Nitrate & Nitrite Free Lemon-Ginger Spiced Apple Cider
Warm, fragrant, and deeply comforting, this spiced apple cider is the kind of drink that makes a cold evening feel like a celebration. Fresh ginger, Ceylon cinnamon, lemon zest, and a whisper of turmeric steep together in unfiltered apple cider until every sip is layered with cozy, complex flavor. Because every ingredient here is a whole, unprocessed food — no cured meats, no packaged mixes, no preservative-laden shortcuts — it's naturally free of added nitrates and nitrites without any special substitutions required. Honey rounds out the tartness from the fresh lemon juice, and you can adjust it to taste so the balance is exactly right for you. The technique is gentle by design: keeping the cider just below a boil preserves the bright citrus and spice notes that a hard simmer would dull. Straining everything through a fine-mesh sieve gives you a beautifully clear, jewel-toned drink that looks as good as it tastes. Float a thin lemon slice and a curl of fresh ginger on top and it's practically ready for a holiday table.
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Learn more →Ingredients
4 servings
- 4 cups fresh apple cider (unfiltered)
- 1 cup water
- 1 lemon, zest peeled in wide strips and juiced (about 3 tbsp juice)
- 1 (2-inch) piece fresh ginger, thinly sliced
- 2 ceylon cinnamon sticks
- ¼ tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tbsp honey, plus more to taste
For serving
- 4 thin lemon slices, for serving (optional)
- 4 small fresh ginger slices, for serving (optional)
Instructions
- 1
Combine the apple cider, water, lemon zest strips, sliced ginger, Ceylon cinnamon sticks, and turmeric in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir briefly to distribute the turmeric.
- 2
Heat the mixture until it just begins to steam and small bubbles form around the edges, about 8–10 minutes — do not bring to a full boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer gently for 10 minutes, until the cider is fragrant and the ginger and cinnamon aromas are pronounced.
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