Heroes of Cider: Pomologist William Coxe, Jr. Of Burlington, NJ (1762-1831)

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Historical or Biographical Sketch:

“William Coxe (1762-1831), a pomologist, was one of the foremost fruit growers in America who experimented with new varieties of fruits at his home in Burlington, New Jersey. He collected specimens from the United States and abroad. A View of the Cultivation of Fruit Trees in America is a classic of American pomological literature. It is considered by many specialists as the illustrative evidence of fruit culture during the colonial and revolutionary period of the new American nation.”

source: Special Collections, National Agricultural Library

The full title of his masterwork:

A View of the Cultivation of Fruit Trees, and the Management of Orchards and Cider: with accurate descriptions of the most estimable varieties of native and foreign apples, pears, peaches, plums, and cherries, cultivated in the middle states of America : illustrated by cuts of two hundred kinds of fruits of the natural size : intended to explain some of the errors which exist relative to the origin, popular names, and character of many of our fruits, to identify them by accurate descriptions of their properties and correct delineations of the full size and natural formation of each variety, and to exhibit a system of practice adapted to our climate, in the successive stages of a nursery, orchard, and cider establishment.

His book can be found and read online via google books and archive.org.

He was also a Statesmen. Entry for William Coxe Jr. Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, 1774-2005:

“He was a Representative from New Jersey; born in Burlington, N.J., May 3, 1762; served as a member of the State general assembly 1796-1804, 1806-1809, and again in 1816 and 1817; served as speaker 1798-1800 and again in 1802; elected as a Federalist to the Thirteenth Congress (March 4, 1813-March 3, 1815); author; died in Burlington, Burlington County, N.J., on February 25, 1831; interment in St. Mary’s Churchyard.”

“He also had a national reputation for his cider, at an age when it was a famous and characteristic beverage” this according to  Proceedings of the State Horticultural Society at Its Annual Session, Volume 42 , New Jersey State Horticultural Society, 1917.

No. 83

On (hard) Cider

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Cider – An alcoholic beverage traditionally made from fermented apple juice, currently experiencing a craft revival.

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We say cider. We mean a fermented (alcoholic) apple or other pome fruit beverage. We are following the world tradition (and until the early 20th century, the American tradition) of calling a fermented apple beverage cider, and referring to apple and other pome fruit juice, as juice or sweet cider. Part of OUR American Craft Cider Revival effort is helping to revive the use of the word cider as the description for fermented apple juice.

It’s cider, anything else is just juice.

Note: We are aware that the current legal definition in the United States is, in summary: hard cider: a still apple wine of 7% or less alcohol by volume. But things are changing.

For a detailed description of the current legal definitions in the United States see:

Hard Cider, Semi-Generic Wine Designations, and Wholesale Liquor Dealers’ Signs (97-2523) 2001

Cider Review: West County REINE de POMME: Cider52

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tumblr_mlmwdeuXBU1s240hto1_500Cider: WEST COUNTY REINE DE POMME

Maker: West County Cider Origin: Colrain, Massachusetts

website: www.westcountycider.com

ABV: 7.3% Bottle: 750 ml, champagne cork

Style Notes: Small batch varietal hard cider. Primary apple is the Reine de Pomme, blended with Dabinett and Redfield.

Fruit: Apple.

Makers Fruit Notes: “Reine de Pomme is an archaic French Apple. We found it in the Geneva Reference Orchard. In 1987, in France, the only reference to it we found was a listing in a nursery catalog from the 1920’s at an apple museum in Normandy. No one seemed to know of it. But, forgotten or not, we were struck by the taste- tannins and iron- that made it inedible, but intriguing for a cider. As a cider it has a deep, dark-fruit, honeyed taste. We blended it with our Dabinet to round out the tannins, and Redfield to add bright fruit and to balance the bitter-sweets. Though blended, Reine de Pomme leads the taste, and the Dabinet and Redfield fall in nicely as supports. It is the fullest-bodied cider we have made. And the closest in taste to a French Cider”.

Bottle Notes: The Reine de Pomme – ‘Queen of Apples’ is a classic French ‘bittersweet’ apple. The strong tannins give complexity to this cider. This cider stands up well to robust tastes at the table. Dry.

