The autumnal air has that crispness to it, the kind that fills your lungs with the essence of turning leaves and woodsmoke. And with it comes the ritual that warms my heart and fills our kitchen with the rustic aroma of freshly pressed apples: making our very own äppelmust or æblemost, what you might call apple cider.Our method is straightforward, a touch ritualistic, and altogether gratifying. We've already chronicled the joys and intricacies of apple foraging (read that here), and today we extend that tale into processing.

Once we've harvested our apples, they get a good wash before we slice them up, discarding any that have turned bad. The clean, sliced apples then meet their fate in the grinder, where they are transformed into a pulpy mass.

Next, this pulpy goodness is enveloped in a cloth and placed into our cold press. With a good ol' fashioned twist of the screw, the precious amber liquid oozes out, flowing directly into a 5-liter dispenser, ready to be poised on our fridge shelf.

Our kids seem to have inherited our love for this wholesome beverage. They often ask for a "shot" glass of this elixir when they return from school, running to the fridge to tap into the dispenser like it’s a well of ambrosia. And in the evenings, we sit back, conversations flowing and ice cubes clinking in glasses of the cold, fresh-pressed apple goodness.

Must? Juice? Cider?

What we call "cider" in Scandinavia isn't what you might expect. Ask for 'cider,' and you'll get fermented apple juice (hard cider?) - sparkling and all. Request 'apple juice,' and you'll get a clear, filtered liquid. Our must is what many of you would refer to as apple cider, the raw, unfiltered kind.

Why the difference in terminology? It must come down to fermentation. The unfiltered juice we adore so much will naturally ferment due to its wild yeast content if left alone. Stored in the cold confines of our fridge, this process takes weeks, but by then, we've already savored every last drop.

So as autumn wears on, and we revel in these simple, yet infinitely satisfying traditions, we raise a glass of our homemade äppelmust or æblemost. Cheers to family, cheers to traditions, and cheers to the bounties of the season.