Cider

This past fall folks at VPR - Vermont Public Radio - were talking about the apple harvest in the region. They ended the discussion by saying that the area around Lake Champlain could turn in to the Napa Valley of Ciders. My little brain got spinning....! Wouldn't that be a hoot?! I mean the area where I go is totally economically depressed and something like cider making could be wonderful for the area.

Not since our forefathers were downing it by the tankard has hard cider been so sought after. The appeal is obvious: Fermented and barrel aged like wine, ciders are food friendly and offer flavor profiles ranging from dry to sweet, with citrus, floral, and oaky notes to boot. And the best cider comes from lesser-known breeds. “You can’t throw in Granny Smiths and call it cider,” Stephen Wood of Farnum Hill Ciders told Food & Wine. “You have to use bitter apples.”

(Taken from the 12/31/14 edition of The Week Magazine.)

I learned from Michael Pollan in his books about how all apple trees are grafted because planting apple seeds does not result in a tree bearing the same fruit as the seed it grew from. Isn't that fascinating? Just imagine the possibilities!