Thanks for the information- I found the recipe online, but will dive into recipes here to see if I can find a proper recipe- any advice on counteracting the soapy taste ?
The basics of cider are apple juice and yeast. Those two things, and time, will make cider. Way before commercially produced yeast, cider was made by pressing apples and letting the juice sit in a closed vented container for a while. There's yeast on the outside apples that will ferment the juice naturally, the same way you can press grapes and make wine without adding anything.
Are you located somewhere you have easy access to brewing supplies? You can make hard cider on a dirt cheap budget by buying a 1 gallon jug or so of apple juice, pour out a cup, add some yeast and an airlock. It should start bubbling (fermenting) within a day or two. It'll need around a month to finish up and be drinkable, though most cider is best if it sits longer before drinking. Sanitizing the airlock would be ideal, but not strictly required. The airlock keeps oxygen out of the juice to prevent oxidation but allows CO2 produced during the fermentation to escape. There are makeshift airlocks I've seen that can be used if you don't have easy access to brewing supplies.
If you want to see cider production on a bit of a larger scale you can check out my first ever batch of cider that I
documented here. Yes that's on a pool forum I belong too, I figured everybody
here had seen cider or other fermentation a million times and wouldn't care to see pictures of it. I was making
EdWort's Afpelwein, which is a dry hard cider. The only difference between this and the dirt cheap cider I outlined above is I was making a 6 gallon batch, I added sugar for additional alcohol content, and I sanitized all equipment used. I've actually started a second batch now. Plan is to try the first batch after a month if fermentation has finished, and let the second batch age for several months before I touch it for improved flavor.
