Sharp cider making

Out of the bitter came forth ‘nothing more delicate, more clear and bright, more agreeable to taste.’ Vincent Obbard recounts how two Normandy cider experts were overawed by Jersey’s superior cider in the mid-19th Century

In September 1856, by order of the Société Centrale d’Agriculture de la Seine Inférieure, two gentlemen arrived in Jersey from France to stay at the Pomme d’Or Hotel. One of them, Monsieur J Girardin, was the president of the same agricultural association. His colleague, Monsieur J Morière, was a professor of agriculture of the Département of Calvados.

Their purpose was to investigate the methods used in Jersey for making cider, which at that time were considered superior to those used in Normandy, where the cider-making methods were in their infancy.

They were greeted with open arms by officials in Jersey, notably Colonel John Le Couteur (Aide de Camp of Queen Victoria), Colonel Mourant and Mr M Marett, Secretary of the Royal Jersey Agricultural Society. They also visited Mr Gibaut at his property, Mainland, in St Lawrence. Mr Gibaut clearly was skilled in making good cider - Monsieur Girardin describes the cider he tasted there:

‘Rien de plus délicat, de plus limpide, de plus agréable au gout, d’une plus belle couleur blonde, que le cidre de Coccagee, que nous a servi ce ‘gentleman farmer’; jamais nous n’avons bu de boisson aussi délicieuse en Normandie.’

[‘Nothing more delicate, more clear and bright, more agreeable to taste, of a more beautiful blond colour, than the Coccagee cider which this gentleman farmer served us. We have never drunk such a delicious drink in Normandy.’]Apparently, the word ‘Coccagee’ comes from the Irish ‘ca a’ gheidh’ meaning ‘dung of the goose’. The making of cider from the single apple variety of Coccagee is interesting. This variety has, sadly, completely died out. Dr Robert Hogg in his ‘Fruit Manual’ first published in 1884, describes it as one of the oldest and best cider apples. ‘Although it is perhaps the most harsh and austere apple known, and generally considered only fit for cider, still it is one of the best for culinary purposes, especially for baking, as it possesses a particularly rich flavour when baked.’

In his book, The Apple and Pear as Vintage Fruits (published 1886), Dr Henry Graves Bull describes the Coccagee as ‘so extremely rough and tart, that it would be almost impossible to eat one raw’.

Many of the Jersey apple varieties which have been saved from the fate of the Coccagee by the sterling work of Brian Phillipps and the late Rosemary Bett in Jersey, are sharp tasting, like the Côtard, the Gras Binet and the Rouget, although by the previous account, they do not pass the inedibility test! Nevertheless, they are not preferred by cider makers today, who favour a sweeter apple. I have an orchard of Jersey varieties, for which there is little demand.

What a shame it is that we have lost the art of making a superior drink from sharp apples. I’m sure that the resulting product would not have the characteristics of the modern processed cider to which we have become more accustomed.

However, to have earned the respect of two knowledgeable experts from Normandy, the drink must have been good.

Maybe we have not entirely lost the art. I have a number of artisan cider maker friends, who are members of the Jersey Cider Apple Orchard Trust. We made cider on a very limited scale in our farm courtyard at Samarès. I hasten to add that the cider is not made in sufficient quantity to sell and is made purely for the enjoyment of members of this group. It is made on a very small scale only.

The process seems to depend on allowing the juice to ferment for up to a week in a container which is open to the air, after which the natural yeast and particles, as described by Monsieur Girardin ‘…viennent s’accumuler à la surface du liquide, où elles forment une espèce de chapeau.’ […come together on the surface of the liquid, where they form a sort of hat.]

The clearer juice is syphoned off from underneath the yeast layer or ‘hat’ into clean and sterilised containers, which are not necessarily filled to the top. The syphoning process is repeated, according to Monsieur Girardin, until the cider is syphoned into a barrel, and the emission of carbonic gas ceases altogether.

All I can say is that the resulting product is very acceptable indeed. I enjoy the cider from my own Jersey variety apples. I describe it as dry and tasting strongly of the apple juice from which it was made. It is an ideal drink to accompany a strong cheese, like Stilton.

The challenge is on for anyone interested in the production of a local cider to exploit the wonderful characteristics of our local apples, which unfortunately have very little value at present.

Vincent Obbard.

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