North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Claude Jolicoeur <cjoli@gmc.ulaval.ca>]

A 17:44 06.11.03 +0000, vous avez écrit :
>So, a sweet apple w/ tannins but not much tart is desireable for cider-apple 
>growers?

It is called a bittersweet apple, and many european cider apples are
bittersweets. Naturally, some other characters may be desirable in order to
have a good cider apple - among other things, the sugar level should be
high, and the yield of juice should be good (i.e. the apple should be juicy
- dry apples don't produce as much juice). You also want an apple that may
have good flavor, or can give good flavor to the cider.

So, most French and English ciders (when I say cider, I mean the fermented
stuff) use a good fraction of bittersweet cider apples in their blends.

You can however make excellent cider without any bittersweet cider apples -
the taste and mouthfeel will likely be different, but not necessarily
inferior. It becomes a question of personnal taste and diversity. Most
North American ciders are made without them.

Claude