(Vitamin D drops not included. I've just been keeping the bottle where I can see it, so I can hopefully remember to take them.)
That nectarine apple looked promising, so. I thought I would try it out in an easy cider-adjacent drink like I've been doing with most of the fruity drinks like that. I thought at first that this might just be apple juice flavored with nectarine, but it's got lower juice content plus some apple extract too. Another one that's mostly water and sugar.
Only, this time the other fruity stuff is not a concentrate to add into a base of apple juice, so I am basically trying the reverse approach and using concentrated apple juice to bring up the sugar content and flavor in the nectarine base. Also planning to use a little honey for the extra yeast fuel and flavor. Only aiming for around 8% ABV, so it shouldn't take very much honey as these things go.
The bit of brewed tea should double for adding a little tannins as usual, but also as a handy place to dissolve the honey in the hot liquid.
Also halfway planning to bottle carbonate this one when it's done. It's hard to go too wrong with sparkling Frankencider.
And thus continues my yearly tradition of making jury-rigged ice cider (year 2). This time, I used Fuji apples (maybe a mistake, it smells less good now) but made sure to stop juicing before the ice crystals melted, so it has a much darker color.
This beautifully fragrant Savoury, Apple and Cider Roast Capon was la pièce de résistance of our Christmas Lunch yesterday, its skin gorgeously crisp, its flesh delectably juicy! And this big bird offers plenty of leftovers for today, whether you want to warm it again or make sandwiches to munch on whilst playing a board game! Happy Boxing Day!
In a large, deep nonstick skillet, cook bacon rashers over medium-high heat, a couple of minutes. Transfer bacon rashers to a plate; set aside.
Add olive oil to bacon fat. Peel and finely chop onion, and add to the skillet. Cook, 1 minute.
Halve, core and dice apples.
Stir in diced apples into the skillet. Cook, 3 minutes. Stir in minced garlic, and cook, 1 minute more, Pour in apple brandy, and reduce heat to medium.
Finely chop Summer savoury; stir about three-quarters into the skillet. Finally, cut stale bread into dices, and add to the skillet. Season with fleur de sel and black pepper.
Stir in Cider. Once almost all the Cider is soaked up, remove from the heat.
Preheat oven to 240°C/465°F.
Remove pockets of fat inside the capon. Season the inside and outside of the bird with salt and black pepper. Rub the seasoning and butter gently all over, and stuff with the apple and bacon stuffing. Tie the legs with twine, if necessary, so the stuffing doesn’t spill out.
Sit stuffed capon into a large roasting dish, and sprinkle with remaining chopped Summer savoury. Add Cider, and place in the middle of the oven. Cook, at 240°C/465°F, 10 minutes. Then, reduce oven temperature to 170°C/340°F, and cook, 2 hours and thirty-five minutes*. Regularly baste the capon with its fat .Collect some of the fat in a bowl each time you baste it, and use it to make Ruth’s Roasted Potatoes.
Once cooked, carefully remove from the oven, and cover with foil. Let sit, a quarter of an hour, before serving and carving.
Serve Savoury, Apple and Cider Roast Capon with Apple-Cranberry Sauce, Ruth’s Roasted Potatoes, Rosemary Baked Apples and Chestnuts, and feast merrily!
Capon Fat: Once the roasting juices and fat have cooled, place the roasting tin in the refrigerator, covered with cling film. The following day, remove from the refrigerator and, with a tablespoon, gently scoop out the cream-coloured capon fat and spoon it into a clean, sterelised jar, making sure not to scoop the congealed juices of the capon. Close tightly; it will keep for a few months (up to six) in the refrigerator, and will make delicious Roasted Potatoes, Confit Duck or make a tasty, hearty alternative to olive oil all Winter long!
The next little brewing project in line, which I'm planning to mix up in a little while: cider with some elderflower drink concentrate added in for flavor.
I've got a cup of tea cooling down now to mix in for the little bit of tannins. Aiming for 2L, and I'll probably boost it with a little sugar. That and some yeast nutrient should be plenty for this batch. Keeping it simple, to see how the elderflower comes through. If it needs a little more acidity, I can add some lemon juice or citric acid later.
Herbal Tea, Grape & Apple Cider
2024-02-24
9.2oz seedless grapes (blended & lightly boiled)
11.3oz red delicious apples (blended & lightly boiled)
lemongrass, red raspberry leaf, peppermint leaf, catnip leaf, hibiscus flowers (lightly boiled with grapes & apples)
Strained out big chunks of the above
3.85 quarts apple juice
2oz orange blossom honey
1 mandarin peel
1/2 packet k1v1116 yeast
I wasn't sure if it would do anything given...well all of that. BUT! She's bubbling right along now. Honestly, it's just fun to throw shit in there and see what happens.
The yeast is really starting to take off in that ginger-lemon cider (just apple and essentially golden syrup at this point).
And, very much unlike the raspberry dried fruit batch to its left? Thankfully, the lid on this smaller jar actually seems to have a decent seal. The airlock is really starting to bubble now.