Thanks to John List for pointing us to
cidre de glace Canadien
Ice Cider is a Canadian invention, nothing to do with applejack. The cider is made from apples that have been naturally frozen.
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Ice cider has proceeded to win plaudits and prizes from Paris to Tokyo. Recently, it received the benediction of Slow Foodies when it was paired with aged Parmesan in a taste workshop at the Salone del Gusto in Turin.Where did this product emerge from?
Apples and cider have been part of Canada’s history since the first French explorers and settlers arrived in the 16th century. Many of the settlers came from Normandy and Brittany, regions with rich apple-growing and cider-making traditions. It’s reasonable to suppose that cultivars of the fruit from back home were among the products stowed in the holds of their sailing ships. Some of the resulting apples certainly ended up as rough ciders, though only ever for home consumption.
nice try. Apples do not have enough residual sugar to create a natural product with this alcoholic strength. Nor do I believe that apples can sit on the tree like ice wine grapes until freezing temperatures. This is bogus. You add sugar(s) to the juice and then freeze it or make regular cider and freeze,filter the cider. Not 100% sure how you do it and I agree it tastes good but the concept is not honest and is leveraging and ripping off ice wine producers.
RE residual sugar content and alchol from the Canadian apple wine site:
This juice should have a natural sugar concentration of at least 30 Brix before fermentation and a residual sugar content of at least 130 grams per liter after fermentation. Finally, its alcohol content must be greater than 7% and less than 13% per volume.
They also insist there is no added sugar. They give a pretty convincing description of the method. Perhaps John should check it out before he accuses products of being bogus! I guess John is in Canada as he’s had the pleasure of tasting it so he might not have read the lengthy discussion of the product on the ukcider mailing list.
I believe they use cryogenics. They freeze the juice to remove water. Therefore no added sugar but no snow on apples as the website implies. Booyaa! Myth buster!
Acording to Wikipedia it can be done either way – taking the juice from frozen fruit on the trees (cryoextraction) or naturally freezing the juice (cryoconcentration). Either way it tastes fantasic.
My only issue with it is, where can you get it in the UK?