Apple Wine

We still have a couple of buckets of apples in the shed. They were not particularly tasty apples, a bit tart, which is disappointing considering that we had to wait a couple of years to get more than two on the tree. The three fruit trees that are outside our back door were planted before we bought the house so I don't know all the varieties, the one on the right is the apple, the middle tree is a Victoria plum and the left hand tree I think is a pear tree but it has never produced any fruit.

Today's recipe is APPLE WINE.

Take 6 lb. of good apples, remove any bruised areas.
Clean them, grate them, (compost) bin the cores.
Soak the grated apples in 1 gallon of water for 24 hours, stirring occasionally, then crush the pulp with your hands and strain, muslin is best. An old, clean pair of tights would do the job. The juice really needs strained again to get the juice nice and clear, use a jelly bag or use your imagination!
The juice now needs heating, bring it to the boiling point then let it simmer for 5 minutes. Measure out 4 lb. of sugar into a brewing barrel and add the hot apple juice, stir well to dissolve the sugar. Then add 1 lb. of raisins, cut up into pieces. Once the mix is cool enough (blood temperature) you can add the yeast. Cover and ferment for 14 days, after which strain and bottle.

A proper wine yeast is the best if you have a home brew shop handy, or you can get it online. I haven't used "The Home Brew Shop" but they stock loads of equipment and the prices look reasonable. They also have recipes and information on the site.

Get brewing, you'll never look back! Healthy, cheap drinks that can serve with pride!!