Apple Cider - Unpasteurized Cider

Unpasteurized Cider

Apple cider is typically made from blends of several different apples to give a balanced taste. There is some competition among local cider mills in apple country for the highest quality blends. Frequently blends of heritage, or heirloom, varieties are used.

Today, unpasteurized cider is generally sold only on-site at orchards or small rural mills in apple growing areas. In the absence of pasteurization, naturally occurring yeasts in the cider are not killed and they can cause fermentation with time. Even with refrigeration, cider will begin to become slightly carbonated within a week or so and eventually become hard cider as the fermentation process turns sugar into alcohol. Some producers use this fermentation to produce hard cider, and some carry it to the further acetification process to produce apple cider vinegar. The government requires that unpasturized cider and juice have a warning label on the bottle.

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