A tart, sweet, intense make-you-shiver syrup made from all-natural apple cider. Wood’s Cider Mill makes it. King Arthur Flour blogs about it. And a friend adds it to her birthday wish list. All good reasons to purchase make my own! The ultimate goal is to get “boiled cider syrup” checked off the birthday list and provide a little homemade fun to gift giving, following the steps of my earlier homemade bacon gift. Although the smell of warm caramel apples wafting through the apartment was a nice bonus.

So what is boiled cider syrup? It is just evaporated apple cider with nothing added to give a nice concentrated apple flavor. How is this achieved? I’m sure Wood’s Cider Mill has a nice robust process, but I like to keep things simple. I pulled out my large stainless steel pot and poured in 2 gallons of Beardsley’s Cider Mill’s fresh, unpasturized apple cider. Under a medium-high heat, I got the cider to a nice boil then reduced the heat to medium-low and let it simmer for several hours, stirring occasionally. According to Wood’s Cider Mill, the optimal concentration is about 7 to 1, so with 2 gallons I was shooting for around 4 cups of cider syrup. This did take a while, and required more stirring towards the final stages so the bottom didn’t scorch. The final syrup was not as thick as maple syrup, but coated the back of a spoon. It poured nicely into my chosen gift bottle, with a bit left over for my fridge.

And oh my, the apple flavor was spine-shiveringly intense to the point where I couldn’t think about another taste, but also couldn’t stop the syrupy spoon going to my lips. I hope my friend has the same reaction to her birthday surprise and finds it ultimately delicious in boiled cider pie, apple skillet cake, and all other sorts of goodies. Happy Birthday Jennie!