Craft Hard Cider: Recipes, Tips, and Ideas for Making & Enjoying Hard Cider
I often talk about taste and smell being the same and, I’m not alone. This is because the flavors or what is often defined as the taste of food and drink depends on aroma. To be more specific, the flavor is created by olfactory receptors in the nasal pharynx picking up volatile compounds (aromas) when … Continue reading Cider: Taste versus Smell
Key Genes for Aroma and Sensory Characteristics If you took the same juice and fermented it with different yeasts, why would they have different aromas or flavors and even unique mouthfeel and sensory characteristics? Why would one be slightly sweeter or more acidic? It’s all in the gene’s. As discussed in other Mālus Trivium posts, … Continue reading Decoding Yeast Genes: Aroma and Sensory Characteristics
I like to experiment, especially with food and hard cider. Research I have read indicates that clearer juice will yield hard cider that is fruitier. One of the ideas is that with less sediment and solids, you reduce the level of bacteria and natural yeast that might generate off-flavors. I wondered if this would be … Continue reading Wild Thing: A Cider Process Experiment
Amino Acids in Hard Cider If I asked you to identify one of the most important compounds found in apple juice that impacts the quality of your hard cider, what would you answer? Would you say the sugar? Maybe you would advocate for the yeast. However, I would argue that the key compounds in your … Continue reading Amino Acids: The Key to Great Hard Cider
Fruit ripeness can impact a variety of compounds. Ripeness is usually associated with sweetness so confirming that apple cultivars have higher sugars and lower malic acid as they ripen(1), makes sense. It’s always good when what we think it logical is confirmed by science. However, I found it interesting that when O. Laaksonen and associates … Continue reading The Impact of Fruit Ripeness
Aroma apples add complexity to a cider blend. Cider apples are often referenced as Sweets, Bittersweets, Sharps, and Bittersharps. However, this doesn’t highlight a key element that contributes to great hard cider: Aroma. Aroma in hard cider come mostly from esters and alcohols but aldehydes, ketones, and ethers can also contribute. These compounds are created … Continue reading Aroma Apples
Apple and pear juice contain a variety of organic acids. Even sweet apples with high pH like Red Delicious and Ambrosia are still acidic. They won’t contain the same quantity as a tart and sharp Granny Smith or bittersharp cider apple, but they contribute to the hard cider flavors. When I assess apples for hard … Continue reading Common Acids in Hard Cider
There can be hundreds of compounds in your hard cider that create aromas and flavors. Esters are one of those. They are generally described as sweet or fruity. For example hexyl acetate is often thought to smell like apple. However, they can also be described as solvent, which could be ethyl acetate. Other esters can … Continue reading Hard Cider Tip #19: Esters
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