World Cider Day

Sir James / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0)

June 3rd is World Cider Day.

This day celebrates the drink known as cider, although in America it celebrates the one called "hard cider." In both cases, the drink is made from apples, but in the U.S., cider is simply apple juice. Everywhere else, cider is an alcoholic drink made from, usually, apples. Though other fruits can be used for ciders, the legal definition of such does vary from country to country; for example, perry is a similar drink made from pears.

Though cider is available everywhere, the UK has the highest per capita consumption in the world, and is home to the largest cider companies. Cider is also popular in the Republic of Ireland and Commonwealth countries, and there are other places where it is popular.

Most apples can be used to make cider, but cider apples are the best. Apples are low in sugar, so cider doesn't have a high alcohol content. This can be changed by adding more sugar or extra fruit, or by removing alcohol from the drink by distillation.

National Hot Mulled Cider Day

September 30th is National Hot Mulled Cider Day in the US.

Cider is an alcoholic drink made from apples (although there are an increasingly large number of other fruit ciders that are becoming popular). The exact percentage of apple juice that is required for a drink to be called cider varies from country to country; in the UK is must be at least 35%, in the US 50% and in France 100%. The drink shouldn't be confused with the non-alcoholic apple cider, as it is called in the US and Canada.

Any apples can be made into cider, but there are specific cultivars grown for the purpose which are known as cider apples. Cider has been made in the UK for over a 1,000 years, maybe 2,000 or more, and today it is still one of the most popular drinks.

Hot mulled cider can be made with either the alcoholic version, or the un-alcoholic apple cider. In each case, spices are added to the drink, as they are other mulled drinks, and it is then heated. One traditional way of heating such drinks was heating a poker in a fireplace, and then sticking the heated end into the cup. This is not that common today; the cider is more likely to be heated on a stove or in a microwave. Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and orange peel are common additions to hot mulled cider, but others can be used.