The Pioneer Woman's Mulled Apple Cider Recipe (2024)

FAQs

What is the difference between cider and mulled cider? ›

Here's the difference between apple cider and apple juice: Apple cider is just unfiltered apple juice that can be served hot or cold. Mulled apple cider is unfiltered apple juice that's been heated and flavored with mulling spices such as cinnamon, cloves, and allspice; and fruits like oranges, lemons, and apples.

100-proof bourbons seem to be the way to go for cider because Nick Madden, the bar manager at Elixir in San Francisco, tells us his "top choice" for the pairing is Heaven Hill's Bottled-in-Bond 7 year. "This bourbon is one of my personal favorites. It meets all the criteria for pairing with apple cider," he explains.

Is mulled apple cider good for you? Mulled apple cider contains nutrients found in apples, including antioxidants like polyphenols. Antioxidants help protect against oxidative stress to keep cells healthy. Apples are also rich in quercetin, pectin, vitamin C, vitamin E and fiber.

The process for making apple cider and spiced apple cider is the same. The main difference is that spiced apple cider is, well, spiced! It typically has been infused with flavors of different warm spices (like cinnamon, clove, and nutmeg) versus regular apple cider which gets its flavor solely from the apples.

Spiking Mulled Cider

Add alcohol to a single mug or the batch of cider after cooking so the alcohol doesn't cook off.

Very little alcohol will cook off. The boiling point of ethanol is 79C - you should WARM mulled wine and certainly not bring it anywhere near close to 79C.

Many alcohols mix well with apple cider. Dark liquors like bourbon (my pick) or dark rum are traditional, but they are by no means the only option. Vodka pairs well with apple cider and is a good light option. You can even let guests each pick their own.

Vodka and ginger

Vodka can do the trick. Since it doesn't contribute much in the way of flavor, we add fresh ginger for its distinctive, peppery-sweet flavor. All of our cider variations smell fantastic on the stovetop, but this one might be the most aromatic of the bunch.

Whiskey: We used bourbon for this recipe but rye bourbon, Irish whiskey, or Canadian whiskey would all work just fine. Use a good drinkable bottle, but not too good. There are a lot of flavors going on in this co*cktail and a really nice whiskey will get lost in the sweetness and spices.

Leftover mulled cider can be stored in a closed container in the fridge for 2-3 days. Before storing, make sure to strain out all the mulling spices and fruit slices. Leftovers can be enjoyed cold or reheated on the stove to enjoy warm.

Why is my mulled cider bitter? ›

Between day 9 and 12 of active fermentation the cider loses all apple flavor and becomes bitter.

This was tested with Angry Orchard hard apple cider and Captain Morgan spiced rum. I absolutely love how cozy and refreshing this spiced co*cktail is and I know you'll love it too!

Cider contains more of apples' polyphenol compounds than clear commercial apple juice. Fresh cider from cider apples may contain from two to four times the amount of these healthful compounds compared to clear commercial apple juice because of the apple varieties used and the extra processing to make clear juice.

Apple cider is apple juice that has not been filtered and still contains all the apple pieces, pulp, and sediment. It is the raw, purer version of apple juice. To make an alcoholic cider, yeast is added which converts the sugar into alcohol. Simple right? Hard cider is the adult version of apple cider.

What Does Mulled Cider Mean? Mulled Cider is typically a sweet cider heated with spices and citrus fruits. Mulled means to heat, sweeten, and flavor (a beverage like cider or wine) with spices.

Preferably, it is made with cloudy, unfiltered sweet cider, the fresh juice of pressed apples, which I combine with cloves, allspice berries and cinnamon sticks.