Apple cider is one of the greatest joys of the Autumn season, a richly seasoned beverage that warms the stomach and soul in equal measure. In one glass you get the distilled essence of an entire summer of growth while the apple sat soaking in the nourishing rays of the sun and danced gently in storms and wind. After harvest, it is pressed and delivered to mouths that have waited the entirety of the year for this one moment, a warm glass of spiced apple cider. Apple Cider Day commemorates this journey and honors the history of this fine sweet beverage.
- President John Adams drank cider every morning because he believed it promoted good health. Adams lived to 90 years old.
- Some cider apple names: “Hangdown,” “Kentish Fill-Basket,” “Glory of the West.”
- Caesar’s troops brought back apple cider after storming England in 55 BCE.
- Apple cider is the name used in the United States and parts of Canada for an unfiltered, unsweetened, non-alcoholic beverage made from apples.
- On November 18th, 1307 The legendary William Tell shot an apple from his son’s head. November 18th is now National Apple Cider Day.
- Kids were baptized in cider during the 14thcentury because it was believed that cider was more sanitary than water.
- In the 19th Century cider was advertised as a cure for the gout and other illnesses.
- It takes about 36 pieces of fruit to make one gallon of the apple cider.
- Farm workers’ wages in earlier times included four pints of cider a day.
- At one time, 365 different varieties of cider apples were grown.
- Cider is equally enjoyed by men and women, but women drink half the volume of men.
- There are more than 7,500 different varieties of apples in the world, so if you had the recommended “apple a day”, it would take 20 years to try them all.
- The popularity of cider in America fell in the early 1900’s due to the arrival of many Europeans who brought beer over.
- The pilgrims who arrived to America drank cider because it was safer than drinking water.
- Temperance Nearly Destroyed Cider. If cider was America’s go-to alcoholic beverage for centuries, what the heck happened between then and now? Why don’t we find eight taps for cider and just one for beer at a bar? Cider’s first moment of decline happened during the temperance movement in the U.S. Since this liquid gold was so popular and cheap to make, it was an obvious target for super critics of alcohol. So much so that the movement targeted apple orchards, burning them to the ground. All those adorable cider apple varieties were almost completely destroyed.
- Cider is Categorized as Wine in the US. The process of pressing and fermenting cider has way more in common with wine than that of brewing beer. So much so that the U.S. government often categorizes cider as a wine. Since this drink is so embedded in our history, it’s no wonder that many Americans replace wine with cider on their Thanksgiving tables.
- In 2014, a study found that a pint of mass-market cider contained five teaspoons (20.5 g / 0.72 oz) of sugar, nearly the amount the WHO recommends as an adult’s daily allowance of added sugar, and 5–10 times the amount of sugar in lager or ale.
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