The Cyder Book

Cider (or “cyder” as it was originally called) refers to an alcoholic beverage that is primarily made from the fermented juices of specially grown apple varieties. The intention of The Cyder Book is to provide the reader with a historical overview of cider making over the ages together with a unique collection of recipes using cider or cider apples In the past, cider has suffered a bit from an image problem and was often seen as the drink of choice for teenagers owing to its low cost and high alcohol content (e.g. over 6%) compared to beer. In recent years, however, the majority of the larger cider manufacturers have been trying to get rid of the rather traditional and parochial image associated with cider drinking and making it more appealing to the more sophisticated end of the market. Traditional cider (i.e. "Scrumpy") is, however, still available both privately and through farm shops etc. and its popularity has increased rather than decreased over the past few years which is probably helped by legislation that allows small cider producers to produce up to 1,500 gallons a year without having to pay excise duty. All of these private ventures ferment the cider naturally, which is to say that the yeasts present on the outside of the apples react with the sugars on the inside, giving the by-product, alcohol - mind you the taste, strength and quality of farm Scrumpy can certainly vary and so one must be careful!) Although the main purpose of "The Cyder Book" is to bring to your notice some of the wonderful recipes that are available for this remarkable beverage, this publication also provides you with a little bit of background about the cider apple as well as a pictorial summary of how traditional cider is made by one of these medium sized cider manufacturers.