Ice Cider
Slideshow by Janeap1
Ice cider is a new phenomenon that is unique to Quebec. Here is a mosaic of an autumn day spent bottling 700 units of this rich amber-coloured delicacy at La Pommeraie in the Suroît Region of Québec.
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La Pommeraie
In southern Quebec, near the New York state border, in the region known as le Suro�t are rolling hills, vinyards and orchards. This is where our adventure begins at La Pommeraie du Sur�it.
Photo by janeap1
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a basket of ice cider
Inspired by the ice wine process, ice cider is a uniquely Quebecois product, made from the concentrated nectar of frozen apples. This concentrate is separated from the crystalized water around it, yielding a rich amber-coloured delicacy that reaches an alcohol level of 12% after the fermentation process.
Photo by janeap1
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in the apple orchard
Many varieties of dwarf apple trees grow in the orchard.
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apple trees
Apples from the Macintosh, Empire and Spartan trees must be picked in late fall because the fruit will not stay on the trees once it becomes frozen.
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Empire apples
Other varieties are left on the trees until December so that the sun and wind can help them develop a spicy flavour.
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equipment in the orchard
When the temperature drops to 5C, these apples are harvested and pressed immediately.
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crates of apples in the fridge
The apples that were picked in October are kept in an enormous refrigerator to prevent them from ripening too quickly. They will be pressed in January.
Photo by janeap1
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the oven--for warming socks
Inside the farmhouse, it's nice to get warm by the stove.
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the bottling crew
On this day in late October, a crew of four intrepid educators set about to bottle some 700 units of ice cider.
Photo by janeap1
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bottles to be filled
All of these bottles will be filled by the end of the day. Each bottle of cider is made from about 80 apples.
Photo by janeap1
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a barrel full of fermented cider
The pressed cider has been fermenting since last winter,
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the bottling machine
Where the bottler carefully places and fills the bottles.
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filling bottles
Remember, each bottle contains the juice of 80 apples, so the bottler must not waste any of this precious liquid gold!
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the corking machine
We needed a quick lesson on how to operate the corking machine,
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the fruits of our labour
And here are the 700 bottles we filled that day. The next step will be to put the labels on.
Photo by janeap1