All the Cider pressed for my own use in the Autumn of 2011, was taken from "frozen apples" still hanging on the trees. We had early hard frost during an apple bumper-crop year, so all the trees we didn't harvest before the frost, held their fruit while losing their leaves. Most folks would consider this a disaster, as they watch the apples turn brown and appear rotten. If they had read the book,
"Wild Apples" by H.D.Thoreau, they would know that these are the best apples for cider, within a certain window of opportunity.
As the fruit goes through repeated freeze-thaw cycles, the apple converts to a higher juice and sugar content. Eventually, wild fermentation sets in and the flavor of the juice becomes richer, before it becomes a bit "darker", and not so good. I've been exploring this window between "rich" and "dark" flavor for several years, and I believe I nailed it this year, with my final harvest of frozen apples just before New Years Day, which I processed into a rich Apple Syrup. Frozen apples I've tasted since then seem to have a tiny bit of off-flavor to them, owing I'm sure to the wild fermentation, which I'm now leaving for the enjoyment of the deer and the birds.
Meanwhile, I await the proper aging and bottle carbonation of the Champagne Cider, estimated to happen by Valentines Day!
All the Cider pressed for my own use in the Autumn of 2011, was taken from "frozen apples" still hanging on the trees. We had early hard frost during an apple bumper-crop year, so all the trees we didn't harvest before the frost, held their fruit while losing their leaves. Most folks would consider this a disaster, as they watch the apples turn brown and appear rotten. If they had read the book, "Wild Apples" by H.D.Thoreau, they would know that these are the best apples for cider, within a certain window of opportunity.
