Dirty Dozen - CIDER

During my childhood years, my grandparents and I picked apples from their small orchard. With Macintosh apples we made applesauce that doubled as pie filling as well as apple cider.

Though cider may be made from many kinds of fruit, the most common is made from apples. Did you know the species dates back 50 million years? It is believed an original cider — offered by the Celts to Caesar in 55 B.C.– was purportedly made from an apple varietal originating from Kazakhstan, Malus domestic-a, the original mother of all apples. Its tree grafts were brought to North America by the Pilgrims.