Autumn is cider season. Unlike apple juice, which is clear and
has been filtered to remove solids and pasteurized to kill
pathogens and expand its shelf life, apple cider has a mystique
of its own. Opaque, nearly foggy, fresh-pressed cider is choke
full of suspended particles and depending on preparation and
storage may be a sweet, non-alcoholic thirst-quencher or become
a “hard,” alcoholic adult beverage. In 1998, U.S. FDA
regulations established that “sweet cider” or “soft cider” that
is sold in stores must be pasteurized to avoid health risks, but
cider that is sold directly from a producer to a consumer does
not have to meet this requirement. As a result, yeast that is
present in a bottle of cider purchased from a roadside stand
will continue to grow, even if the cider is refrigerated. After
after a week or two, the cider becomes noticeably carbonated.
Outside of the United States and parts of Canada, “cider”
specifically refers to the fermented version of the drink – what
Americans call “hard cider.” Thi