CIDER (Fr. Cidre ; Ger. Cider ; Ital. Sidro, or Cidro ;
Span. Sidra, or Cidra). — The origin of Cider, or “ Wine of
Apples,” as Pliny styles it somewhere about the commence-
ment of the Christian era, appears to be lost in the dark-
ness of ages ■ it was known to the ancient Hebrews, and is
recorded as a favourite drink of King Solomon. Some
writers credit Cider with Noah’s oft-quoted mistake, and
even go so far as to express a belief that the evils of
drunkenness were plainly indicated in the ban placed on
the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden. Whether this
be so or not, or whether the forbidden fruit was an apple or
not, it is quite certain that Cider can lay claim to a very
ancient history, and deserved universal popularity, which
same popularity has fallen off in a great measure in this
country, probably owing to taxation and the neglect of the
orchard rather than to taste.
John Evelyn tells us in his “Sylva,” published in 1664.
that “ It was by the plain Industry of one Harris (a
Fruiterer to King Henry the Eighth) that the Fields, and
Environs of about thirty Towns, in Kent onely, were
planted with Fruit, to the universal benefit, and general
Improvement of that County to this day.” And then he
goes on to explain that ‘‘ as by the noble Example of my
Lord Scudamor, and of some'otlier publick spirited Gentle-
men in those parts, all Hereford-shire is become, in a
manner, but one intire Orchard : And when his Majesty
[Charles II.] shall once be pleas’d, to command the Planting
But of some Acres, for the best Cider-fruit, at every of
his Royal Mansions, amongst other of his most laudable
Magnificences ; Noblemen, wealthy Purchasers, and
Citizens will (doubtless) follow the Example, till the pre-
ference of Cider, wholesome, and more natural Drinks, do
quite vanquish Hopps, and banish all other Drogues of
that nature.”
The foregoing famous chronicler shows himself to have
been a firm believer in the virtues of Cider, for he further
says : “ It is good of a thousand kinds, proper for the
cure of many Diseases, a kind vehicle for any sanative
vegetable or other medicinal ingredients ; that of Pippins,
a specific for the consumption, and, generally, all strong
and pleasant Cider excites and cleanses the stomach,
strengthens digestion, and infallibly frees the Kidneys and
Bladder from breeding the Gravel and Stone, especially
if it be of the genuine Ircliin-field Redstrake ; not omit-
ting how excellently it holds out good many years to
improvement, if full-body’d and strong, even in the largest
and most capacious vessels, so as when for ordinary drink,
our Citizens and honest countrymen shall come to drink
it moderately diluted (as now they do six-shilling Beer in
London and other places), that they will find it mar-
vellously conduce to health ; and labouring People, where
it is so drank, affirm that they are more strengthen’d for
hard work by such Cider than by the very best beer.”
Page 355
Presented as published in 1890. Historical recipes may not meet modern food-safety standards. Cook from the modern interpretation, not the original instructions.
AI-modernized reading of the original text
CIDER (Fr. Cidre ; Ger. Cider ; Ital. Sidro, or Cidro ; Span. Sidra, or Cidra). — The origin of Cider, or “ Wine of Apples,” as Pliny styles it somewhere about the commencement of the Christian era, appears to be lost in the darkness of ages ■ it was known to the ancient Hebrews, and is recorded as a favourite drink of King Solomon. Some writers credit Cider with Noah’s oft-quoted mistake, and even go so far as to express a belief that the evils of drunkenness were plainly indicated in the ban placed on the forbidden fruit of the Garden of Eden. Whether this be so or not, or whether the forbidden fruit was an apple or not, it is quite certain that Cider can lay claim to a very ancient history, and deserved universal popularity, which same popularity has fallen off in a great measure in this country, probably owing to taxation and the neglect of the orchard rather than to taste.
John Evelyn tells us in his “Sylva,” published in 1664. that “ It was by the plain Industry of one Harris (a Fruiterer to King Henry the Eighth) that the Fields, and Environs of about thirty Towns, in Kent onely, were planted with Fruit, to the universal benefit, and general Improvement of that County to this day.” And then he goes on to explain that ‘‘ as by the noble Example of my Lord Scudamor, and of some'otlier publick spirited Gentlemen in those parts, all Hereford-shire is become, in a manner, but one intire Orchard : And when his Majesty [Charles II.] shall once be pleas’d, to command the Planting But of some Acres, for the best Cider-fruit, at every of his Royal Mansions, amongst other of his most laudable Magnificences ; Noblemen, wealthy Purchasers, and Citizens will (doubtless) follow the Example, till the preference of Cider, wholesome, and more natural Drinks, do quite vanquish Hopps, and banish all other Drogues of that nature.”
The foregoing famous chronicler shows himself to have been a firm believer in the virtues of Cider, for he further says : “ It is good of a thousand kinds, proper for the cure of many Diseases, a kind vehicle for any sanative vegetable or other medicinal ingredients ; that of Pippins, a specific for the consumption, and, generally, all strong and pleasant Cider excites and cleanses the stomach, strengthens digestion, and infallibly frees the Kidneys and Bladder from breeding the Gravel and Stone, especially if it be of the genuine Ircliin-field Redstrake ; not omitting how excellently it holds out good many years to improvement, if full-body’d and strong, even in the largest and most capacious vessels, so as when for ordinary drink, our Citizens and honest countrymen shall come to drink it moderately diluted (as now they do six-shilling Beer in London and other places), that they will find it marvellously conduce to health ; and labouring People, where it is so drank, affirm that they are more strengthen’d for hard work by such Cider than by the very best beer.”