More USEFUL TERMS regarding Cider Apples:
TANNINS: bitter, astringent substances found in some apples. They give bitterness & complex, earthly flavors, plus drying, tautening, & body in the “mouthfeel”.
ACIDS: sour-tasting, or ‘sharp’ substances found in apples. Acids give a refreshing sourness, bright flavor, & a keen, mouth-watering “feel’. To ferment cleanly, raw cider juice needs a strong acid content.
SUGARS: sweet-tasting substances found in apples. Yeast ferments natural fruit sugars into alcohol.
CIDER APPLES: apple varieties that produce superior juice for fermenting. Like wine grapes, cider apples often taste bad. They can be super-bitter, super-sour, sickly-sweet, dry soft or any combination of the above. When a good eating apple works well for cider, or vice-versa, it is prized by Farnum Hill Cider & Poverty Lane Orchard’s as a ‘cross over’.
BITTERSWEETS: a class of cider apple varieties valued for high tannin content & high sugar content.
SWEETS: apple varieties grown for high sugar alone.
BITTERSHARPS: a class of cider apple varieties valued for high tannin content & high acid content.
SHARPS: apple varieties grown for high acid alone.
Adapted from Farnum Hill Cider & Poverty Lane Orchards booklet Inside Cider: Fast Facts for Wholesalers, Retailers, and Aficionados from Farnum Hill Cider © copyright Poverty Lane Orchards 2011. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.
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