Tasting Notes – In The Glass: Pale, clear, and bright rose gold. Tiny surface beads. Some legs/tears. Sweet dessert apple, sous bois, malted sugar, vanilla, tropical fruit, pineapple, ‘bright’ green notes of pepper and grass. Some leather, hints of spice, white pepper, and wood. Iron. Long tannic finish with medium acidity. Winey with a light, silky, smooth mouth feel.

Our Pairings – The Tasting Lab: This queen becomes humble when matched with food, elevating the flavors in the food to heights beyond her own. As a supporting player she does her best work with intense aromatics (garlic, lemon zest, oregano) but we found little that enhanced her own qualities or produced a completely new experience through pairing.

Cheesemonger’s Notes: We tasted this with St. Nectaire which brought out a caramel note that was undetected in the cider on its own or with our other flavor pairings. Other fairly mild washed rinds would probably produce the same delicious effect. Consider Hudson Red or Rougette.

Overall Impressions: Another beauty pageant contestant this pretty in golden pink cider boasts a powerfully sweet aroma that is perfectly balanced by complex tannins and bitter flavor elements. Pair with zesty Mediterranean dishes for a regal match or enjoy Reine de Pomme on its own to appreciate her unique variety of flavor notes.

If you have tasting notes to add please leave a comment.

Inside Cider: Regarding Cider Apple Terminology

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More USEFUL TERMS regarding Cider Apples:

TANNINS: bitter, astringent substances found in some apples. They give bitterness & complex, earthly flavors, plus drying, tautening, & body in the “mouthfeel”.

ACIDS: sour-tasting, or ‘sharp’ substances found in apples. Acids give a refreshing sourness, bright flavor, & a keen, mouth-watering “feel’. To ferment cleanly, raw cider juice needs a strong acid content.

SUGARS: sweet-tasting substances found in apples. Yeast ferments natural fruit sugars into alcohol.

CIDER APPLES: apple varieties that produce superior juice for fermenting. Like wine grapes, cider apples often taste bad. They can be super-bitter, super-sour, sickly-sweet, dry soft or any combination of the above. When a good eating apple works well for cider, or vice-versa, it is prized by Farnum Hill Cider & Poverty Lane Orchard’s as a ‘cross over’.

BITTERSWEETS: a class of cider apple varieties valued for high tannin content & high sugar content.

SWEETS: apple varieties grown for high sugar alone.

BITTERSHARPS: a class of cider apple varieties valued for high tannin content & high acid content.

SHARPS: apple varieties grown for high acid alone.

Adapted from Farnum Hill Cider & Poverty Lane Orchards booklet Inside Cider: Fast Facts for Wholesalers, Retailers, and Aficionados from Farnum Hill Cider © copyright Poverty Lane Orchards 2011. All Rights Reserved. Used by permission.

Cider Review: Breezy Hill Orchard Hudson Valley Farmhouse Cider: Cider52

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Cider: BREEZY HILL ORCHARD HUDSON VALLEY FARMHOUSE CIDER

Maker: Breezy Hill Orchard and Cider Mill

Origin: Staatsburg, New York

website: www.hudsonvalleycider.com

ABV: 4.5% ABV Bottle: 2 litre growler, screw cap

Maker’s Style Notes: Produced by Elizabeth Ryan of Breezy Hill Orchard. Hudson Valley Farmhouse Cider is fresh, unfiltered, unsulphited, authentic artisan farmhouse cider. It has a shelf life of 2-4 weeks and must be kept refrigerated. Slightly effervescent…a rare opportunity to enjoy a truly authentic beverage.

Fruit: Apples.

Tasting Notes – In The Glass: Opaque golden amber. Effervescent with mostly tiny bubbles. The primary flavors are all fruit but of various types: Pear, Tropical Fruit, Banana, Citrus, Culinary Apple. Vegetal and floral notes. Grass and Vanilla. Medium body with a silky mouthfeel. Sweetness balanced by salinity. Acid and bitterness are present but in low levels.

Rustic and easy drinking like a Saison.

Our Pairings – The Tasting Lab: Drank solo (before breakfast!) – but mused on cured meats, bitter greens, fudgey blue cheeses and best pairing of all – Maple Bacon Donuts. This one makes us think of our colonial forebearers. Surely Ben (Franklin) quaffed a beverage like this before bustling off to invent something extremely useful.

Red Flannel Hash (hash with beets) just begs to be paired with breakfast cider – channel your inner lumberjack.

