When we lived in England we never drank cider, the occasional glass of wine but never cider. The French, however drink a lot of cider. It is drank as an aperitif, sometimes mixed with cassis to produce a cider kir, it is often drunk at lunchtimes as it usually has a lower alcohol content than wine and of course it is always drunk with galettes!
I wonder…. Every autumn we press about a tonne of apples, could some of this juice be turned into cider?
I do some research… The apples, not all apples will do, you must try them out. They must be rich in pectin. Need to find out how to test an apple for pectin!
The apples must be ripe. They aren't necessarily ripe when they've fallen off the tree, they can ripen on the floor. To test for ripeness either use the starch test, or check for a strong apple aroma, or the apples should give when squeezed.
Pick and press within a week, throw out any rotten apples. So far so good!
Pressing, only press when the temperature is between 8 and 12ºC, or possibly a little colder. If any warmer, the yeast starts to ferment too quickly before the enzymes can do their business.
Maceration of the pulp for 12-24 hours before pressing will help to increase pectin levels.
Now things get complicated.. to do with pectin esterase enzyme and Calcium Chloride. It appears timings are crucial and there is more skill involved in making cider than I realized. A skill that only comes with experience.
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