Cider syrup
Cider syrup, also known as boiled cider or apple molasses, is a fruit syrup concentrate made from apple cider. First produced in colonial America,, it is still produced today in Maine, Massachusetts, and other parts of New England. It is an endangered regional food tradition of the United States.
Cider syrup is produced by boiling apple cider until the water content of the cider has evaporated. It is a thick, dark brown, opaque syrup with a concentrated apple flavor. As a sweetening agent, it was historically used as a substitute for imported cane sugar and molasses. It is now used as an ingredient in baking and cooking in place of maple syrup or other syrups where an apple flavor is desired.
History
Production of cider syrup originated in colonial North America, particularly in New England, where apples were abundant and households developed methods to preserve the harvest beyond the autumn season. Cider syrup was an alternative to maple sugar for backcountry farmers, most of whom did not reside near the central coastal or river routes.During the 18th and 19th centuries, boiled cider was mostly produced in rural communities for use as a household sweetener in cooking and baking. The syrup was used in desserts, sauces, and preserves, and in some cases was diluted with water when fresh cider was no longer available.
The production and domestic use of cider syrup declined during the 20th century as refined sugars became cheaper, refrigeration reduced reliance on concentrated fruit products, and traditional cider mills became less common. By the mid-20th century, cider syrup had largely disappeared from everyday household use and survived primarily as a regional food tradition in parts of New England.
Characteristics
Apple cider syrup is a thick, dark brown syrup with a sharp aroma of apples.Production
Apples
Boiled cider has typically been produced from "sweeting" apples, which contain less malic acid than other apples.Historical production
Cider syrup was produced by putting fresh juice into an open, non-reactive metal container and skimming the surface as it boiled down, until its volume was reduced. approximately one-seventh of the original. This process was labor-intensive and expensive. At least one early source states that premium apple molasses can be produced by steam cooking apples in a container, weighing them down in slatted baskets and pressing their juice through the straw, and then reducing the expressed juice. Most manufacturers only ground, squeezed and boiled down the apples into fresh juice, fermented them into alcohol, or made cider syrup.Gail Borden Jr., of New York City gained a patent for the "Improvement in Concentrating and Preserving for Use Cider and Other Juices of Fruits", which introduced the use of a vacuum pan as part of the preservation process.
Another early production method called for the treatment of cider with milk of lime to neutralize the malic acid and heating the cider to its boiling point. The boiled cider is then passed through a filter press, evaporated, and then re-filtered to create a final syrup product.