? My husband has made his own batch of apple cider we have bottles of it everywhere
That would be so delicious! Yes, you definitely could but I have a feeling since it cooks down and cooks for so long, you might lose some of the alcohol as it might cook it off.
Hi Julie:
This sounds absolutely amazing. I bought the cider last September when I first saw this recipe and I’m actually found the time today to start it. I do have one question. Does the 1/2 gallon of cider boiled and reduce down to just 1/2 cup?
Thanks so much for all the wonderful recipes you post! You’re very talented
Hi Cynthia! Yup, 1/2 gallon of apple cider reduces down to just 1/2 cup!
I think I over did it. Smelled awesome and wonderful, but now that it’s cooled, its a solid gel. All that pectin. Must have over cooked it way too long. I wonder if I added some butter at the last minute and stirred that in, get kinda apple carmel?
Hmm I’m not sure if it’ll be apple-caramel but it’d be a yummy sauce on apples either way :)
Made this today, however, I did just what you said and mine seems to be hardening. Did I overcook? When I took it off the stove it looked just like your photos. It tastes good! I just might have to put it in the micro for a few seconds.
I don’t think you overcooked it – you can just hit it for a bit in the microwave and then you’ll be fine!
I used a Le Creuset dutch oven, brought it to a boil on high, lowered it to halfway between low and medium, and while it reduced steadily, at six hours it still wasn’t syrupy, so I took the heat up to medium, and within 30 minutes it was noticeably thicker, and syrupy when cooled. I wonder if it can be cooked at just shy of medium and take less time?
Yes, you probably can.
Does boiling apple cider vinegar affect the health benefits it has when you drink it un boiled with water and honey or what have you? I make a banana tea at night for helping with my sleep and I add ACV to the tea for taste and in hope that it’s still delivering the same health benifits.
Well, I’m not boiling apple cider vinegar. This is just apple cider.
I’m not sure if I did this correctly. I used Trader Joe’s apple cider, and I reduced 2 cups down to just under 1/2 c. (needed 1/4 c. for recipe), but it still doesn’t seem syrup consistency to me. Perhaps it will thicken as it cools?
Yes, it should thicken as it cools! Did it do that for you?
How much does this come out to once it’s cooked down? I want to make your apple cider caramels!
It’s about 1/2 cup I believe!
I just made this, but once it cooled it hardened kind of like taffy. Is this supposed to happen? Should I just warm it up when I want to use it? It tastes wonderful!
It shouldn’t be like taffy but more like a thick caramel sauce, however, yes, heat it up if you want to use it and have it be more liquidy! :)
What kind of cider is best the clear juice .. Or more home made cider with thick apple in it ?
I buy the apple cider at my local grocery store. It’s usually a dark color.
I must have over cooked mine, it is waaaay too stiff, is there a fix?
Unfortunately, no :( it’s basically candy consistency now and you can’t reverse that.
How much does a half gallon of apple cider boil down to?
about 1 1/4 cups
I’m confused! Myself and another woman asked how much this 1/2gallon) boils down to and you responded with two different answers. You said 1/2 cup to her and 1 1/4 cup to me! I just noticed recipe says yields 1 1/4 cup. So which is it, 1/2 or 1 1/4? ?
Sorry! It’s 1/2 cups. I got myself confused because I’m in the middle of converting different recipe plugins and in the middle of conversions, it took away the yield so I was honestly just guessing from memory. It’s 1/2 cups when I did it but when I looked at Washington Post, it said 1 gallon made 2.5 cups so that’s why I replied to the lady above with 1 1/4 cups without realizing. I’m sorry!
No worries, I just want to clarify for myself and others! It looks delicious! I’m going to start it now and make your Apple cider caramels with it!! Yum!!
Move over Pumpkin ..Hello to my new fav..Fall liquid gold..you …will change my dishes and my fall seasons forever!..But first up out of the gate I will pour you over Pumpkin French toast!!!! on a side note I had taken a honey crisp apple after eating it and putting it on my parched skin it felt hydrated and smelled divine…got to make a perfume out of this..
Thanks I will make for my Apple pies. Will no order from KA too pricey
Do you know if you can you freeze the boiled cider? I’m planning on making apple cider caramels for favors at my daughter’s wedding in August 2018…it’s November 2017 now. Or would it be better if I freeze the cider and boil it down in August next year?
I’m hesitant about giving freezing instructions especially since this is for favors for a wedding. I would hate to be the one to screw that up for your daughter! Sorry I am not of more help.
How do I know if zi burned the boiled cider? It’s the color of melted chocolate.
Does it smell or taste burned?
I did this yesterday with grocery store cider. It got really foamy, and while I kept skimming, my finished product was still foamy. What causes this? What can I do differently?
I looked it up and apparently it’s based on unpasteurized or pasteurized apple cider. In unpasteurized apple cider, naturally occurring yeasts can cause fermentation which I guess is what the foam is coming from. I don’t remember if mine was unpasteurized or pasteurized though. I’m sorry I don’t have much more info than this.
I used a 1/2 gallon of cider , brought it to a boil and simmered it. After 3 hours, it was almost gone and NEVER got thick!
That’s strange and sorry to hear that. What kind of apple cider did you buy?
Anytime I’ve made boiled cider, you reduce it 3 to 1. So 1 gallon should yield just slightly more than a quart. Unless your cider guy is cutting his product with water, which some do to get more money with less product.
We tap trees for maple syrup and I know that some of our neighbors across the border cut their maple syrup with corn syrup, I guess it’s legal for them if it doesn’t exceed x number of ounces per pint.
Buyer beware
My boiled cider was perfect after 4 hours but once transferred to a container it solidified to jelly! What happened?! It tastes good but obviously I can’t use it as planned for fall whiskey drinks. Is there any way to salvage it?
I would try reheating it on a stove or microwave to unsolidify it.
Hello! I tried to make this, but after 6 hours, it reduced, but never thickened up. Any idea as to why that might be?
thanks!
i am not 100% certain but it may be the difference in apple cider and the quality of it. like some might have more or less sugars than others and more or less concentrated
Great recipe. Very impressive Julie Very versatile sweet as well as savory.