Cider making is relatively new here but one many orchards have embraced

Oct 24, 2023

They’re of a place and the essence of the land and the climate. An apple from Armagh will have been lashed by rain, kissed by sunshine and everything in between making it unique and full of flavour.

Cider making here is a relatively new enterprise but one that many orchards have fully embraced. Nothing says "here" like a glass of cider. Today is Cider Day and the perfect time to celebrate this wonderful drink and the people that make it here. A few years ago I had the bright idea of taking some of the apples from the single apple tree in my garden and bought an apple press. Thankfully I had a friend over from America because the press arrived in a flat pack. He has a methodical brain and took a couple of hours to get it assembled. Naively I thought you just shoved whole apple to be juiced which isn't the case. They need to be chopped finely first. We chopped and pressed 2 big buckets of apples and ended up with a litre of juice. At this stage any idea of making cider was abandoned and we drank the apple juice. There wasn't a surface that didn't have some kind of apple pulp attached to it and I spent hours cleaning the place. The result was any respect I had for cider makers and their craft was multiplied by a hundred fold. Every time I crack open a bottle I think of the effort that has gone in to juice, ferment, age and bottle the drink.

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There are many ciders on the market but try and source a local one. They’re made with 100% apple juice unlike some of the bigger commercial brands. If you have at least 10% juice to start with you can call it cider. Apart from being a refreshing drink cider adds a real oomph to your cooking. For years I’ve been making an apple cider cake where sultanas are soaked in cider before being baked in an apple sponge and then soaked in a cider syrup hot from the oven. It's been a favourite in our family for years and Santa was treated to it for many a Christmas. Its good hot with custard or ice-cream or cold with a hot cuppa.

The French are also adept at making cider and the savoury recipe this week takes inspiration from a Gallic classic, Breton Chicken. Here a chicken is jointed (I’ve attached instructions to do this but feel free to just buy the component parts or just use thighs) and cooked with some vegetables and local cider instead of French. The whole thing is finished off with a swirl of cream, parsley and mustard. You could serve it with mash or buttered potatoes but I’ve added a recipe for a double hit of apple with cider boulangere potatoes.