HISTORY OF CIDER MAKING

The actual history of apple cider making is very hard or even impossible to establish. The timeline below gives a simple and sketchy outline of the most likely progress of cider production through time. It is largely based on the developments of cider making in the United Kingdom.

TIMELINE

1300 BC

bullet Apples trees known to be found near Nile Delta River (large consensus on this)

55 BC

bullet Roman arrived in England
bullet Local Kentish villages drinking a cider-like beverage made from apples
9th century AD
bullet Cider drinking well established in Europe (a reference made by Charlemagne)
1066 AD
bullet Norman conquest
bullet Cider consumption is widespread in Europe
bullet Orchard specifically established to produce cider apples
bullet Monasteries regularly sold cider to the public
Medieval Times
bullet Cider making is an important industry, especially in Kent, UK
bullet Workers in monastery orchard receive daily allowances of cider as part of their wages (a practice continued until recently)
17th century AD
bullet Peak of the English cider making before its decline due to major agricultural changes
bullet Greater attention paid to the apple varieties used to make cider and its quality
18th century AD
bullet Methods of cider making condemned by Marshall (described by A. fothergill, a physician commissioned to determine the extent of copper contamination of ciders)
bullet Inconsistency in production especially in the fermentation condition results in condemnation
bullet Improvements were made
19th century AD
bullet loss of much of the art of cider making developed during the 17th and 18th centuries
20th Century AD

Present

bullet Regained of popularity of apple cider drinking
bullet Mass produce of cider - factory production
bullet Triumph of tradition cider making

In America, the history tells a different tale. Early English settlers introduced cider to USA by bringing with them seeds to cultivate apple cider. During the colonial period, hard cider was one of American's most popular beverages. Consumptions increases steadily until the 18th century before a drastic decline after 1919 due to prohibition. Today, both America and UK have seen a resurgence in traditional cider making!

Cider consumption in Europe and US

Image taken from http://www.history-of-cider.com/html/origins.html

 

Please note that this information has been summarized as accurately as possible. For more information, please see the references. Thank you.