Fruit Cider

I was given a demijohn of cider and its almost finished fermenting, i was wondering if i can add fruits of any kind when i rack it off into antoher demijohn and if so what fruits are good to use???

I did just that with Craisins. They added color flavor and tartness. I racked again to get rid of the fruit and let it clear.

There are lots of good choices, but your taste comes heavily into play here. What fruits would YOU like to combine it with? We can then give you some hints on how to proceed from there (ammounts, proceedures, etc.). Let us know!

HI yeah was thinking of using raisins or possibly raspberries and blackberries, any hints about amounts etc would be a great help

SamNorfolk1982 said:

HI yeah was thinking of using raisins or possibly raspberries and blackberries, any hints about amounts etc would be a great help

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All three of those will work. Raisins will add tannins and some 'wine' flavors. Raspberries and Blackberries will add tartness(acidity) and fruit flavors. All three will add a bit of alcohol.

How big is your demijohn?

Demijohn looks to be about 4.5 litres, would i be best to stick to either raisins OR raspberries/blackberries?? or could they all combine?

SamNorfolk1982 said:

Demijohn looks to be about 4.5 litres, would i be best to stick to either raisins OR raspberries/blackberries?? or could they all combine?

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Well, once again, personal taste comes into play. I would go with raspberries/blackberries, but not everyone else will agree.

I was thinking of adding a pound or two of some frozen blackberrys left over from this past summer. Should I toss them in my primary or secondary? Also should I boil them down a bit or just mash and toss?

bigego236 said:

I was thinking of adding a pound or two of some frozen blackberrys left over from this past summer. Should I toss them in my primary or secondary? Also should I boil them down a bit or just mash and toss?

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I would add them to a secondary, and mash/blend them rather than boil. I feel boiling even a bit lessens flavor, but that's just my opinion. Also, keep in mind how large your batch is. A few pounds of fruit could overwhelm a small batch.

Thanks! Not going to add more than a cup or two to a gallon batch, I just have a few pounds to play with

Anyone used dried prunes in their cider?

Nope, never tried that one.

SamNorfolk1982 said:

Anyone used dried prunes in their cider?

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I think I read somewhere in the forum about using dried prunes as a natural pectin enzyme but could be completely wrong about that.