I'm about to make up my second cider. The first one was a kit recipe from the HB shop. This time I'm doing a recipe, or a version of a recipe that I found on here (Oliver's I think).
1 can Black Rock Cider
1kg glucose
125g lactose
3 Granny Smith apples (might go five apples with a mix of varieties).
So, my questions are:
1. Do I need to boil or blanch the apples or anything to get rid of any wild yeasts on the skin, or will a quick wash, peel, core, slice do the job?
2. Will it help or hinder this cider to add some shop bought apple or pear juice (no preservatives of course) and cut back on the glucose?
3. If I do add juice, or even just the apples, do I need to use Campden tabs to kill off any yeast first?
This is step two on my cider journey. Next step will probably be fresh juice from an orchard, then on to juicing my own. Maybe.
Thanks all.
Link.