Apple cider

For the alcoholic beverage, see Cider.

Left: sweet cider.
Right: apple juice.

Apple cider (also called sweet cider or soft cider) is the name used in the United States and parts of Canada for an unfiltered, unsweetened, non-alcoholic beverage made from apples. It may be opaque due to fine apple particles in suspension and may be tangier than conventional filtered apple juice, depending on the apples used.^[1]

This untreated cider is a seasonally produced drink^[2] of limited shelf-life that is typically available only in fall, although it is sometimes frozen for use throughout the year. It is traditionally served on the Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas holidays, sometimes heated and mulled.

Nomenclature

Vintage farm yard manual apple press. The grinder fills one slatted basket, which is then alternated into position under the pressing screw.

While the term cider is used for the fermented alcoholic drink in most of the world, the term hard cider is used in the United States and much of Canada. In the United States, the distinction between plain apple juice and cider is not well established.^[3]

Some individual states do specify the difference. For example, according to the Massachusetts Department of Agricultural Resources "Apple juice and apple cider are both fruit beverages made from apples, but there is a difference between the two. Fresh cider is raw apple juice that has not undergone a filtration process to remove coarse particles of pulp or sediment. Apple juice is juice that has been filtered to remove solids and pasteurized so that it will stay fresh longer. Vacuum sealing and additional filtering extend the shelf life of the juice."^[4] In Canada, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency also regulates "unpasteurized apple cider".^[5]

Commercial production

Cidering in a contemporary rural area mill. Custom batches pressed directly to bulk containers on demand.

Modern methods allow a formerly hand-made beverage to be commercially produced. About 2 kilograms (4.4 lb) of apples is needed to make a 1 litre (2.1 US pt) of cider. Apples are washed, cut, and ground into a mash that has the consistency of applesauce. Layers of this mash are wrapped in cloth and placed upon wooden or plastic racks. A hydraulic press then squeezes the layers together, and the juice flows into refrigerated tanks. The juice is bottled and sold as apple cider.

Early forms of production involved a man or horse powered crusher consisting of a stone or wood trough with a heavy circulating wheel to crush the fruit, and a large manual screw press to generate the pressure needed to express the juice from the pulp. Straw was commonly used to contain the pulp during pressing, although later, coarse cloth came into use. As technology advanced, rotary drum "breakers" came into use, and small scale manual basket style presses, such as the farm press pictured. Today nearly all small pressing operations use electric-hydraulic equipment with press cloths and racks both of polypropylene in what is commonly called a "rack and cloth press", and electric hammermill shredders. These modern systems are capable of producing 1 litre (0.26 US gal) of juice from as little as 5 kilograms (11 lb) of fresh apples.

Pasteurization

Due to E. coli O157:H7 outbreaks from unpasteurized apple cider and other outbreaks from contaminated fruit juices, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) proposed new regulations in 1998,^[6] and Canada followed suit in 2000.^[7]

The bulk of cider production and sale fell under the umbrella of proposed 1998 U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations applying to all fresh fruit and vegetable juices.^[8]

In 2001, the regulations were finalized, with the FDA issuing a rule requiring that virtually all juice producers follow Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) controls, using either heat pasteurization, ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI), or other proven methods.^[9] As a result, all apple cider sold in the United States, other than sales directly to consumers by producers (such as juice bars and roadside farmstands), must be produced using HACCP principles to achieve a "5 log" reduction in pathogens.^[10] While the use of UVGI treatment and other technologies meet legal requirements, heat pasteurization is the most commonly used method.^[11]

Unpasteurized cider

Small scale hydraulic apple press ready for operation. Each load produces about 140 litres (37 US gal)

Apple cider is typically made from blends of several different apples to give a balanced taste. There is some competition among local cider mills in apple country for the highest quality blends. Frequently blends of heritage, or heirloom, varieties are used.

Today, unpasteurized cider is generally sold only on-site at orchards or small rural mills in apple growing areas. In the absence of pasteurization, naturally occurring yeasts in the cider are not killed and they can cause fermentation with time. Even with refrigeration, cider will begin to become slightly carbonated within a week or so and eventually become so-called hard cider as the fermentation process turns sugar into alcohol. Some producers use this fermentation to produce hard cider, and some carry it to the further acetification process to produce apple cider vinegar.

Variations

"Hot apple cider" or "mulled cider" (similar to "Wassail") is a popular fall (autumn) and winter beverage,^[12] consisting of apple cider, heated to a temperature just below boiling, with cinnamon, orange peel, nutmeg, cloves, or other spices added.

"Sparkling cider" is a carbonated nonalcoholic beverage made from unfiltered or filtered apple cider. It is sometimes served at celebrations as a non-alcoholic alternative to champagne.

"Cider doughnuts" are sometimes sold at cider mills, containing cider in the batter. Visiting apple orchards in the fall for cider, doughnuts, and you-pick apples is a large segment in agritourism.^[13][14][15]

See also

• Martinelli's
• Apple juice

References

1. ^ "Effects of climate on character". http://www.aeppeltreow.com/apples_&_environment.htm. 
2. ^ Fabricant, Florence (1990-10-31). "New York Times article on apple cider". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DF163AF932A05753C1A966958260. Retrieved 2010-04-25. 
3. ^ "What's the difference between apple juice and apple cider?". http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_048.html. 
4. ^ "Massachusetts Department of Agricultrual Resources". http://www.mass.gov/agr/massgrown/cider_juice_difference.htm. 
5. ^ "Unpasteurized fruit juices". http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/securit/facts-faits/unpast_fruit_juices-jus_fruits_cidre_nonpast-eng.php. 
6. ^ "USDA Food Safety "New Juice Regulations Underway"" (PDF). http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/foodreview/may1999/frmay99f.pdf. 
7. ^ "Canadian Food Insp. Agency on Unpasteurized Fruit Juice/Cider Products". http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/fn-an/legislation/pol/rev_unpast_juice_policy-rev_politique_jus_non_past_14-09-2000-eng.php. 
8. ^ Kaufman, Marjorie (1998-10-11). "New York Times, October 11, 1998 "Those Quaint Apple Cider Stands Meet Up With the Long Arm of the Law" Accessed: 15 October, 2007". The New York Times. http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C03EED8123BF932A25753C1A96E958260. Retrieved 2010-04-25. 
9. ^ "Federal Register: January 19, 2001, HHS/FDA "21 CFR Part 120 Final Rule"". Archived from the original on December 13, 2007. http://web.archive.org/web/20071213200423/http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/fr01119a.html. 
10. ^ "Log reduction explained". Archived from the original on March 26, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080326002438/http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~dms/a2z-l.html. 
11. ^ "HACCP — "Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point: Juice HACCP"". http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodSafety/HazardAnalysisCriticalControlPointsHACCP/JuiceHACCP/default.htm. 
12. ^ "Warm Up With Mulled Wine & Cider". http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Warm-Up-with-Mulled-Wine-and-Cider/Detail.aspx. 
13. ^ ""Orchard Alley" in Georgia". http://web.georgia.org/net/content/go.aspx?s=18348.0.26.3011. 
14. ^ "Massachusetts agri-tourism guide". http://www.mass.gov/agr/massgrown/agritourism_farms.htm. 
15. ^ "Orchard tourism in Canada". http://mediacentre.canada.travel/content/travel_story_ideas/fall_apple_picking. 

External links

• Principles and practices of small scale fruit juice processing