In the most apple!
French and Spanish Siders are sold in the Champagne Department, English and Scandinavian – in the Department of Beer, German can be found in the Wine Department (APFELWEIN Still). But Cider is neither champagne nor beer and no wine – this drink has long time to highlight a special place both in history and in the refrigerator.
The closer to the cider is more likely to apple kvass – a globular natural gap drink. This is a light alcohol without a density of wine, without black severity of beer, without noisy splashes of champagne. And at the same time quite straightforward. The amount of alcohol in it varies from 1% to 7%.
"Cider Bible"
All stories about Cider begins with the story about Karl the Great, who decided to sit on the bag either with rotches, or with overwhelmed apples, but believe me, the cider is not done at all. The championship in the production of Cydra is attributed to the ancient Egyptians, Celts, and Jews, and Scandinavam. But the modern history of this drink can be started to study from the XIV century, when the English Theologian John Wickliffe amounted to Cider Bible.
At this time, the cider in Europe roldiously rided with wine, was used not only for drinking, but also for healing ablutions, they even baptized children. It is the opinion that Cider suffered a defeat in this rivalry, because the wine had a stronger "ideological support". However, the history of the apple is not inferior in ancient times of the vineyards of Noah or the blood of Christ – from the Celtic "Country of Eternal Youth" with blooming apple trees (from where the Celts and got Cudre as a divine gift) to the biblical zmia with a notorious apple temptation. Nevertheless, wine really displaced Cider for long-range shelves.
Ciderman and Cider England
Side are the most different style. French (Normandy and Brittany), as well as Spanish are classified as champagne: from truth to sweet samples – and bloom into the same bottles. For French siders is characterized by transparency, mineral freshness and bright fruit acid.
Another style – English: dense, less playful, more yeast in aroma, harder and tougher. In the Spanish Sidrigations, in addition to the Asturian drink (close to the style of French), you can find the Basque setoles of the widest line – from crystal light piercing to the dense opacity of the unfiltered drink. Cydr-rose is found, made only from red apples.
From theory to practice
Cider production at home is quite implemented. It would seem that it is simpler – the rearrangement of apple juice, the northern answer to the southern vineyards. But it is worth knowing that the modern cider has its own rigorous canons, and first of all it concerns the choice of apples.
For siders, in addition to apples, pears are often used (for example, for raw materials, which goes to create Calvados, the maintenance of pears is from 30% to 50%), purely pear cider is called – Perry, and if you want to diversify your home sider with pear aroma, then pears worth choosing also solid, juicy, with a bright aroma and astringent taste.
The perfect taste of cider is a combination of sweetness, acids and bitterness. To create this taste, apples are solid and even tough (give a lot of juice, not puree), containing a large number of tannins (tannins with a characteristic astringent flavor) – they are best suited for fermentation. At the same time, the cultivation of garden sorts of apples is rather along the way to increase sweets, so quite often there are advice to use non-seal fruits as raw materials for home cider or dick at all.
Perezried apples of soft sweet varieties (such as white pouring) – do not suit at all for cider. For Russia, the ideal option will be Antonovka, Melba and, perhaps, a young misunderstanding pear. Apple hardness – this is the main condition.
Apples should be whole, without rot, damage and stains, they should be cleaned of seeds and fruits, but in no case do not remove the skin (it is desirable not to wash the apples, but all the contaminants wipe with a dry napkin), because it contains enough on the apple hull A large number of plant yeasts that will help you launch the fermentation process.
First step. Shredding. Apples can be skipped through the juicer (cacle do not throw out). You can through the meat grinder. You can simply cut on slices. Grate. Crush the press. You can do everything, the main thing is to grind in Cashitz.
Second phase. Sugar and yeast. At this stage, the technology is not much different from the production of apple kvass. Ground apples (or juice with cake) fill the glass or plastic containers about 4/5. If you want to get a drink in a dry style, then sugar add very moderately (from 30 g per liter, considering the acidity of apples), for a sweet drink – from 100 g to 150 g per liter. In no case add bread yeast so as not to get fruit braga. If you have wine yeast, you can add them, but usually in order to start the process, it is enough to add a handful of raisin.
Third stage. Open fermentation. The first three or four days apples should wander in warmth and in open container, rapidly giving juice and highlighting gas. Capacity is not worth covering (except that the napkin from the unsolicited insects), and the apple mezu need to mix from time to time.
Fourth stage. Silent fermentation. Let us leave the Latex glove in the past century as a symbol of homemade winemaking, go to the store and buy a hydraulic system there or get a system for dropper in a pharmacy. Cover the container with a lid, piercing the needle cover for a dropper, and the free end is lowered into a glass with water. The gas formed during fermentation goes into the water, but oxygen back to the apples does not come, therefore, there is no danger of turning our cider into the apple vinegar. On how gas bouffals in a glass with water can be observed, whether the process of fermentation continues. How bouffer stopped (it takes about three weeks) – all, it’s time to shoot.
Fifth stage. Filming, bottling and maturation. Before pouring a bottle Cider, it should be filtered (or at least strain if you are not very picky to the transparency of the drink). Next, it needs to be poured on a bottle (better with screwing or latching corks) and remove to the cold for further maturation for at least three or four weeks, it is possible and longer.
Keep in mind that when filing Cidre is worth pouring a fairly decent height in a glass, which will increase the foaming and will best reveal the taste of the drink.
