A History of Cider Making

A History of Cider Making

Cider making has been popular in the UK for centuries – and for good reason! Join us as we explore the fascinating history of cider making…

The Origins of Cider

The first apple trees are thought to have grown near the River Nile in Egypt, all the way back in 1300 BC. However, it’s difficult to pinpoint when cider making started in the UK. After the arrival of the Romans in 55BC, apple orchards started to be cultivated and it was around this time that Kentish villages started drinking an apple beverage that had a strong resemblance to cider.

Cider Making in Monasteries

Following the return of Christianity to England in AD 597, monasteries starting keeping orchards and vineyards, producing cider both to sell and to drink. Despite numerous Viking attacks during this time, most monasteries survived and their orchards lived on. One of the most famous cider producing monasteries was at Ely in Cambridgeshire, along with Christ Church monastery in Canterbury which was known for growing eating apples as well as crops for cider making.   

Norman influence on Cider Making

Historians used to claim that it was the Normans who brought cider to England in 1066, but many now believe that it was being made long before this.

What can be said of the Normans, though, is that their organisation skills had a huge effect on cider making. Rather than using trees that were already available, the Normans grew new trees, with new orchards featuring apples more suited to cider making.

By 1300, England’s southern counties were full of cider producers, and orchards started springing up across the country – even as far north as Yorkshire. Cider making became so popular that by the 1400s it was normal for farms to pay their labourers with the drink!

19^th Century Decline

Cider making had seen a surge in popularity in the 17^th and 18^th centuries, but by the 1800s fewer people were drinking cider and there was a decline in production.

There was also a large campaign to see the eradication of alcoholic drinks as payment, and in 1887 the Trunk Act made this illegal.

Modern Cider Making

Luckily, more and more people started drinking cider again in the 20^th Century, bringing a “cider revival” in England. So popular was the drink that it started being mass-produced in factories to meet the high demand.

Despite its large commercial success, traditional producers resumed cider making, meaning that for cider lovers today, there is a wide range of high-quality varieties to choose from.

So, there you have it – a short history of cider making in the UK. If you’ve found this interesting, perhaps you feel inspired to start making cider for yourself! Just get in touch with us here at Vigo Presses to find out more.

How to make Delicious Dry Fruit and Vegetable Snacks

How to make Delicious Dry Fruit and Vegetable Snacks

Dried fruits and vegetables make the ultimate snack, as they are both delicious and healthy. A number of fruits and vegetables can be dried and can be eaten as snacks or included within recipes for up to one year if stored correctly.

Drying is one of the oldest known methods of preserving foods. Flavours and aromas within fruit and vegetable is concentrated as water, so when this is removed from the food it equals a more intense and unique flavour. The vitamins, minerals and nutrients that are found within fruit and vegetables are unaffected by the drying process and are able to be stored without the needs of preservatives and refrigeration.

Many different fruits and vegetables can be dried to provide a beautifully unique flavour. Including apples, strawberries, pears, berries, grapes, plums, tomatoes, mushrooms, carrots, beans, onions, peppers, herbs and more. The list goes on.

Though it is possible to use a conventional cooking oven in order to dry fruit and vegetables, they are technically not designed to dehydrate food items which can cause them to shrink, stick to each other and leak. This is where Vigo Presses can help.

We have a fantastic product that makes fruit and vegetable drying a breeze. Our purpose built fruit and vegetable drier features four trays that are gentle fanned with warm, dry air to begin the drying process. Whether you want to dry different foods on each easy-to-clean tray or mix it up, the drying time will vary between 2-3 hours for herbs and around 4-8 hours for apples.

If you’re interested in growing seasonal produce and need a way of preserving the flavours for months to come, the process of drying is ideal for you. You can even add an additional set of two trays for a maximum capacity of six trays, giving you the ability to dry an increased amount of fruit or veg.

We’ve got some fantastic recipes including dried fruit and vegetables over on our website, which you can find here. If you give any of our recipes a go, we’d love to see your pictures! Why not tweet us at @VigoPresses. 

If you’d like more information on using your fruit and vegetable drier or any of our other products, we’d love to help. You can get in touch by visiting our contact page, or by giving us a call on 01404 890093.

  

A Guide to Creating Elderberry Wine at Home

When made correctly, elderberry wine can be simply delicious, and just as spectacular as traditional grape made wine. Elderberry wine somewhat resembles rich, red grape wines and is the ideal wine of choice for colder winter nights in front of a fire with friends and food! With the right equipment, creating your own elderberry wine in the comfort of your home couldn’t be easier.

Berries
Whether you’re picking your own or buying them at the supermarket, look for a cluster of elderberries that are fully ripe and have a pink stem for the best flavour. If there are any green berries, they’re not ready. The ripest berries will already have a few elderberry raisins on them, so look out for those.

Crushing
The next step is to begin the crushing process. We have some fantastic crushers available on our website that can make crushing fruit an easy and efficient process. We’d recommend the Pulpmaster with Bucket for elderberries. Though this can be done by hand or with a blender, it isn’t advised- crushers can do all that hard work for you in a much quicker time! Once crushed, add some water to the berries for volume. Mix the berries and water together and pour some into your hydrometer. The scale will be able to tell you the sugar levels within your mixture. The ideal scale for an elderberry wine is around 24.5, but you’ll need it to be above 20 and below 28.

Sugar
Depending on the scale your hydrometer read, you’ll want to add sugar accordingly. Most recipes will tell you the amount you need to add, but if not, think of it like this: (Hydrometer Reading) x 0.125 x gallons of juice = sugar needed (lbs) It’s important that you add the sugar in batches rather than all at once, with regular hydrometer tests in between. Always aim low for fruit wines, as sugar can pick up through the night, meaning there may be too much sugar come morning!

Acidity
Conducting an acidity test will ensure your wine has enough acid to age without going bad. The right amount of acid can transform a drink from dull to bright, too. Our pH Meter is ideal for testing acidity within wine, cider and juice. The pH level of your wine should sit at around 3.2 to 3.8. If it is too low, your wine will be susceptible to bacterial infections, and a pH level that is too high will taste incredibly sharp.

Ferment
You’ll need yeast to begin the fermentation process. Mix in half the amount of yeast that you will be using for the whole of the elderberry wine making process. Pour half a cup of boiling water into a measuring cup and add the yeast by sprinkling it on top. Leave it for five minutes then stir and wait another 15 minutes, then add it to the juice. The 100 litre Speidel Fermenter is ideal for wine fermentation due to its thick walls, helping to preserve flavour and restrict oxidisation. On day two of fermentation, add the rest of your yeast. Fermentation should last around three-six days.

Pressing
The initial elderberries, sugar, water and yeast is now wine, which you’ll need to separate! We’d suggest using one of our presses which are ideal for separating any solids and liquids in your mixture. Using a press will ensure every last bit of delicious liquid is squeezed from the elderberries that are still lingering in the wine mix. You can bottle the wine in any of our bottles to keep it perfect for weeks, and even months, to come.
If you need more information on the best products for elderberry wine making, we can help. For more information, get in touch with a member of the team by visiting our contact page or by giving us a call on 01404 890093.

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