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| − | :''For the alcoholic beverage known in the U.S. as hard apple cider, see [[cider]]
| + | #REDIRECT [[Special:Whatlinkshere&target=Sparkling cider]] |
| − | [[Image:Cider and apple juice.jpg|thumb|175px|right|American-style apple cider, left; [[Apple juice]], right.]]
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| − | '''Apple cider''' is the name used especially in the [[United States]] and parts of [[Canada]] for a non-alcoholic beverage produced from [[apple]]s by a process of pressing. It is more sour and cloudy than conventional [[apple juice]], retaining the tart flavor of the apple pulp which is lost in conventional fruit juice production.
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| − | Cider is mostly thought to be best{{fact|date=September 2007}} in late [[autumn]], corresponding with the [[harvest|harvest season]], and is a popular traditional beverage on [[Halloween]] and [[Thanksgiving]], heated if the weather is especially cold.
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| − | ==Production==
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| − | In the United States, well over 12,000,000 gallons of apple cider are [[ram press (food)|pressed]] each year. Apple cider was (like other forms of cider were) traditionally fermented, but that alcoholic apple drink is now referred to in the United States as [[cider|hard cider]]. Today in the US (and Canada to some extent), apple cider is a nonalcoholic beverage; a subcategory of apple juice traditionally made from early-harvest apples which have a lower sugar content and are more acidic, thus cider has a more tart, tangy taste than apple juice. It is generally (though not always) unfiltered, giving it a somewhat cloudier appearance from suspended solids.
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| − | Apple cider is rarely sold unpasteurized — generally on-site at small [[orchard]]s. Some seek unpasteurized juice based on the common, but mistaken, belief that less-processed products are healthier.<ref name="proposed regulations">[http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/foodreview/may1999/frmay99f.pdf/ USDA Food Safety "New Juice Regulations Underway"]</ref>
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| − | Due to outbreaks of [[salmonellosis]], [[enterohemorrhagic]] [[Escherichia_coli_O157:H7|E. coli]] infections, [[cryptosporidiosis]], [[cholera]] and other serious illnesses from unpasteurized fruit juices in general and apple cider in particular, the U.S. FDA now requires that virtually all fruit and vegetable juice producers follow [[HACCP]] controls, using either heat pasteurization, UV treatment or other proven methods.<ref name="final regulation">[http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~lrd/fr01119a.html/ Federal Register: January 19, 2001, HHS/FDA "21 CFR Part 120 Final Rule"]</ref> As a result, all apple cider sold in the United States, other than sales directly to consumers by producers (such as juice bars), must be produced using HACCP principles to achieve a 100,000 fold reduction in pathogens.<ref name="final regulation"/> While the use of certain UV treatments or other technologies meet legal requirements, heat pasteurization is the most commonly used method.<ref name="Juice HACCP">[http://www.cfsan.fda.gov/~comm/haccpjui.html/ FDA/CFSAN HACCP -- "Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point: Juice HACCP"]</ref>
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| − | Even before the 2001 legislation, most apple cider distributed in the U.S. was [[pasteurized]].<ref name="proposed regulations"/> Even so, unpasteurized cider was linked to approximately 16,000 to 48,000 cases of foodborne illnesses each year, according to the FDA.<ref name="Cider Stands">[http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9C03EED8123BF932A25753C1A96E958260/ New York Times, October 11, 1998 "Those Quaint Apple Cider Stands Meet Up With the Long Arm of the Law"]</ref>
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| − | ==Variations==
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| − | [[Image:Applecider.JPG|thumb|150px|left|Unpasteurized Massachusetts cider.]]
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| − | Apple ciders are often made from blends of several different apples to give a balanced taste. There is some local competitiveness among cider mills in apple country for the highest quality blends, and makers keep their formulas secret. One trick used to add interest to a cider blend is the addition of a percentage of [[crabapple]]s. Cider [[doughnut]]s are often sold at cider mills and contain cider in the batter. Visiting apple orchards in the fall for cider, doughnuts and you-pick apples is a large segment in U.S. [[agritourism]].
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| − | '''Hot apple cider''' or '''mulled cider''' (also known as "[[Wassail]]") is a popular fall (autumn) and winter beverage<ref>{{cite web|url=http://allrecipes.com/HowTo/Warm-Up-with-Mulled-Wine-and-Cider/Detail.aspx |title=Warm Up With Mulled Wine & Cider |publisher=[[Allrecipes]]}} </ref>, consisting of apple cider, heated to a temperature just below boiling, with [[cinnamon]], [[zest (ingredient)|orange peel]], [[nutmeg]], [[clove]]s, or other [[spice]]s added.
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| − | Another cider available in the US and Canada is '''sparkling cider''', a [[carbonation|carbonated]] nonalcoholic beverage made from filtered apple cider. A common brand of sparkling cider is [[Martinelli's]].
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| − | ==American definition==
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| − | In the United States, the distinction between ''apple juice'' and ''cider'' is not legally well established,<ref>http://www.straightdope.com/classics/a2_048.html</ref> but ''cider'' is usually understood in common usage to be cloudier, unfiltered and less processed. Nevertheless, some large U.S. corporations continue to market the same clear, filtered, processed, and pasteurized apple juice as "apple cider".
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| − | ==References==
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| − | <!--See [[Wikipedia:Footnotes]] for an explanation of how to generate footnotes using the <ref(erences/)> tags-->
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| − | <references/>
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| − | [[Category:Apple products]]
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| − | [[Category:Fruit juice]]
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| − | [[Category:Vermont cuisine]]
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