Growing Apples for Homemade Cider

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Vinegar should be made in a wide-mouthed container, or in a partially filled cider barrel, to expose a large surface of the hard cider to air. Add the vinegar mother as a leavening for further acetobacter growth. Cover the container or bung hole with several layers of cheesecloth to keep out dust and insects. Vinegar should be made in a warm dark place, and expect this process to take several months. Time preserves the delicacy of flavor found in a natural cider vinegar that is lost in the 48-hour acetator process of industrial vinegar making. You can expect an acid strength equal to the alcohol content of your hard cider; thus the 6 percent alcohol of a natural cider converts to a 6 percent acetic acid vinegar. Stronger vinegars should be diluted with distilled water to reduce acidic sharpness.

A culture so strongly tied to even its vinegar readily builds up a collection of cider tales. Regional lore may garner stories like this one of Bill Lord, extension fruit specialist here in New Hampshire. It seems one fellow from Union Village hadn't been seen for two months one winter. Finally he showed up at the general store for supplies. "What'cha been doing these days, Nathaniel?" asked the shopkeeper. "Working at home," came the taciturn reply. "Not much doing in winter, is there?" "Perhaps not, though you'll have to allow it's hard work hauling thirty gallons of cider up the cellar stairs, two quarts at a time."

Nathaniel's two quarts will be more in demand as the apple again becomes known for its varietal array. And if you still don't find a Wickson blend, or even of Granniwinkle herself, on your local grocer's shelf, don't despair. Plant some trees, turn that hand screw, and lift your mug up high. Three cheers for the cider renaissance!

Cider Apple Sources

Some nurseries specialize in propagating once-favored cider apple varieties.

Buying regionally connects you with growers who best know which trees are hardy as well as "taste suited" for your latitude and climate. I've seen descriptions of the Ben Davis as once being the South's leading winter apple, yet here in New England it's a disappointing hardball. Similarly, the McIntosh won't take on that wonderful blend of sweet tartness when grown in a less frosty clime. The catalogs of these nurseries are extremely helpful in telling which apples are good for cider, fresh eating, cooking, drying, or storing. A good start might be three trees each for the September, October, and November cider harvest. Bear Creek's catalog offers a helpful chart of approximate ripening dates at their Washington nursery (these dates will vary with location, but the sequence of varietal ripening will remain the same). Both the Burford Brothers and Southmeadow Fruit Gardens offer more extensive varietal guides for $12 and $9 respectively. Growing your own trees requires patience in this era of instant convenience, but you'll find the pleasures of the orchard year well worth the wait. Particularly when it gets to be cider pressing time!

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