Cider past and present
It's in the Bible that we read the earliest mention of what might be cider, a drink made from the fermentation of apple juice. The Greeks drank it on occasion, calling it "sikera", as did the Romans, and the word cidre is said to come from the Latin "cisera", which seems to designate a fermented beverage and has given rise to cidre in French, cider in English, Sidro in Italian and Zider in German. In France, it was in Normandy that apple trees began to be developed to produce cider rather than to eat the apples, from the 12th century onwards, initially in the Vallée d'Auge.
Des pommes à cidre décrits en 1896 dans la Revue Horticole / Illustration selected by monsieurdefrance.com: By Severeyns, G., Bruno, E., Clément, A. L., "Varieties of cider apples," in 1896 Hortalia consulted February 26, 2024, https://bibliotheque-numerique.hortalia.org/items/show/2056.
Cider is highly emblematic of Western France, where it has always been consumed more than elsewhere. In Rennes, for example, at the beginning of the 20th century, 400 liters of cider were consumed per inhabitant per year, i.e. at least one or two bottles a day. It has to be said that we fetch it from the cellar, where it is stored annually, and we often add water to it. That said, at the same time, wine was supplanting cider, except in the West. In recent years, however, wine has moved upmarket and is now served in many restaurants, including the famous crêperies of Brittany.
How to choose your cider?
Good apples make good cider. Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: by 3938030 from Pixabay
How is cider made?
The right apples are selected (they must be unripe) and crushed during the gating process. In the past, the apples were passed through a sort of hollow granite circle, over which a wheel, also made of granite, was driven by a horse. The result is put into a vat to macerate. The crushed apples are then piled up and pressed once more. The cider is then racked before being put into barrels.
What is sweet cider / Cidre doux?
This is low-alcohol cider (3° maximum). It retains plenty of apple flavor and is quite sweet.
What is demi-sec or brut cider?
It's around 3 to 5°. It's the most common in France.
A good glass of cider / Photo chosen by monsieurdefrance.com: igorr1 via depositphotos.
What is corked cider / Cidre bouché ?
It's a very effervescent brut cider, sealed with a cork. Honestly, it's the best.
And what is rosé cider?
It's a cider made with a redder apple that gives it its color.
What do you drink cider with?
Cider can be served with typical western dishes. Black pudding, for example. It's also popular with galettes in Brittany, where it's drunk from large cups called bolées (recognizable by their red line). It is also increasingly served in January with the galette des rois.
Alcohol is forbidden to minors. Alcohol abuse is dangerous to health, consume in moderation.
