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- Newsgroups: rec.org.sca
- Path: sparky!uunet!digex.com!corun
- From: corun@access.digex.com (Corun MacAnndra)
- Subject: Re: hot drinks
- Message-ID: <By0tvz.GyD@access.digex.com>
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- References: <Bxx0J4.FvJ@access.digex.com> <1edu83INN6an@agate.berkeley.edu> <1992Nov18.191501.23249@nntpd.lkg.dec.com>
- Date: Fri, 20 Nov 1992 15:33:34 GMT
- Lines: 47
-
- In article <1992Nov18.191501.23249@nntpd.lkg.dec.com> boylan@sltg04.ljo.dec.com (Steve Boylan) writes:
- >
- >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.
-
- I beg to differ. The English send over cider that has been "properly"
- fermented. I refer to Woodpecker and Strongbow, both produced by Bulmer.
- If you let cider ferment on it's own then you are likely to end up with
- a rather bad tasting vinegar. This is because there are yeasts and bacterias
- in there that will cause this. In properly fermenting cider, the apples
- themselves (after slicing) are sterilised, usually by adding sulphide in
- the form of Campden tablets. Then the apples are pressed for the juice,
- and to this is added the wine yeast. Sterilisation does nothing to the
- sugar which is what the yeast feeds on. The same process is used for making
- mead. The honey is first sterilised, either with sulphide or by boiling,
- though the latter process may take away some of the already delicate flavour
- of the honey.
-
- And yes, I'd be interested in knowing who produces fermented cider in the
- U.S. I've only encountered the English and French varieties. The latter is
- a bit too carbonated for my tastes.
-
- Lastly, though I've never had it, I understand that scrumpy is quite good.
- It's a form of fermented cider produced in the farming communities of
- England. It can't be exported because it's unpasteurized and goes bad very
- quickly. I recommend to anyone going to England to give this a try. The
- first time I was in England (and just a lad), I popped into a pub for my
- first real English drink. I let the barman decide what I should have, and
- he brought me a stout and cider. An interesting concoction, and one I need
- to try again, since at that time I hadn't yet developed a taste for even
- the blandest of beers, much less stout.
-
- In service,
- Corun
-
- --
- ===========================================================================
- Corun MacAnndra | My opinions *are* those of my boss, because
- Dark Horde by birth | he is me, and I am he, and we are all together.
- Moritu by choice | Coo coo cachoob.
-