Isn’t that exciting? After our extensive foraging for apples in local public spaces and orchards, I started our first ever cider – only on an experimental small amount for now.

Our cider, made from crushed apples foraged in Elthorne Waterside and Cranford Country Park, has been fermenting for 10 days now. I haven’t sampled it yet, but it certainly smells like the real thing, and has no mould!

I strained and bottled it yesterday, just one batch of 2.5 litres. This is now on its way to second fermentation to make the bubbles, assuming the bottle will not explode under the building pressure.

I keep it in the shower over the next week to be safe, but remove it temporarily while I take a shower. It’s the cider or me, shower-wise. We share a happy relationship, my cider and I, just not the shower.

Related articles

• Homebrewing and foraging rosehip wine (kellymariemcewan.com)
• Foragers At Work (gauweiler.net)
• A Rosy View (gauweiler.net)
• ApfelSTROHdel – a hot apple toddy with Austrian Stroh rum (nami-nami.blogspot.com)