First cider, did i screw up?

[Mousetoast]

I am currently waiting on an apple cider, I made it before doing very much research, I keep seeing people instructing you to add the sugar straight to the juice, no one ever says anything about boiling the juice and the sugar together. did i screw up my apple cider by boiling my apple juice?


also I'm not quit sure what people mean by force carbonating, or carbonating the cider at all. can someone explain this (in detail) i feel a little lost. I've googled and done everything short of buying "Cider for dummys" but everything i read conflicts with other things I've read. help, please?


I believe I've just jumped into the deep end with only one floaty.

 

[jpseaton]

Don't boil the juice. if you boil the juice it will set the pectins and leave you with a hazy cider.
I might boil the sugar in as little water as possible and add that to the juice.
you can dissolve at least 2 cups of sugar in 1 cup of water.
That being said, as long as your fermentation container is clean and sanitized, the haze will not change the taste of the cider.

 

[Jacob_Marley]

You did not screw up.

You did not say what apple product you used. If you used apple cider, then you *might* end up with a semi-clear, just slightly hazy hard cider. If you used store-bought apple juice, then there is much less chance of it going hazy because apple juice producers generally remove a substantial amount of the pectin from apple juice prior to bottling so as not to have issues in their product on the store shelf.

We also don't boil the raw cider because it could slightly change the taste of the finished product ... but just slightly. It would still be very drinkable and tasty.

"Force carbonating" is done with a tank of Carbon Dioxide (and other equipment). It is pushing or forcing the fizz into the cider.

The alternate and traditional way to get carbonation in your cider is to partially ferment it while it is in the sealed, capped/corked bottle.
Not a simple matter though.