home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
- Path: sparky!uunet!gatech!destroyer!gumby!wupost!sdd.hp.com!think.com!ames!sun-barr!decwrl!pa.dec.com!nntpd2.cxo.dec.com!nntpd.lkg.dec.com!sltg04.ljo.dec.com!boylan
- From: boylan@sltg04.ljo.dec.com (Steve Boylan)
- Subject: Re: hot drinks
- Message-ID: <1992Nov18.191501.23249@nntpd.lkg.dec.com>
- Lines: 55
- Sender: usenet@nntpd.lkg.dec.com (USENET News System)
- Reply-To: boylan@sltg04.ljo.dec.com (Steve Boylan)
- Organization: Digital Equipment Corporation
- References: <1ec22fINNr2d@agate.berkeley.edu> <1ec2jsINNr7p@agate.berkeley.edu> <Bxx0J4.FvJ@access.digex.com> <1edu83INN6an@agate.berkeley.edu>
- Date: Wed, 18 Nov 1992 19:15:01 GMT
-
-
- In article <1edu83INN6an@agate.berkeley.edu>, cozzlab@garnet.berkeley.edu
- (Dorothea of Caer-Myrddin) writes:
-
- > In article <Bxx0J4.FvJ@access.digex.com> corun@access.digex.com (Corun \
- MacAnndra) writes:
- >
- > [Where he comes from, apple juice and cider are different substances.]
- >
- > OK, I live and learn. In California supermarkets they are exactly
- > the same stuff--filtered, pasteurized, and the only differences are the
- > word on the label and the color of the label.
-
- Alas, my lady - you are missing out on one of the finest beverages nature
- has provided mankind; right up there with mead and beer. I grew up near
- a cider mill in New York state (the SCA name for the area escapes me). In
- the autumn, my parents would take their rather large brood to the mill
- on Sunday afternoons to get doughnuts and fresh-pressed cider. (Free
- samples for 6 kids was not something to pass up!) Back in the old, old
- days, you entered the building by walking past the pit where they
- dumped the pulp after pressing out the cider . . . which could be a
- pretty heady experience!
-
- True apple cider is NEVER filtered, pasteurized, or even heated (until
- you're ready to mull it, of course). You just grind up the apples,
- let it rest for a few minutes (this allows the pulp to oxidize, which
- is where cider gets that beautiful color), then press it with a ton
- or two of pressure (which can easily be achieved in a small, hand-driven
- fruit press). Local cider producers in the East Kingdom vie to produce
- the best-tasting cider by varying the amounts of different types of
- apples used in the mix.
-
- In what may be a local phenomenon, there are also a number of stores that
- stock "natural" varieties of apple juice. These may be filtered and
- pasteurized, but aren't laced with preservatives, in contrast with the
- more common mainstream brands that are. Corun may wish to try hunting
- in the "health-food" section of large grocers, or perhaps try a health-
- food store, if he's interested in obtaining a purer form of apple juice.
-
- As for fermented cider . . . what might you mean, Corun, by saying "if
- left alone in the refrigerator too long, [it] will turn bad"? That's
- exactly what the English bottle and ship over here. There are also a
- few domestic producers; I'd have to stop at the liquor store and
- check on who they might be, if you're interested. There is a direct
- parallel between making wine and making fermented cider; you crush
- the fruit and press out the juice, then let the juice ferment. Just
- as with wine, the fermented liquid will clarify as the solids settle
- out.
-
- Ah, what a wonderful world it is that has fruit in it . . .
-
- Have a tasty beverage, hot OR cold!
-
- - - Steve
- boylan@ljohub.enet.dec.com
-