Apple cider is an unfiltered, unadulterated, unpasteurized, unsweetened juice of fresh pressed apple. It is unfermented apple juice.
The term ‘hard cider’ came into vogue means of distinguishing the fresh pressed juice of the apple – sweet cider – from the fermented brew that once flowed by the barrelful.
Cidermaking is an art as old as the cultivation of apple trees. The early English colonists in America brought a great quantity of apple seed with them to plant in the New World resulting in an abundance of apple trees.
Until about 1930 apple cider was made and consumed in greater quantities than any other juice.
The best cider is usually made from a blend of different varieties of apples. A blend provides an appealing balance of sweetness, tartness and tang as well as aromatic overtones.
Apple cider could be consumed at any time of the day. Most of the apple cider sold in the stores today is undistinguished at best, usually made from cull sweet apples such as Red Delicious and Golden Delicious.
What is apple cider?
