Different Bottled Ciders
The sweetness of different bottled ciders varies almost as greatly as the alcohol content. Since most bottled cider has sugar added during the fermentation process to establish sufficient alcohol content to prevent spoilage) there will occasionally be some residual sugar in the finished product. More frequently though) the cider has its sweetener added in the blending process just before bottling. Some ciders are left in a dry) more natural state.
European ciders are made from particularly tart and coarse apples grown especially for cider making. These apples give a distinctively sharp and sometimes bitter taste to the cider that results. Bottled cider made in Canada and the United States begins with juice pressed from the culls of table apples. In Australia, one large cider-maker blends a concentrate pressed from English apples with locally grown apples for a milder yet definitely Old World taste.
World production of bottled cider exceeds 140 million gallons (U.S. measure) a year. Cider is the table drink of the apple-growing regions throughout western Europe. The popularity of cider there is historic and involves considerable tradition and lore. Barrels of cider sit next to barrels of stout, ale and beer in pubs throughout Devon, Somerset and Cornwall in England. A carafe of cider is often served on dinner tables in Normandy and Brittany, as wine is found elsewhere in France. Asturias on the coast of northern Spain counts cider as its significant contribution to Spanish cuisine.
While some Europeans and Canadians might sit down to meals with bottled cider, Americans are more likely to serve fresh sweet cider directly from the press. Let’s take a look at the production of fresh cider at a large cider mill in the Pacific Northwest, and then journey to France and on to Australia for a look at cider abroad.