When most Americans hear “cider”, their first thoughts go to Martinelli’s Sparkling at Thanksgiving, or Angry Orchard bottles and college parties.
To a European or any nation connected to the United Kingdom, cider means much more.
What Is Cider?
Cider is a non-alcoholic, pressed fruit juice usually made from apples. The cider is usually stored and filtered to help preservation.
When pears are used, it’s called Perry.
What Is Hard Cider?
Hard cider is fermented fruit juice containing alcohol. Hard cider can be barrel aged for years and crafted to express a range of nuances.
The History Of Hard Cider
The simplicity of fermented fruit juice makes tracing an origin of hard cider difficult. What is known is that apples originated in Central Asia and spread to Europe where they’ve thrived for thousands of years.
Europeans don’t call it hard cider, just cider.
Adults and children have been enjoying boozy cider in Europe since medieval times when water was plague and disease ridden.
Apples were brought to North America by the Europeans and cultivated in Jamestown around 1600.
Many of the Founding Fathers made their own batches of hard cider.
John Adams was said to have enjoyed a glass of hard cider each morning with breakfast.
Where Is Hard Cider Made?
Hard cider is made in any country that was once connected to, or currently in the United Kingdom.
Today more hard cider is produced in France than any other country.
Normandy and Brittany are the primary regions for cider production.
Wine regions and cider regions tend to overlap.
Sonoma Valley, California is now known for world class, dry, champagne style ciders made from Gravenstein apples.
Major Cider Producing Countries:
- India
- Canada
- Australia
- New Zealand
- USA
- Spain
- France
- U.K.
- Italy
Characteristics Of Hard Cider
- Bone Dry Or Sweet
- Naturally Gluten Free
- 2.5% – %12 Alcohol By Volume
- 100-140 Calories Per 8oz (Dependent On Levels Of Residual Sugar Or Blends With Fruit Like Pineapple)
What Foods Pair With Hard Dry Cider?
Hard dry cider is wonderful with a wide range of foods including:
- Light Salads
- Fruit Salad
- Sweet And Savory Crepes
- Chicken Or Pork Schnitzel
- Bacon
- Brussel Sprouts
- Asparagus
- Thanksgiving Dishes
- Mac And Cheese
- Cubano Sandwich
- Breakfast Burrito
- Charcuterie
What Foods Pair With Sweet Hard Cider?
Sweet or “off dry” hard cider is both great with sweet or spicy foods.
Sweet Cider acts like Riesling does with spicy food by balancing the capsaicin and making it a wonderful choice for a Super Bowl spread involving wings or jalapeno.
To pair sweet cider with desserts, look to ingredients that play well with apple like caramel, peanut butter, and cinnamon.
Foods To Try With Sweet Hard Cider:
- Spicy Indian Curry
- Spicy Thai Laab
- Buffalo Wings
- Nashville Hot Chicken
- Caramel Based Desserts
- Peanut Butter Based Desserts
- Churros
For thousands of years cider has primarily been apple or pear based, but now it may be found blended with guava, passionfruit, cherries, blueberries, pineapple, and more.
Hard Cider producers have even started to use hops in their process to add a variety of new tropical, earthy, or citrus driven aromas!
The cider frontier is very exciting and relatively inexpensive when compared to the craft beer and wine world.
Top notch, delicious cider can run a few dollars a can or $10 a tall bottle.
World class cider made by French producers like Eric Bordelet are mind-blowing.
Fruit from orchards over 300 years old are used to create vintage cider that can even be aged to mature like fine wine!
Bordelet’s bottles will run $20-$30 and are perfect for toasting at celebrations or special meals.
Enjoy adventuring through the ever changing cider world. Cheers!
