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Cider Digest #1075
From: cider-request@talisman.com
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Subject: Cider Digest #1075, 15 September 2003
Cider Digest #1075 15 September 2003
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Franklin County CiderDay ("Terry Maloney")
French Cider Apple Varieties ("Gary Awdey")
"Specialty" Ciders (km)
Etymology of the word Perry (Ken Schramm)
2003 North American Cider Competition - Submit Your Entry! (roger mansfield)
the glass as identity (Dick Dunn)
Repelling deer (Roy Bailey)
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----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: Franklin County CiderDay
From: "Terry Maloney" <westcounty@attglobal.net>
Date: Thu, 11 Sep 2003 08:55:38 -0400
The schedule for the 9th Annual CiderDay in Franklin County,
Massachusetts; the first Weekend in November; is at www.ciderday.org.
This year's CiderDay will include fresh pressed cider blends for
fermentation, tastings of hard cider & cheese from across the nation,
demonstrations and talks about hard cider and the home orchard, orchard
tours, and more.
Terry Maloney
West County Cider
Colrain, Massachusetts
www.westcountycider.com
------------------------------
Subject: French Cider Apple Varieties
From: "Gary Awdey" <gawdey@att.net>
Date: Thu, 11 Sep 2003 10:32:56 -0400
When searching for different cider varieties last year I borrowed the Geneva
Station library copy of POMMIERS A CIDRE (out of print and you're just plain
lucky if you already have a copy because it has some great color images and
there are no plans for a reprint). An appendix in the book lists 338 French
cider varieties. That's a bit much to list here but if anyone wants to see
the list I've transcribed it to an Excel file and can e-mail it. For
readers who are in the US, about 20 of these varieties that are not
currently listed at any cider nursery are available from the Geneva Station
and/or Nick Botner (though most of the US cider nurseries listed in Andrew's
website can obtain and graft them for you). There are several others that
may or not may be the same--sometimes the use of synonyms or alternate
spellings can cause confusion, and at least one has perpetuated an obvious
typographical error that probably occurred when it was received into the
collection decades ago. Where any doubt existed about a variety I decided
to graft it to find out (eventually) if it is decent for cider. This
increased the number of selections significantly.
Gary Awdey
gawdey@att.net
------------------------------
Subject: "Specialty" Ciders
From: km <marshall@maritime-photos.com>
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 13:21:06 +0200
Hi All,
I was wondering if any of you had much experience with putting raisins
in cider. I am using 30 liter carboys and would be interested to know a
rough estimate of how much (many?) raisins to put in. Any tips? Plusses?
Drawbacks?
Also, I am interested in making a ginger specialty cider. I have a very
nice batch from last year which tastes like an apple prosecco and I
thought that with a hint of ginger this could be a terrific summer
drink. Have any one of you ever made a ginger cider before? If so, how
did you do it? I have thought about sterilizing ginger root slices in a
pressure cooker and then putting them in the carboy in a cheesecloth bag
but Im also a bit baffled as to how much to use. I dont want to
overpower it with ginger. If anyone has ever done this Id be very
interested in hearing details.
Kurt Marshall
Hamburg, Germany
------------------------------
Subject: Etymology of the word Perry
From: Ken Schramm <schramk@mail.resa.net>
Date: Fri, 12 Sep 2003 23:40:42 -0400
I suspect "The Compleat Meadmaker" may be the root of Charles' inquiry
as to the source of the word "perry." In the book, I state that perry
was named for one of Henry VIII's cider makers. The OED's and other
dictionary etymology references lead back to the middle english
"pereye," from old French "pere" and all the way back to the latin pirum
for pear. Pretty concise. Thus the cidermaker attribution is in
question, but it is not without some merit. Here's the story.
Henry VIII is well documented in fruit circles as a passionate lover of
fruit, cider and perry. His fruitier, Richard Harris, is noted as
having imported from the mainland (at Henry's request, and probably also
to curry his favor) many of the long cherished cider apple varieties and
several varieties of pears used in perry making, variously recorded as
about 1519. From what I can glean, Henry VIII's demands and Harris'
contributions were basically unparalleled in developing English cider
and perry making until Thomas A. Knight stepped up again in the mid 1700's.
