Is homemade cider safe?
Homemade hard cider can be made responsibly with clean equipment, sound fruit and careful fermentation, but it is not risk-free. Fresh untreated juice can carry harmful microbes if mishandled. US juice-safety guidance stresses refrigeration for untreated juice and warns that some people face higher risk from unpasteurised products.
Updated
Key facts
- FDA juice safety. Guidance on untreated juice risks and refrigeration. [1]
- Extension. Safe home cider / juice guidance (UMaine #4191) and PNW 621. [2] [3]
- Related how-tos. Process notes without medical claims: how to make cider at home.
Who should be careful with untreated juice?
FDA notes children, older adults, pregnant people and people with weakened immune systems "risk serious illnesses or even death from drinking untreated juices" and that untreated juice "should be kept under refrigeration". [1] Pasteurisation and UV treatment are commercial controls; home pressers should read extension guidance before serving fresh juice.
What can go wrong when fermenting at home?
Poor sanitation can spoil a batch. Over-sweet bottle priming can raise pressure dangerously — see carbonate homemade cider. Fallen or rotten fruit raises contamination risk — UMaine advises against using apple drops for home juice or cider. [2] Accidental ferments in jugs: can apple cider ferment itself.
Where can I read safe process steps?
Home making without distillation: how to make cider at home. Canning juice: can you can apple cider. Orchard and juice handling: [3].
Can homemade cider make you blind?
Methanol forms from apple pectin during cider making, but measured levels in hard cider are far below those in apple distillates: Hang and Woodams (Cornell) reported about 0.037–0.091% methanol in New York hard ciders, while apple eau-de-vie ran much higher and is capped under US fruit-brandy rules. [4] Stories of methanol blindness concern illicit or badly made distilled spirits, not ordinary fermented cider. Home distillation is illegal in the US. [5] Ordinary yeast fermentation of apple juice into hard cider is not the pathway behind those methanol-blindness stories; the risk people mean is illicit distilled spirits. [5] See making apple brandy at home. Untreated juice hygiene is a separate risk — UMaine #4191 and FDA juice-safety guidance. [2] [1]
Related answers: how to make cider at home
Related on Cider Radar
- Open neighbouring answers on home process and carbonation before you start a batch.
- Guide: what is cider.
Cider, perry, calvados and pommeau are alcoholic drinks. Enjoy responsibly and follow the legal drinking age where you live.
We don't give health advice. For questions about your health, talk to a doctor or pharmacist.
Questions
Is untreated sweet cider risky?
FDA says untreated juices can pose serious risks for children, older adults, pregnant people and people with weakened immune systems, and untreated juice should be kept under refrigeration. [1]
Does fermentation make juice safe?
Fermentation changes the drink but is not a substitute for sound hygiene and proven preserving methods. [3]
Sources
- What You Need to Know About Juice Safety — FDA
- Bulletin #4191, Safe Home Made Cider / Apple Juice — University of Maine Cooperative Extension
- Hard Cider Production & Orchard Management in the Pacific Northwest (PNW 621) — Washington State University, Oregon State University and University of Idaho Extension
- Influence of apple cultivar and juice pasteurization on hard cider and eau-de-vie methanol content (PubMed 19846293) — Hang YD, Woodams EE — Bioresour Technol / Cornell Food Science
- Penalties for illegal distilling — Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB)