The Aryans, nomadic tribes appeared in history around 2500 BC developed a taste for “soured apple wine,” the forerunner of apple juice.
The name cider is rooted in the Phoenician “shekar” meaning wine or strong drink. In classical Greece apples were boiled and fermented to make “sikera”.
The cider-making technology was spread throughout the northern coast of Europe by Celts as they traveled from Spain to England and Ireland.
In 55 B.C.E., Romans invaded what is now Britain and noticed native Celts fermenting native crab apples to make cider. The apple was a sacred fruit to the Celtics according to their mythology.
The Muslim Moors are probably responsible for developing the bitter high tannin apples that make the richest ciders. In France, the Normans developed a love for cider and apple brandy. During Charlemagne era, era, he enforced laws to promote and control the manufacture and production of cider.
In North America the term for this alcoholic beverage is hard cider. Hard cider is believed to have roots from the winemaking technology in the Basque country of northern Spain. Hard cider came to the U.S. with the first English settlers, who brought apple seeds with them to plant in their new home.
In 1623, William Blackstone of Plymouth planted the first cultivated tree. Other American followed suit and planted trees wherever they would grow. Pressing and fermenting apple juice served as the easiest way for farmers to preserve the apple harvest and farmers typically used cider as the basis for many other products, including cider vinegar, applejack.
Historical records reveal that cider was an integral part of every life of rural folk in 19th century New England, Cider presses were part of the New England landscape.
In England, Lord Scudamore is credited with having bottled cider as early as the 1640s at Home Lacy, at a time when almost all cider was stored in wooden barrels and drawn off “on draft” as needed.
The slight fermentations that took place in the bottles released carbon dioxide gas, which produced a sparkling drink and helped preserve the cider better. Around the 18th century about two thousand varieties of apples were grown. Many scientific methods had been developed to improve and speed up the production of cider.
History of apple cider
