Heavenly Harvest! 17 Mouthwatering Ways To Use Cider – From Chorizo Stew To Sparkling Sorbet

Months of basking upwind person produced a record-breaking twelvemonth for apples successful nan UK, pinch nan harvest coming successful bigger and earlier than ever. That intends it’s besides going to beryllium a record-breaking twelvemonth for cider.

According to nan National Association of Cider Makers, nan lukewarm summertime has besides delivered apples “full of rich | flavours and earthy sweetness, cleanable for cider making”. In orchards crossed nan UK, boughs are breaking nether nan weight of nan ripening fruit. Thatchers Cider has begun its earliest pome harvest successful nan company’s 121-year history. At Sandford Orchards adjacent Exeter, they’re installing other tanks to support up pinch production.

How will we header pinch each nan other cider coming our way? The bully news is we person clip – nan main cider pome harvest isn’t harvested until October aliases moreover November. But if you want to make a caput start, present are 17 prime recipes to thief you usage up your individual cider quota for nan year.

The agelong navigator … Thomasina Miers’s braised pork enarthrosis pinch cider and fennel seeds. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian

As a culinary ingredient, cider is peculiarly known for its affinity pinch pork, arsenic demonstrated successful Thomasina Miers’s braised pork enarthrosis pinch cider and fennel seeds, successful which nan pork is near to braise successful cider for 3 and a half to 5 hours; aliases successful Nigel Slater’s pork chops, cider and parsnips, which only takes astir 40 minutes connected nan hob.

Speedy feast … Nigel Slater’s pork, cider and parsnips. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin/The Observer

You tin also, of course, simmer a full gammon associated successful cider on pinch a fewer spices. Expect to usage astatine slightest a litre of cider to screen nan ham. In leaner times that mightiness look wasteful, but remember: we’re trying to get connected apical of a glut.

Delia Smith’s bangers braised successful cider adds a complimentary garnish of sliced and fried apples to nan mix, while Yotam Ottolenghi’s chorizo, cider and chickpea stew is simply a Spanish return connected nan aforesaid thought – Spain has its ain contented of utilizing cider, aliases sidra, successful cooking.

In nan Spanish contented … Yotam Ottolenghi’s chorizo, cider and chickpea stew pinch ajillo. Photograph: Louise Hagger/The Guardian

But cider is besides versatile capable to do its activity connected different meats. As Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall puts it, “using cider successful cooking is simply a spot for illustration utilizing consequence and vino and possibly a small vinegar and a pinch of sugar, each astatine nan aforesaid time”. His lamb stew pinch cider deploys it wherever different look mightiness telephone for stock. It serves a akin intent successful chicken Normandy, and successful Slater’s chickenhearted thighs pinch mushrooms and cider.

Stock replacement … Nigel Slater’s chickenhearted thighs pinch mushrooms and cider. Photograph: Jonathan Lovekin/The Observer

Cider has a spot successful cooking seafood, too, astir famously pinch mussels, wherever it’s utilized arsenic a steaming liquid; a serviceable – and maybe, astatine this clip of year, preferable – substitute for achromatic wine. Angela Hartnett’s mussels pinch cider and pancetta is an entity instruction successful keeping things simple. Cider and salt-grilled salmon, a winning Guardian reader’s look from 2015, uses cider arsenic a marinade for nan fish.

Keeping it elemental … Angela Hartnett’s mussels pinch cider and pancetta. Photograph: Sarah Lee/The Guardian

An bulb crockery made pinch cider alternatively of vino gives that French classical a distinctly British twist. Tom Kerridge’s version is topped pinch cheese-and-apple toasts made pinch cheddar and a ripe granny smith trim into matchsticks. Dan Lepard’s rye loaf relies connected a yeast, flour and cider substance near to create successful nan fridge overnight.

While it’s little communal to move to cider arsenic an constituent successful cakes and desserts, it’s not unheard of. Nigella Lawson’s cider and five-spice bundt cake is 1 example, combining ginger, achromatic treacle, cinnamon, Chinese five-spice and cider, baked successful a fluted, doughnut-shaped bundt tin. This cider and pumpkin cake uses 2 bundt cakes joined base-to-base, to recreate nan style of a pumpkin. The look tells you to cook nan 2 cakes 1 aft nan other, presumably connected nan supposition that cipher has 2 bundt tins.

Cider sorbet pinch cheddar and mint whitethorn sound for illustration a somewhat challenging postulation of flavours, but nan cheddar present is simply a instrumentality of food deployed arsenic a garnish – nan aforesaid measurement you would a flake successful a 99 – and is truthful wholly optional.

Mull it complete … cider gets basking and spicy. Photograph: Ray Kachatorian/Getty Images

Finally, a classical mulled cider from Jamie Oliver. And conscionable successful lawsuit you deliberation it’s still excessively early successful nan autumn to commencement mulling things, here’s different look for a cocktail called cider gingerade, made from gin, ginger syrup, barren cider and lime juice. It can’t ever beryllium excessively early for 1 of those.