I ran across the story that Henry VIII had a cider maker named Perry who
had introduced Harris to French pear cider again on the Blackthorn Cider
history page, http://www.dryblackthorncider.com/p/perry_pear.html which
has since been taken down. Blackthorn's site is now full of sports and
glitz images, including plenty of references to surfing and many
opportunities to buy logo accessories. Commercial trends aside, the
story aligns pretty well: the pear cider won Hank the 8's heart, and
Harris was ordered to commence acquiring the pears required to produce
the beverage. The British fruit journals and web sites confirmed that
Harris did set out to create a large orchard of cider apple and perry
pear varieties to produce beverages for his Majesty.
All that said, Blackthorn's site is now gone, and I now need to locate
the original reference to Sir Perry, Henry VIII's cider maker. I will
keep on it, and get back with the results. The etymological explanation
is most likely the correct one, but the link to Henry VIII has a ring of
historical veracity that I want to explore.
Ken Schramm
------------------------------
Subject: 2003 North American Cider Competition - Submit Your Entry!
From: roger mansfield <traditionalco@yahoo.com>
Date: Sat, 13 Sep 2003 06:57:40 -0700 (PDT)
Dick - an item for your next CD - Thanks, Roger
Mansfield
The deadline for submitting your commercial cider
entries for the 2003 North American Cider Competition
sponsored by the Northwest Cider Society is rapidly
approaching (end of September). This is an extremely
important event for all commercial cider producers in
North America because it is the first time that a
"Cider Only" competition is being held. For those of
you who have entered compeitions before it is usually
a part of a wine or beer competition and you really
wonder if the judges even know what they are judging
(a topic of past CD discussions). This event is being
judged by cider experts with international
reputations. If you claim that you make the "BEST"
cider - PROVE IT! - Submit your entry - if you don't
have one call Drew Zimmerman with the Northwest Cider
Society @ (206 241-7805 and get an entry form. The
east coast, midwest and the Canadians all produce
terrific ciders lets get them together for a judging,
public tasting event, and some national media coverage
- - for the benefit of all commercial North American
cider producers - Roger Mansfield for The Traditional
Company - Culver, Oregon
------------------------------
Subject: the glass as identity
From: rcd@talisman.com (Dick Dunn)
Date: Sun, 14 Sep 2003 01:27:22 -0600 (MDT)
Every now and then, the topic of the proper glass (i.e., drinking vessel)
for cider comes up here. The question is normally what glass feels right
or presents the cider nicely or something close to that. But what came
to my mind this evening, while looking for a glass to hold a bit of cider
to relax, is that various vessels are identified with particular beverages.
A clear glass mug with a handle, or certain un-handled glass shapes, say
"beer". A bone china cup says "tea"; a straight-sided mug says "coffee"
(well, at least in the US). A stemmed glass says "wine" (and various shapes
even suggest the type of wine).
But there isn't a shape or style (that I've encountered, anyway) that
suggests it ought to contain cider, and perhaps there's a bit of lost
identity for cider in that. Think of it this way: imagine a magazine
photo of food and drink on a table. What sort of glass would suggest
to you that cider is being served?
(I'm not suggesting that we convene a committee, nor hire marketing
consultancy, to decide on the proper glass for cider. I'm just musing:-)
Dick
------------------------------
Subject: Repelling deer
From: Roy Bailey <sales@lambournvalleycider.co.uk>
Date: Sat, 13 Sep 2003 19:27:27 +0100
I have just been trawling through back numbers of Cider Digest dating back to
the beginning of August, and I noticed the topic on how to stop deer from
nibbling young fruit trees.
I was suffering from the problem in my orchard of one- and two-year-old trees;
the tops of which poking out of their protective tubes seemed to be at just
the right height for our local deer, which are either fallow or roe. I strung
some redundant CDs (that's compact discs - not Cider Digests!) between the
trees on the side from which the deer apparently approached, and since then
have had no problem.
Of course, it may be that our local deer in this rural area of backward old
England are much less sophisticated than deer in the USA, and more easily
frightened by the flashing of the CDs as they turn in the wind, but its worth
a try.
- --
Roy Bailey - Proprietor
The Lambourn Valley Cider Company
(Real cider from the Royal County)
<www.lambournvalleycider.co.uk>
------------------------------
End of Cider Digest #1075
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