Google Groups no longer supports new Usenet posts or subscriptions. Historical content remains viewable.
Dismiss

Apple cider/scrumpy jack

1 view
Skip to first unread message

Anja Hammer Dubland

unread,
May 20, 2001, 11:03:11 AM5/20/01
to
I'd like to make my own cider ths year, but have no idea how, or with
what kind of apples.
Does anyone have some easy recepies and/or helpful hints?

--
Anja


Scott

unread,
May 21, 2001, 10:54:26 PM5/21/01
to
In article <3B07DCAE...@ttv.no>, Anja Hammer Dubland <an...@ttv.no>
wrote:

> I'd like to make my own cider ths year, but have no idea how, or with
> what kind of apples.
> Does anyone have some easy recepies and/or helpful hints?


Try here:
<http://web.bham.ac.uk/GraftonG/cider/homepage.htm>


Also, "The Art of Cidermaking" by Paul Correnty is a very good book.

Peggy Haine

unread,
May 22, 2001, 3:18:38 PM5/22/01
to
We make gallons and gallons of hard cider every year. The best information
on cider making we've found is in a book called "Making, Using and Enjoying
Sweet and Hard Cider, by Annie Proulx and Lew Nichols. It was out of print for
awhile, but seems to be available again, for about $15 US. BTW, Annie
Proulx is
the same person who wrote "The Shipping News," "Accordion Crimes," and "Close
Range: Wyoming Stories." This is the only one of her books that's a) not
fiction and
b) not depressing. It's an extraordinarily useful guide to making cider.

Good luck, and enjoy!

Peg (in the beautiful Finger Lakes region of New York妓INE COUNTRY!)

In article <3B07DCAE...@ttv.no>, Anja Hammer Dubland <an...@ttv.no> wrote:

Hutchison7

unread,
May 22, 2001, 5:15:44 PM5/22/01
to
I've got to ask about the title of this thread. Is 'scrumpy jack' a regional
term for cider? Or for hard cider? I've never heard the phrase.

katie

Peggy Haine

unread,
May 23, 2001, 11:58:41 AM5/23/01
to
Katie-
In my experience, it's term used by the Brits to define
a rough farm cider, usually with a bit of vinegar (caused
by inclusion of acetobacter in the yeast mix) to give the
flavor an edge.
Peg

In article <20010522171544...@ng-ca1.aol.com>,

Hutchison7

unread,
May 23, 2001, 4:16:51 PM5/23/01
to
Thanks, Peg. It's a cool name.

katie

MatCoward

unread,
May 29, 2001, 11:16:30 AM5/29/01
to
Here in the UK, rough farm cider is called "scrumpy". As far as I know, the
term scrumpy jack is American. Of course, the concept of "soft" - ie, non-booze
- cider is unknown here.
- Mat C

Bren

unread,
Jun 1, 2001, 1:40:47 PM6/1/01
to
Someone once told me that scrumping was an old English term meaning to
steal apples from someone's orchard, usually by children. This was
supposed to be the origin of the word for farmhouse cider "Scrumpy"

MatCoward

unread,
Jun 2, 2001, 10:44:37 AM6/2/01
to
In article <3B17D359...@nbnet.nb.ca>, Bren <mchugh...@nbnet.nb.ca>
writes:

>
>Someone once told me that scrumping was an old English term meaning to
>steal apples from someone's orchard, usually by children. This was
>supposed to be the origin of the word for farmhouse cider "Scrumpy"
>

Yes, that's right. Scrumpy is pretty much illegal now, due to EU purity laws.
By the way, I'm always puzzled by the American expression "apple cider" - is
there a cider that's made from something else?

Rich McCormack

unread,
Jun 3, 2001, 11:28:53 AM6/3/01
to

MatCoward wrote:

> By the way, I'm always puzzled by the American expression "apple cider" - is
> there a cider that's made from something else?

I've seen other fruits (pears come to mind) mentioned in the making
of ciders. I've got 2.5 gallons of cranberry "cider" bubbling away
on a bathroom counter right now...

--
Rich McCormack (Poway, CA) mac...@pacbell.net

Who is Rich McCormack? Find out at...
http://home.pacbell.net/macknet/

Peggy Haine

unread,
Jun 4, 2001, 10:50:55 AM6/4/01
to

In article <20010602104437...@nso-cp.aol.com>,

matc...@aol.com (MatCoward) wrote:

> Yes, that's right. Scrumpy is pretty much illegal now, due to EU purity laws.
> By the way, I'm always puzzled by the American expression "apple cider" - is
> there a cider that's made from something else?

Cornell University's orchards usually make a small run of pear cider
around Thanksgiving. It goes in minutes!
One of our local cideries, Bellwether Cider, is working on a fizzy
apple/cherry cider blend. We enjoyed wonderful fermented pear cider, or
perry, in England's Somerset region a few years ago喫t made a delicious
vinegar too (for a salad of bitter greens, pears, walnuts, and Stilton
cheese).

Cheers!
Peg (In the beautiful Finger Lakes region of New York State仇ine and cider
country!)

Bren

unread,
Jun 5, 2001, 11:05:08 AM6/5/01
to
There's another variant in Canada "Applejack" but I've never seen it.
I've heard that it's made by freeze concentration of hard cider. Just
like in seawater when it freezes the solutes freeze last when the ice is
floating so what melts first contains a lot of salt. In this instance a
lot of alcohol and sugar, colour etc. I once tried the distilled version
of Applejack but it tasted like prunes.
There are now more sophisticated methods of freeze concentration. Does
anyone use it?

MatCoward

unread,
Jun 13, 2001, 5:02:47 AM6/13/01
to
In article <mlh4-04060...@132.236.39.14>, ml...@cornell.edu (Peggy
Haine) writes:

>We enjoyed wonderful fermented pear cider, or

>perry, in England's Somerset region a few years ago‹it made a delicious


>vinegar too (for a salad of bitter greens, pears, walnuts, and Stilton
>cheese).

Should have been cheddar cheese - invented, of course, in Cheddar, here in
Somerset!

Peggy Haine

unread,
Jun 13, 2001, 3:51:35 PM6/13/01
to
In article <20010613050247...@nso-bg.aol.com>,
matc...@aol.com (MatCoward) wrote:

Lucky you, to be in Somerset‹what a beautiful part of the world. And yes,
as I recall, the cheddar was wonderful too. But Stilton's our favorite.
You should have seen the looks we got from English airline security as we
dragged wheels of it home in our luggage! "Is that. . . uh. . . cheese?"
they asked incredulously.
Peg

0 new messages