Which apples to use
I use a mixture of 1/2 Bramley plus 1/2 Worcester Russet, Blenheim, and an unidentified old eating apple. Some people add crab apples. Commercially the apple crop is grown only for cyder using strong tasting apples high in tannin, which helps the final taste. These apples have wonderful names like Kingston Black, Brown Snout, and Ladies Finger. Often apples with a high sugar content such as Kingston Black are used to get a high alcohol content of up to 10% by volume. Perry is of course cyder made from pear fruit.
The traditional Wassail song
And there you have it, cyder for free and echoing down the years, the Wassail in the winter orchard with copious amounts of alcohol and the Wassail song:
Bud, blossom, bloom and bear,
Ready to tear,
So that we shall have apples and cyder next year,
At-fuls, cap-fulls, three-bushel bag-fuls,
Little heaps under the stairs,
Cider running out gutter-holes,
Hip, Hip, Hurrah.
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Next page: cyder making - the final chapter...
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