Greetings y'all, I thought I would share my old family recipe for hard (of course) cider with you. My family has been making this at least since the 1700s, but probably much longer. I'm also trying to source these apples to plant on some property I'll be buying soon (all the old family land is long gone), so if anyone has seeds to share, I would be very grateful.
We always made two ciders, one sweeter and heavier for cold weather and the other light and citrusy for warm weather - both fairly high in alcohol.
Four types of apples were used - the most important of which were two varieties pippens, one green and one red. I no longer have access to the old trees and I never learned the proper names of these apples, so I looked online and found a couple of photos that look nearly identical (any help in identifying would be appreciated):
These apples made up 75% of the mix. The green ones are very tart, a bit tannic, very crisp. The red ones are a little sweeter but still, very tart.
We would crush these in an ancient "press" that looked like a dug-out canoe. It was essentially a tree trunk, scooped out like a canoe, propped up on one end by stones and a large hole in the lower end for the juice to flow out. The basic process was to dump them in and smash them with big mallets and paddles.
The cold weather cider would be fermented on the skins, while the warm weather version was as purely juice as possible. More red apples used in the cold weather, more green used in the hot.
After that, we would taste the juice. If it was too tart, we would add a few bushels of another heirloom apple called a transparent - basically just sweet with little flavor. If it was too sweet, we would crush up a bunch of crabapples.
Then, we would dissolve a few pounds of sugar depending on the desired alcohol level - usually shooting for about 20%. And pitch bread yeast and and let ferment.
As this was done in the fall of the year, the winter blend would be enjoyed "young" and sweet, sometimes spiced and we generally fermented it in barrels because with cold temps, high alcohol levels and and being quickly consumed we didn't have to worry about things being completely air tight... and if a little ice formed on top, it was just chipped off and an even sweeter, stronger beverage was enjoyed.
The summer blend used to be fermented in barrels, as well, waxed to seal, but by the time I came along we were using glass carboys and fermentation locks. By the time warm weather came along, this cider would be clear, dry, citrusy... a lot like a Spanish Cava. It was a bit strong, but absolutely wonderful stuff... chilled and refreshing!
The solids left over after crushing made incredible apple butter, pies and animal feed.
We always made two ciders, one sweeter and heavier for cold weather and the other light and citrusy for warm weather - both fairly high in alcohol.
Four types of apples were used - the most important of which were two varieties pippens, one green and one red. I no longer have access to the old trees and I never learned the proper names of these apples, so I looked online and found a couple of photos that look nearly identical (any help in identifying would be appreciated):
These apples made up 75% of the mix. The green ones are very tart, a bit tannic, very crisp. The red ones are a little sweeter but still, very tart.
We would crush these in an ancient "press" that looked like a dug-out canoe. It was essentially a tree trunk, scooped out like a canoe, propped up on one end by stones and a large hole in the lower end for the juice to flow out. The basic process was to dump them in and smash them with big mallets and paddles.
The cold weather cider would be fermented on the skins, while the warm weather version was as purely juice as possible. More red apples used in the cold weather, more green used in the hot.
After that, we would taste the juice. If it was too tart, we would add a few bushels of another heirloom apple called a transparent - basically just sweet with little flavor. If it was too sweet, we would crush up a bunch of crabapples.
Then, we would dissolve a few pounds of sugar depending on the desired alcohol level - usually shooting for about 20%. And pitch bread yeast and and let ferment.
As this was done in the fall of the year, the winter blend would be enjoyed "young" and sweet, sometimes spiced and we generally fermented it in barrels because with cold temps, high alcohol levels and and being quickly consumed we didn't have to worry about things being completely air tight... and if a little ice formed on top, it was just chipped off and an even sweeter, stronger beverage was enjoyed.
The summer blend used to be fermented in barrels, as well, waxed to seal, but by the time I came along we were using glass carboys and fermentation locks. By the time warm weather came along, this cider would be clear, dry, citrusy... a lot like a Spanish Cava. It was a bit strong, but absolutely wonderful stuff... chilled and refreshing!
The solids left over after crushing made incredible apple butter, pies and animal feed.
Usually I just feed them to the deer over the winter.
