a brief history of cider claire preston

A Brief History of CiderClaire Preston

Genet Moyle and Redstrake/Redstreak, aka Scudamour Crab

Adam and Eve (Lucas Cranach)

peri = a class of plants including apples and pears

mālum = ‘melon’ (latterly the modern botanical genus of the apple)

malum = ‘evil’

‘The memorie of that delicious place was not yet so far obliterated, but that our Forefathers’ early attempts sufficiently discover’d how unhappily they were to live without a Garden... and Men began, with the indulgence of Heaven, to recover that by Arduous Industrie, which was before produced to them Spontaneously. We all came out of this Parsly Bed.’

John Evelyn, Elysium Britannicum (1650-1700)

Pruning and Grafting tools

Grafting and inoculation

Pruning techniques (quincunx planting scheme, right)

The Battle of the Medway (1667) (Pieter van Soest)

John Evelyn, Pomona (1670)

The Great Piece of Turf (Albrecht Dürer)

A society of Paradisi Cultores, persons of antient simplicity, paradisean and hortulan saints, to be a society of ingenuous and learned men, by whom we might hope to redeeme the tyme that hath bin lost in pursuing, and still propagating, vulgar errours.

John Evelynto Thomas Browne, 28 January, 1660

John Beale on cider culture (1662)

Nothing shall so much honor and oblige ye people and posterity, as a generall regard to ye advantages of ye right plantation of orchards, for ye general use of such liquor as may there be raised. And I am seriously persuaded that it is an improvement answerable to ye great expectations of this wonderfull age, and worthy ye speciall cognisance of the Royal Society. I am askt, whether I mean to turn all England into Orchards. And to say truth, Herefordshire is become an orchard of 20 miles square, and gives our Sparks such a relish of Cider.

Bran Rose Oblong Liffee :Tender Chestnut: Carmagnolles Munn's Red Orgeran: Red Short-Start: Great Cushion Apple Old Bromley Passepommes or Honeymeal White: Camoise: Round Cushion Apple Cherry Norman Pommasses: Cliquet or Rattle-Apple: Red Fenouill: Long Cushion Apple Cherry Pym Square Reinette or Pippin: Scarlet Apple: Red Short-Start Cowarne RedWhite Hasty: Dewy Apple: Snow Apple :Our Ladies Apple: White Rambourg: Cleer Calvil: Red Rambourg Pearmain Royal: White Calvil: May-Flower Red Norman Large Red of September Coccagee Vermillion: Russet Short-Start Red Royal Soft Red: Danquelles: Great-Ey’d Apple Cwmmy St John: Red Calvil: Magdalene Red Splash Jayet: Great Belly’d Woman: White Fenouill Red-streak Judea: Hurluva: Coquere:t Hard Short-Start Dymock Red Malingres or Maligar: Douettes: Bretagne Cloth of Gold: Stranger Eggleton Styre Nattranges: High-Good Skyrme's Kernel Pigeonnet Royal Wilding Clustered Apple: White Apple of Bretagne: Forest Styre winter Passepomme: Red Apple of Bretagne: Citron Apple Foxwhelp Rose Apple: Camuese or Flat-Snout: Minion: Raeslee South Quoining Robillard: Winter Chestnut: Lugelles Garter March Violet: Cardina:l Jacob Apple Strawberry Norman Pear-Apple: Iron Apple Gennet Moyle Vignancourt: Icy White Apple: Single Short-Start Tanner's Red Reinet of Auvergne Green Wilding Pippin of Mascons Hagloe Crab Grey Reinet: Great White Apple Wilding Bitter-sweet Health White Norman Apioles: Apple without Blossom Handsome Norman Winter Reed: Little-Good: Apple of Hell or Black Apple White Must Seigneur: Babichet: Spicing: Giradottes Kingston Black Frozen Apple: Great and Small Apis or Appius ClaudiusWhite Styre Parsly Apple: Flat Reinet: Raspis

17th-century apple species (Herefordshire species in RED)

A GARDENER’S HANDLIST OF APPLE SPECIES

CIDER TECHNOLOGY

Modern and ancient apple species

Orchard and garden design

We were present & stoode by when thou, and thy wife, did both of you, transgresse the Command of our Creator ... which we never yet did, nor ever shall; though we are much inferior to mankind.

Ralph Austen, A Dialogue between a Husbandman and his Fruit Trees (1676)

Wouldst thou, thy Vats with gen’rous Juice should froth?Respect thy Orchats; think not that the TreesSpontaneous will produce an wholsom Draught.Let Art correct thy Breed; from Parent BoughA Cyon meetly sever; after, forceA way into the Crabstock’s close-wrought GrainBy wedges, and within the living WoundEnclose the foster twig; nor over-niceRefuse with thy own hands around to spreadThe binding clay: e’er long their differing veinsUnite, and kindly nourishment conveyTo the new pupil; now he shoots his armsWith quickest growth; now shake the teeming trunck,Down rain th’impurpled balls, ambrosial fruit.

John Phillips, Cyder (1707)

Redstreak or redstrake apple