Adventures in Cider Making by Eleanor Kuhns
The Shakers (or The United Society of Believers in Christ’s
Second Coming) had a number of mottos they lived by. One was Hearts to God,
Hands to work. They believed that working, and perfection in your labor, was
another way of honoring God. One does not offer something less than perfect to
God. As a consequence, the items they manufactured – whip handles, flat brooms,
even the humble clothespins, were made as perfectly as possible. Like those
items, Shaker seeds, medicinal herbs, and cider were considered superior and
were much in demand.
Cider was made in the fall when the apples ripened. The
cider used for drinking was extremely popular. Of course, without
refrigeration, it rapidly fermented into hard cider. Since this was a
hard-drinking age, hard cider was considered a restorative.
Cider was also very important in cooking. It was boiled down
(one recipe calls for boiling four gallons down to one) and then used for
sweetening, usually with maple sugar or brown sugar. White sugar was expensive.
Modern cider is pasteurized and tastes different from the
cider I remember drinking as a child. I tried my hand at making cider and it is
not easy. It takes a lot of apples to make even a small batch. The apples also
have to be scrubbed or peeled, seeded and cut into quarters, a time-consuming
process.
Maybe because I used a small modern press, I ended up
spending significant amounts of time cleaning it; the apple pulp kept clogging
the mechanism. A very early photo of cider making shows three of four people
pushing a wooden bar around to crush the fruit. I suspect the Shakers had such
a large operation.
The apples chosen also make a huge difference in the taste.
I was using the apples from my trees. Some of the cider was beyond tart, almost
sour. Think unsweetened lemonade. No one would drink it. Should I add sugar? How
much to use? Then I ran into another problem: sugar does not dissolve unless
the cider is heated. Since I did not want to pasteurize the cider with heat, I
tried adding a sugar syrup. Every batch tasted different; the sweetness of the
apples affects the cider and I could not find a recipe for the amount of sugar
syrup that was perfect for every batch.
Every time I experiment with a long - ago recipe or attempt
to make something that was common pre-1800, I am struck again by how labor
intensive and, frequently, how difficult these tasks were. Cider making seemed
so simple – until I tried it.
Now with the apples ripening again this fall, I am planning
to try my hand at cider making once more. This year I think I will try boiling
the cider down.
Bio:
Eleanor Kuhns is the 2011 winner of the Minotaur
Books/Mystery Writers of America First Crime Novel. A lifelong librarian, she
received her Masters from Columbia University and is currently the Assistant
Director of the Goshen Public Library in Orange County New York.
Website URL:
www.eleanor-kuhns.com
Blog URL:
www.eleanor-kuhns.com/blog
Facebook URL:
www.facebook.com/Eleanor-Kuhns
Twitter:
#EleanorKuhns
LinkedIn:
https://www.linkedin.com/eleanor-kuhns-36759623
Comments