Why it works: Cider and apple are a kitchen classic. They rank in the top 2% of all ingredient pairs, and cooks put them together in 1,238 recipes. Both carry 1-octen-3-one, which smells mushroom, metallic. The science ↓
Cider Wine
Ingredients
Directions
Let the new cider ferment for 1 to 3 weeks, depending on the weather.
When it has a lively fermentation, add ½ to 2 lbs of sugar per gallon based on acidity.
Allow the mixture to ferment until it reaches the desired taste.
Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.
Explore the science
The flavor team
The pairs that carry this dish. Each one is judged two ways: how much their aromas overlap, and how often cooks already put them together.
-
Cider + appletop 2% of all pairsSmell alikemoderateCooked together1,238 recipes
Shared aroma: 1-octen-3-one (mushroom, metallic).
-
Apple + sugartop 18% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together16,478 recipes
Shared aroma: beta-damascenone (apple, rose).
-
Cider + sugartop 27% of all pairsSmell alikelowCooked together3,308 recipes
Shared aroma: ethanol (alcoholic, ethereal).
Apple and sugar barely smell alike, yet cooks put them together in 16,478 recipes: they work on texture and structure more than aroma.
Ranks compare each pair with 20,000 random ingredient pairs on CompKitchen. How we score pairs
What each ingredient does
- New cider from sour apples
- Provides the fermentable sugars and juice that become the wine, with sourness that the added sugar balances.
- White crushed sugar
- Feeds the yeast to drive further fermentation and raises the alcohol content, while adding sweetness.
The step that matters
Adding the sugar. Sugar should be added only once fermentation is lively and be scaled to the cider's acidity. Adding it too early or in too large an amount can overload the yeast or leave the wine overly sweet, while too little leaves it sharp.
“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.
More cider wine recipes
You might also like
Apple Water81 recipes
Apple Cider11 recipes
Vegetable Soup350 recipes
Raspberry Vinegar214 recipesThe free Flavor Lab newsletter: one surprising pairing a week and the molecular reason it works, in 60 seconds. No spam, unsubscribe anytime.
Prefer an account? Create a free account to save pairings and unlock the full chemistry.