Is it possible to make this much mulled cider and then heat it at work?
December 3, 2015 11:25 AM Subscribe
Our office is having a holiday party in two weeks, and I would like to make hot mulled apple cider. I have two problems: no stovetop at work, and quantity enough for all office-folk.
I can mull the cider at home in with the usual spices and aromatics, but I've never made enough for, say, sixty mugs of cider. What would be my best approach to making this much cider, storing it so it doesn't lose its flavor, transporting it to work, and then reheating it in a situation where there is no stove? I can get someone to drive me to work with a large pot and a standalone burner, but how long would it take to re-heat all of that cider? How much would I have to make, anyway? Would it taste just as good reheated after being mulled the first time, cooled, poured into jugs, and transported?
I can mull the cider at home in with the usual spices and aromatics, but I've never made enough for, say, sixty mugs of cider. What would be my best approach to making this much cider, storing it so it doesn't lose its flavor, transporting it to work, and then reheating it in a situation where there is no stove? I can get someone to drive me to work with a large pot and a standalone burner, but how long would it take to re-heat all of that cider? How much would I have to make, anyway? Would it taste just as good reheated after being mulled the first time, cooled, poured into jugs, and transported?
Best answer: Could do start at home in a portable slow cooker? You could bring it to your office and plug it in to keep it warm.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:31 AM on December 3, 2015 [17 favorites]
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:31 AM on December 3, 2015 [17 favorites]
I always think of these coffee urns for this purpose. They use these in my office for cider at the holiday potluck. It should heat up your cider pretty quickly. It only holds 42 servings, but you could refill it as needed.
posted by cabingirl at 11:40 AM on December 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by cabingirl at 11:40 AM on December 3, 2015 [2 favorites]
Also, I don't know how long you mull your cider for, but could you just get to work early that day and have it mulling in the urn all morning?
posted by cabingirl at 11:41 AM on December 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by cabingirl at 11:41 AM on December 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
Best answer: Assuming 8 ounces per person, that's about 15 quarts of liquid. Can you put a call out and see if any of your coworkers has a slow cooker that large (I have seen 18 quart ones), then just mull it for a few hours before the party?
posted by muddgirl at 11:42 AM on December 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by muddgirl at 11:42 AM on December 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
I usually seen this done with slow cookers at office parties.
How much would I have to make, anyway?
I suspect you'd be more than fine expecting no more than half of the people there to drink the cider, unless it's the only beverage available. Some people don't like hot drinks, some people prefer soda/coffee/water, some people avoid sugar, etc. You can bring extra cider and add additional cider to whatever heating vessel you use on the fly if needed.
posted by Candleman at 12:09 PM on December 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
How much would I have to make, anyway?
I suspect you'd be more than fine expecting no more than half of the people there to drink the cider, unless it's the only beverage available. Some people don't like hot drinks, some people prefer soda/coffee/water, some people avoid sugar, etc. You can bring extra cider and add additional cider to whatever heating vessel you use on the fly if needed.
posted by Candleman at 12:09 PM on December 3, 2015 [4 favorites]
The amount of time it will take to reheat isn't too hard to estimate. You'll need to know the power output (in watts) of your portable burner. You'll also need to know the volume of the liquid you're planning to reheat, and how hot you want it to get. Then you just need to use the concept of specific heat to figure out how much heat you'll need to add.
If you do all of the math, it works out to be
The actual time will probably be somewhat more than this, since you'll start losing heat to the room as the cider warms up, and you'll need to heat up the pot as well. Water has a very high specific heat, so the second of these won't be a huge effect; and if you keep a lid on the pot, the first one won't be either. To figure out the amount of time you actually need to heat the cider, I would take the number you find from the above formula and double it to be on the safe side.
posted by Johnny Assay at 12:38 PM on December 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
If you do all of the math, it works out to be
(time needed in minutes) = 264 * (temperature change in °C)*(volume of cider in gallons)/(power of portable burner in watts)If your cider goes from the fridge (about 5°C) to a nice hot temperature of about 65°C (150°F), then your temperature change is 60°C. muddgirl estimated 4 gallons of cider. And most of the portable burners on Amazon are in the 1000-1500 watt range. Taking the upper end of this range, we find that it would take about 45 minutes to heat up all of this cider this way.
The actual time will probably be somewhat more than this, since you'll start losing heat to the room as the cider warms up, and you'll need to heat up the pot as well. Water has a very high specific heat, so the second of these won't be a huge effect; and if you keep a lid on the pot, the first one won't be either. To figure out the amount of time you actually need to heat the cider, I would take the number you find from the above formula and double it to be on the safe side.
posted by Johnny Assay at 12:38 PM on December 3, 2015 [3 favorites]
Can you take a slow cooker to work with you and make it there?
posted by jgirl at 12:51 PM on December 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by jgirl at 12:51 PM on December 3, 2015 [1 favorite]
nthing the slow cooker method. I've always enjoyed holiday cider served out of these convenience suckers.
posted by glaucon at 1:16 PM on December 3, 2015
posted by glaucon at 1:16 PM on December 3, 2015
Along the slow cooker lines, a giant rice cooker is what I use for stuff like this.
posted by teditrix at 2:20 PM on December 3, 2015
posted by teditrix at 2:20 PM on December 3, 2015
At the grocery store they were selling igloo coolers for dispensing beverages. I bet you could get a construction or picnic type hot/cold 5 gallon jug with a tap for not too much. Just make it and take it.
posted by Oyéah at 2:28 PM on December 3, 2015
posted by Oyéah at 2:28 PM on December 3, 2015
Best answer: Scrounge some empty gallon water jugs, and borrow some slow cookers. Mix your cider at home, transport in the jugs. Heat it in the slow cookers. (Do a test batch at home to gauge how long it takes to heat and what temp to use.) Enjoy the wonderful aroma!
posted by LaBellaStella at 2:56 PM on December 3, 2015
posted by LaBellaStella at 2:56 PM on December 3, 2015
If you do the gallon jugs and the slow cooker, you could make the first batch and heat it in the slow cooker. Then if you need to refill, use the microwave to heat it and just fill up the same slow cooker. You might want to bring some large measuring cups or other microwave safe vessel to make the heating easier.
posted by CathyG at 11:22 AM on December 4, 2015
posted by CathyG at 11:22 AM on December 4, 2015
Response by poster: Thanks for all of the replies! I think I'm going to go with gallon jugs, borrow two crock-pot/slow-cookers from co-workers, and mull the cider at work the morning of the party. Then I can use a funnel to put any extra back in the gallon jugs and put it in the fridge for leftovers.
posted by chonus at 10:40 AM on December 9, 2015
posted by chonus at 10:40 AM on December 9, 2015
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by saladin at 11:28 AM on December 3, 2015