Cider in the Kitchen
Once you have discovered the pleasure of fresh and bottled cider by the glass) it is simply a matter of time and curiosity until the satisfaction and enjoyment of cooking with cider becomes apparent. Whether fresh and very sweet or fully fermented and bone dry) cider is one of the most versatile liquids a cook can use. Since most recipes require the addition of some liquid during the cooking process) cider can be used in preparing an entire meal from the first course through dessert.
Cider is an important part of the regional cuisines of France and England. It is an essential element of such classic recipes as tripe a la mode de Caen from Normandy and Devon pork pie, for example. More important) though) is the general use of cider in a wide variety of meat, fowl and seafood dishes. Cider gives its own zest and flavor to many foods that are more often prepared with wine.
In order to simplify the use of cider in the kitchen, we have written recipes for three categories of cider - fresh sweet) semi-dry) or dry hard. Fresh sweet cider is recently pressed, not effervescent, and full of apple flavor. Semi-dry cider is bubbly, mildly alcoholic and fruity, but still fairly sweet. Most of the sweeter bottled ciders fall into the semi-dry category. Dry hard cider is bone dry, relatively alcoholic, not effervescent and rarely fruity when naturally fermented. Only the driest bottled ciders should be considered in this category for cooking.
Sweetness is the primary consideration for successful use of cider in cooking. The natural sugar in fresh cider averages 12 percent, which translates to two cups per gallon or four to six teaspoons per cup. Almost all bottled ciders have some sweetener added during blending. The sweetness of the cider on hand must be consistent with the desired sweetness of cider in a recipe or good food and good cider can be turned into a most unsatisfactory experiment.
Balance in the cider between sweetness and acid is also important to the cook. Most well-made cider, whether fresh or bottled, is high in acid. The sharpness of cider works to enhance the natural flavors in many foods.
Fruitiness is the third quality to consider for the most effective use of cider in the kitchen. Fresh cider often retains an apple flavor throughout the different stages of fermentation. Some bottled ciders also boast a distinctive fruitiness, which to American palates is somewhat bitter and even sour. However, many ciders, both fresh and bottled, have little apple flavor, which is a great advantage when adding cider to yeast breads, for example.
There are several different ways to prepare cider for use in the kitchen. American pioneers, especially the early colonists in New England, often boiled the fresh cider until it became a substance similar to maple syrup. Boiled cider was used to sweeten a great variety of desserts and beverages. It was the essential ingredient in a colonial favorite called boiled cider pie and a major addition to such regional specialities as Boston baked beans.
Since many hours of cooking were required to reach the [roper degree of thickness, boiled cider usually lost much of its natural apple flavor and became somewhat molasses-like from prolonged exposure to heat. A more satisfactory method of concentrating cider today is by freezing.
Fresh cider is mostly water, which means that most of the sugar, acid and flavor is contained in a relatively small amount of liquid. To obtain that concentrate, remove three cups of cider from a gallon of cider and freeze the rest overnight. When the cider is thoroughly fro-
zen} the jug can be opened and placed upside-down in a large bowl. The concentrate will thaw before the water in the cider, and most of it will be in the first five cups of melted liquid. It can be used to make several delicious desserts or can be mixed and blended with other beverages. Cider can be stored for several months in the freezer. Just be sure to thaw it completely and to shake before using so that the concentrate is blended back into the liquid.
Fresh cider can also be pasteurized to maintain a desired level of sweetness, although pasteurization is an inexact science, and results will vary depending on the cleanliness of the cider} the storage temperature, and the length of storage desired. Pour the cider into a sauce pan and heat to from 170 to 175 degrees for thirty seconds to a minute. Pour the hot cider into a bottle, cap} and invert the bottle so that every part of the container has been heated to destroy most of the organisms. Cider may be preserved at higher temperatures} but the flavor will suffer correspondingly.
Ideally, those who are just learning to cook with cider should keep a variety of bottled ciders and fresh ciders at different stages on hand. Fresh cider should be checked regularly so that the cook knows about how much sweetness, flavor and acid the cider contains. A supply of fresh cider gives the cook convenient control over the important characteristics in a fermenting gallon of fresh cider. Cider that has become too dry} for example, can be sweetened by simply adding a small amount of fresh cider.
Fresh cider not only allows the cook to control the quality and characteristics that are most important for cooking, but is generally much less expensive than bottled cider. But whether you cook with cider that is naturally fermented, or processed and bottled, we hope that you will find the results as tasty and worthwhile as we have.