1. An apple beverage a day? President John Adams drank cider every morning to promote good health. It must have worked! Adams lived to 90 years old, making him our third longest living president, behind Ford & Reagan.
2. Fresh cider was very important to early Americans. One in every ten farms in New England operated its own cider mill by the time of the American Revolution.
3. Why isn't hard cider as popular if there was so much cider production in early America? The Temperance movement stoped hard cider production. Swayed by speeches from ministers and politicians, many farmers destroyed their "demon orchards,". Many farmers only kept enough trees to be used for sweet juice. During the years when Prohibition was enacted, American hard cider production fell by 76%.
4. Four apple varieties you haven't heard of: Hangdown, Chibble's Wilding, Kentish Fill-Basket, and Glory of the West.
5. Other fruits can be used to make cider-like drinks as well. Perry is from fermented pear juice. Cyseris cider is fermented with honey. Plum jerkum is made from plums.
6. What alcoholic drinks can be made from fresh cider? Hard cider is the most common. But you can make hard cider even harder. Apple brandy and applejack are distilled ciders. Applejack, in particular, is really potent. It's nicknamed the "essence of lockjaw."
Written By,