Overall Impressions: This IS Breakfast Cider. Of course discerning cider drinkers may certainly find other times of day to enjoy this most wholesome and refreshing drink.

Tasting was over a period of days and the cider is so fresh and alive that each day it offered a different profile and was SO lively. Sweet, silky, astringent, slightly effervescent, and bursting with all kinds of apple cider goodness. We love this cider. High marks for transporting qualities.

If we were having Breezy Hill Orchard’s Hudson Valley Farmhouse Cider with donuts for breakfast we might try something like:

Dynamo Donut Maple Glazed Bacon Apple Donuts – AND they make a Quince Crumb Donut.

EVERYDAY is Bacon Donut Day.

Donut Plant‘s Ginger Donut – Cake or Yeast.

For further reading while enjoying your Breakfast Cider:

Donut Planet: the History of the Donut by Michael Krondl at Savuer.com

Cider Review: Cider52: Harvest Moon Cidery Heritage Hops Hard Cider with Hops

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Cider: HARVEST MOON CIDERY HERITAGE HOPS HARD CIDER with Hops

Maker: Harvest Moon Cidery

Origin: Critz Farms, Cazenovia, New York

website: harvestmooncidery.com

ABV: 6.75% Bottle: 22 oz bottle, crown cap

Style Notes: Hopped hard cider. Made from fresh sweet cider, with champagne yeasts, lightly carbonated.

Fruit: Apples.

Makers Bottle Notes: “Our Heritage Hops Cider is a tribute to the early hop growing history of Madison County, dating back to the mid 1800’s. Using a strain of locally grown hops, propagated from those originally grown nearby, we “dry hop” the cider after fermentation. It is aged for several months, then lightly carbonated”.

Tasting Notes: In The Glass: Clear, bright, pale straw. Initially lots of large bubbles, some legs, settles into a tiny mousse ring. Piquant, slightly pungent, winey, Sauvignon Blanc, steel, hoppy, herbaceous, asparagus, green pepper. Tannic, slightly bitter bite from the hops, medium long finish, somewhat drying.

Our Pairings – The Tasting Lab: Liddabit Sweets Sweet Potato and Black Pepper Caramels. Cider enhances the caramel’s flavors and the caramels intensify the bitter crisp acidity of the hoppy cider.

Cheesemonger’s Notes: Any bloomy rind goats milk (Humboldt Fog, Coupole, Valencay) will pair exceptionally well with the bright flavors in this cider. Spicy Blues such as Valdeon or Blaue Geiss would also be lively companions.

Overall Impressions Refreshing flavors of fresh cut grass, minerals, green pepper, nettles and of course hops. If you love American IPAs this is a cider for you.

Note: Harvest Moon Cidery, Critz Farms “plans to establish a new orchard dedicated specifically to growing cider apples. A mix of European cider apple trees and other dessert apple trees will be planted in the spring of 2014.”

If you have tasting notes to add please leave a comment.

Portrait: Apple Blossoms circa 1906

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Detroit Publishing Company Collection circa 1906

Credit Line: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection,

[reproduction number, LC-D4-16374]

Clare Barboza: Documentary Food Photographer

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ClareBarboza.com

www.claremariephotography.com

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Images: Tahuya River Apiaries, Harmony Orchards, Pipitone Farms, Poverty Lane Orchards, cider.

All images courtesy of the photographer. All images copyright © Clare Barboza

Discover the Craft of Documentary Food Photographer Clare Barboza.

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Clare Barboza is a Seattle-based visual artist and documentary food photographer focused on capturing the telling details that illuminate the stories behind what we eat, make, raise, and grow.

Her evocative images are featured in Rowan Jacobsen’s upcoming book, Uncommon Apples. Glimpse a few portraits of these unique apples: Knobbed Russet, Blue Pearmain, and wild Khazhaks – here. Clare discusses her experiences shooting the book, and shares beautiful pome fruit images, in her blog post a whole lotta apples.

Enjoy the images Clare graciously shared with us, and explore her work further at ClareBarboza.com

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Image: Harmony Orchards

All images courtesy of the photographer. All images copyright © Clare Barboza.

Portrait: Apple Blossoms circa 1905

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4a21389v-LOC

Detroit Publishing Company Collection circa 1905

Credit Line: Library of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, Detroit Publishing Company Collection,

[reproduction number,LC-D4-62016]