Adding fresh apples to secondary?

[Brewski221]

Ok so about a month ago I started a batch of cider. I just bottled it yesterday and as it sits right now, it's just kind of tart ( not real flavorful and very light body). The run down : i used store bought unfiltered pasteurized cider, a can of frozen apple juice concentrate, 32 oz of corn syrup to bump up the abv ( my local brew shop closed or I would have used corn sugar). Anyway, the batch started out at 1.072 and after three weeks I racked to secondary and let sit for another two weeks. FG was 1.002. I'm not sure if the carbing will round the flavor off or if it's just gonna taste like a light version of cider. I would like to add some flavor and also some body. I was thinking about doing another batch with the same recipe but instead, racking into the secondary on top of let's say 5 lbs of Granny Smith apples. Not sure if this will do anything at all and if I should leave the skins on or not but it seemed like it was worth a try . Or maybe some other fruit that will add some complexity ?? Any ideas, thoughts, or opinions are welcome and much appreciated ! Thanks guysipe:

 

[MarkKF]

Shoulda skipped the corn syrup and let it age in a carboy 6-8 months.

It took me a few years to learn more patience and don't add more sugar.

 

[Brewski221]

Yea I know adding sugars tends to water stuff down but I have done this with a recipe that was 100 percent store bought juice, added corn syrup, and a packet of yeast and oddly it was VERY flavorful. Not sure why it would be different in this situation let alone worse since I used a " less processed" cider to start. I do however plan on setting a six pack or so aside to age for the recommended 6 months. The only reason I bottled so early is because I accidentally racked to my 6 gallon carboy instead of my five so I had a ton of head space with my 4 gallon batch. I just didn't feel like racking it again so I just let it be.

 

[MPKnWA]

It won't help the body but you could add some apple flavor concentrate. It's all natural stuff.

Amazon.com: Natural Apple Extract

I added this to my first batch of cider and it helped the flavor. I used 0.5-1 tsp per gallon. Go easy or it will taste like apple jolly rancher.

 

[MindenMan]

As time passes the apple flavor will return, it always does. The question is, what is your "taste threshold" for appley-ness? I agree with the above poster, too much apple extract can make your cider taste like a Jolly Rancher green apple candy. I found out by accident what a great compliment apricot and apple have with each other. In a glass I will add a drop or two of apricot extract, or until I just barely taste the flavor change. At that point it does not taste like apricots, and then add a couple of drops or so of apple extract. As soon as you detect a difference in flavor, stop. Calculate for volume of cider to be added to. 30 drops is 1 ounce, or 30 drops is 2 Tablespoon, in case you don't want to count drops.
Since the juice is a repeatable quantity, split your cider into gallons and flavor differently.

 

[Brewski221]

Perfect... Thanks guys I will try this. I really like the idea of splitting into gallons. Good way to experiment in small batches with one base batch.