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Cider Digest #0304
Subject: BCA Turner
Date: 22 Jul 1993 12:02:00 -0800 (PST)
From: Philip Atkinson 356-0269 <PATKINSON@galaxy.gov.bc.ca>
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Content-type: TEXT/PLAIN; CHARSET=US-ASCII
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Content-type: MESSAGE/RFC822
Date: Thu, 22 Jul 1993 11:24:00 PST
From: "Philip Atkinson"@mr.gov.bc.ca
Subject: BCA Turner
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Posting-date: Thu, 22 Jul 1993 00:00:00 PST
A1-type: DOCUMENT
Some words of wisdom from B.C.A. Turner, one of Britain's cider
experts:
The best cider is made from varieties of apples particularly
grown for the purpose. A blend of bitter sweet, bitter sharp and
sweet sharp apples is best, the proportions varying with the
quality of the fruit and the type of cider being made. The
majority of the apples must be sweet in order to provide the
sugar to make the alcohol but some acid, for freshness, and some
bitterness, for character, are also essential.
The old varieties which our forebears would have used for cider
making have now almost died out and new dwarf ones that can be
mechanically harvested are taking their place. For those without
access to cider apples, however, a pleasant cider can be made
from dessert, cooking and crab apples, providing the principle
of blending is kept in mind. Cox's Orange pippins or other
`sweet' dessert apples make an excellent base for the sweet
side, Bramleys or other cooking varieties for the sharp, and
John Downie, Siberia or other crab apples for the bitter.
A rule of thumb proportion is: 6 measures of sweet to 2.5 sharp
and 1.5 bitter, but the proportion is not critical and 7/2/1 or
6/2/2 would also be satisfactory. Some 20lb/9kg of fruit is
usually needed to produce an Imperial gallon/4.5 litres (5 US
quarts) of juice but this figure varies from season to season,
with the ripeness and type of fruit, and with the method of
juice extraction used.
Once you have assembled the fruit, lay it out on trays for some
weeks to mellow. Try to ensure that the apples are not touching
one another - if one apple starts to go bad, the infection will
not then spread to the others. A cool dark place is best for
storage, but if the apples must be stored in a light room, cover
them with brown paper. Polythene (plastic) is not so suitable as
it attracts condensation.
Once the fruit has mellowed, it must be washed thoroughly to
remove all traces of leaf, grass, dust and so on. Two crushed
Camden tablets and a half teaspoon/2.5 ml of citric acid
dissolved in an Imperial gallon/4.5 litres (5 US quarts) of cold
water for the final rinse will also kill off any unwanted
microbes. The fruit must be now be quickly crushed and pressed.
Speed is of the essence, since the besetting danger of
oxidation. A cut apple left exposed to the air until it turns
brown will have a flat taste, and this disappointing flavour can
easily spoil home-made cider. A stainless steel blade attached
to a stainless shaft that fits into the chuck of an electric
drill makes an excellent and speedy crusher. The bag used for
straining and pressing the fruit should be sterilized with a
sulphite solution, and a crushed Camden tablet for every Imp.
gallon/4.5 litres (5 US quarts) of juice in the receiving bin
will also help prevent oxidation.
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I have a recipe for a dry, still cider from this same source.
E-mail direct if you'd like a copy.
Phil Atkinson
Victoria, BC
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