7cups (1.7 litres) fresh apple cider (not alcoholic)/sweet cider or fresh-pressed apple juice
2cinnamon sticks (each 3 inches/7.5 cm long), optional
Instructions
Put the apple cider and cinnamon sticks into a large saucepan (no more than half full). Bring to a boil, then lower the heat so that the cider bubbles along at a medium boil (uncovered) - you don't want it to boil over, but you want it to boil enough to evaporate the water off. Skim off any foam that comes to the top.
Let the cider boil gently for 30 minutes, then strain it through a clean tea towel, several layers of cheesecloth, or a piece of muslin cloth set into a strainer to remove any accumulated sediment. Return the strained cider to the pot.
Continue boiling the syrup until it is reduced to 1 cup. This can take another 30 minutes or even longer. It all depends on how wide your pot is and how hot your stove is. The wider the pot, the faster the liquid will evaporate. Make sure you don't leave the boiling syrup unattended. You can come and go in the kitchen, but check it often. You shouldn't have to stir it.
Have a measuring cup handy and when you think the syrup is close to 1 cup in volume, pour it into the cup to check. If it's more, pour it back into the saucepan to boil longer. If it's less than one cup, just top it up to the 1-cup mark with some boiling water.The syrup will look thin, but it will thicken up somewhat as it cools.
*If you're making large batches of apple cider syrup, at this point you can fill sterilized canning jars with the hot syrup and process them in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.Otherwise, let the syrup cool at room temperature, then stir it well (whisk it if there are uneven spots of gelling in it) and store in a covered jar in the fridge for up to a month.
If the syrup thickens too much after it cools, thin it down with a bit of boiled water.If your apples contain so much pectin that the syrup gels after several days in the fridge, reheat the syrup to use it, and thin it with a splash of water.
Makes 1 scant cup of apple cider syrup. (Its volume decreases as it cools, and you will have slightly less than one cup of finished syrup.)
Notes
VARIATION: To make Apple Cider Maple Syrup, combine the finished apple cider syrup with an equal volume of pure maple syrup. This adds a lovely mellow flavour (and also makes a greater volume of syrup - lovely for gifting!)