Saturday 24 October 2009

American Style Hot Apple Cider in the UK

Pin It For any other Americans out there in the UK who are really missing their non-fizzy, non-alcoholic, hot and delicious mulled cider, I finally have a (reasonable) solution: Clive's Mulled Apple Juice, available at Waitrose.

It's basically cold apple cider, mulled with all the usual spices, meaning all you need to do is pour it into a mug and pop it into the microwave, then close your eyes and shut the double-glazed windows and set a small piece of wood on fire* and it's just like standing in the middle of a pumpkin patch on a brisk Fall day! Well, almost.

Anyway, I highly recommend Clive's. It made my Fall just that little bit more bearable over here. And if you're mad about cinnamon, like I am, you can always add a stick to pump up the spice factor.

*I am so not responsible for you setting your house on fire.

UPDATE!  I now have a recipe on the blog for making hot apple cider yourself!  It's better than Clive's, and super easy (and anyway I've had a hard time finding Clive's this year).  

4 comments:

  1. Wow, if only I had found this two years ago. I'm an ex-pat in London as well and was walking around trying to find something that hits the spot but was a bit hesitant about sticking apple juice in the microwave. Glad you tried experimenting with it first! This will be brilliant to come home to after those long autumn days...

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  2. Haha I wish you'd found it earlier too! For the record, while apple juice isn't the same as apple cider and won't have *exactly* the same effect, you can microwave it with a cinnamon stick and a few cloves for a pretty tasty almost-cider. Or you can mull it in a pot with all the usual spices and then just reheat as necessary. But Clive's is a pretty good substitute!

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  3. that's nice. but what if you just want what north americans call "apple cider". That is, pressed apple juice that is BROWN in colour, and cloudy. It is quite delicious.
    It is not clear yellow or cloudy yellow apple juice that you can get here. I am surprised that it seems not to exist in the UK.
    Monty Don made it himself last week on Gardeners' World. so at least some people are aware of it. But short of making it yourself, Where can it be bought, and what is it called in the UK?

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    1. I am sorry to say I have no idea, WHG! I no longer live in London but as of 2013, when I left, North American apple cider was still nowhere to be found – this post and the recipe I posted later were stand-ins for the real deal. Good luck, and if you do find it please come back and let us know!

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