My cider recipe is pretty simple. I pour 4.5 gallons of cheap pasteurized (but no preservatives) apple juice from the grocery store into a sanitized carboy. The other half gallon goes into a pot and heated to about 180°. To this I add about a pound of turbinado or brown sugar and about a half cup of chopped raisins. The sugar will raise the gravity to about 1.065 and the raisins are to add a little tannic acid which helps the flavor. If I'm making a spiced cider, I will also add some cinnamon sticks, about half a dozen whole cloves, and about a half tsp of fresh ground nutmeg. After the sugar is completely dissolved and the chopped raisins are plumped up. I dump the whole thing (raisins, spices and all) into the fermenter and ferment with sweet mead yeast. I get much better retention of the apple flavor and aroma than with any other yeast.

Wayne