Spiced Apple Cider
Apple cider warmed with cinnamon and cloves — the 1620s Massachusetts orchard tradition, hard cider the dominant American beverage before grain whiskey arrived.
- 4 cupsapple cider(fresh pressed preferred)
- 2cinnamon sticks
- 6whole cloves
- 3allspice berries
- 1orange(sliced)
- 1Combine all ingredients in a saucepan
- 2Heat over medium-low until steaming (do not boil)
- 3Reduce heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes
- 4Strain out whole spices
- 5Serve warm in mugs
- 6Garnish with cinnamon stick and fresh orange wheel
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Spiced Apple Cider is the quintessential American autumn beverage, rooted in cider-making traditions that date to the earliest European settlements in North America. Colonists in Massachusetts and Virginia planted apple orchards specifically for cider production from the 1620s onward, and hard cider was the most commonly consumed beverage in colonial America before grain whiskey became prevalent in the 19th century. The non-alcoholic spiced apple cider that defines modern American fall celebrations is a descendant of the mulled cider tradition, warming fresh-pressed apple cider with cinnamon sticks, cloves, nutmeg, and allspice. Apple cider mills throughout New England, the Pacific Northwest, and the Great Lakes region press fresh cider each fall, and the aroma of warming spiced cider became inseparable from American harvest festival culture, Halloween celebrations, and Thanksgiving preparation.
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