what you should know
Made from the pressed fruit of autumnal apples like Baldwin and McIntosh, cider is just juice that hasn't been filtered.
While apple juice tastes pure and sweet, apple cider is murkier and more mysterious, with a tart, tangy thirst-quenching quality.
drink up Supermarket cider is flash-pasteurized or treated to prolong its shelf life, but traditional sweet apple cider is one of fall's ephemeral gifts; keep it too long and its natural yeasts will turn the sugar to alcohol -- resulting in the slightly carbonated drink known as hard cider.
mull it over Mulled cider = cider + spices + heat (and if you're lucky, a splash of rum or brandy). The chemistry of this warming beverage, one writer mused, is reminiscent of the Obama-Biden ticket.
an apple a day In colonial times, hard cider was the beverage of choice since water often carried bacteria and diseases. It was almost definitely served at the original Thanksgiving, and John Adams drank a pitcher every morning before breakfast.
cider house gang Other famous cider lovers include Robert Frost, Annie Proulx -- and Gwyneth Paltrow?
what you need
Before The Shipping News, Annie Proulx wrote a book about cider.
If you're considering going into the apple business, you'll want to invest in an apple crusher and cider press.
Mulling spices would make a lovely gift for your favorite cider lover.
Looking for some truth about Johnny Appleseed? Michael Pollan's book The Botany of Desire has a whole section on the history the apple.
what you do
Dense and spicy, apple cider doughnuts are best dunked in coffee while still hot.
Apple cider adds tang to this creamy, fall risotto.
Roasted pork and fall fruit basted with apple cider will warm you through and through.
Making ribs is a cooking rite of passage. Try these easy ribs with a lip-smacking cider-bourbon mop sauce.
We can't get enough of this apple cider caramel cake.
An intoxicating lamb stew made with cider lets those tasty fall root vegetables shine.
Featured: This week's Root Source Challenge winner sent us a wistful recipe for pleasingly tart cider jelly. Congratulations to Culinaria Eugenius!
Find more apple cider recipes at Cookthink.com. And if you haven't yet signed up for a free account at Cookthink, do it now!
Made from the pressed fruit of autumnal apples like Baldwin and McIntosh, cider is just juice that hasn't been filtered. While apple juice tastes pure and sweet, apple cider is murkier and more mysterious, with a tart, tangy thirst-quenching quality.
Supermarket cider is flash-pasteurized or treated to prolong its shelf life, but traditional sweet apple cider is one of fall's ephemeral gifts; keep it too long and its natural yeasts will turn the sugar to alcohol -- resulting in the slightly carbonated drink known as hard cider.
In colonial times, hard cider was the beverage of choice since water often carried bacteria and diseases. It was almost definitely served at the original Thanksgiving, and John Adams drank a pitcher every morning before breakfast.
