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Green News Now: Spiced Apple Cider

Shared recipes pass on love and history. Food is the one language everyone everywhere understands.

Until recent history, apples weren’t for eating. They were often too bitter to munch on. Instead, for thousands of years, people would press them for the juice and leave it to ferment, letting it bubble away until it turned into boozy hard cider, according to the National Apple Museum.

Evidence of apple trees growing along the banks to the Nile River can be found dating back to about 1300 B.C., but there's no evidence that ancient Egyptians ever used them for cider. However, considering how much the Egyptians enjoyed beer (and that they were one of the first cultures to brew it), they did have some notion of the joys of fermenting alcoholic beverages.

What is clear about cider is that once the drink caught on, it spread fast. By the time the first Romans sailed to the British Isles in 55 B.C., the locals were drinking a cider-like drink made from apples, which their new visitors quickly fell in love with. Soon cider spread throughout the Roman Empire and across Europe, becoming popular with people from the Germanic tribes to the Normans, whose conquest of England in the 9th century brought apple orchards and the very word “cider” into the English language.

Here is a great spin on what we now know is an old fall favorite. This recipe can be served as a refreshing cold brew or warmed up to take away the outdoor chill.

Start to finish: 1 hour 20 minutes (active 20 minutes)

Yields: 12 eight-ounce servings

Approximate Dosage: 15mg CBD per serving

Ingredients:

• 2 quarts apple cider, divided
• ¾ cup sugar
• 4 tablespoons CBD infused honey (or 12 15mg honey sticks)
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground allspice
• 1 can (12 ounces) orange juice concentrate, thawed
• 1 quart ginger ale or ginger ale beer, chilled
• *Fun ice molds for a Halloween festive spin
• *Cinnamon sticks or Orange Peel for garnish

Directions:

• 1.In a large pot, combine one cup of cider, sugar, CBD honey, cinnamon, and allspice over medium heat. Cook, stirring, continuously, until sugar has dissolved.
• 2.Remove from heat. Add orange juice concentrate and remaining apple cider. Let stand for one hour to cool.
• 3.Before serving, stir in ginger ale. Serve chilled over ice or warm with a cinnamon stick orange peel for garnish.