French cider is usually made from bittersweet to bitter sharp apples, is clear to brilliant, amber in color and has alcohol content of 3-6%. It is low in acidity and sometimes has a fruity flavor and an overripe finish. My paternal grandmother, Helen S. Wright included a recipe for French cider in her 1907 book, Old Time Recipes for Home made Wines, but it is difficult to believe her product was anything like traditional French cider.
In the words of my grandmother….
After the fruit [apples] is mashed in a mill, between iron cylinders, it is allowed to remain in a lrge tun or tub for fourteen or fifteen hours, before pressing. the juice is placed in casks, which are kept quite full, and so placed under gawntrees, or stillions, that small tubs may be put under them, to receive the matter that works over. At the end of three or four days for sweet cider, and nine or ten days for strong cider, it is racked into suphured casks, and then stored in a cool place.
To buy Old Time Recipes for Home Made Wines by Helen S. Wright from Amazon.com Click Here.
Karen Meyers