Apple Cider Day
By Charlie

National Apple Cider Day

Written by Charlie O'Shields

Today is a time to kick back with a mug of apple cider and celebrate. In North America, this means the non-alcoholic beverage (unfiltered apple juice) versus the traditional kind, which is called hard cider. To the rest of the world, it’s just the fermented concoction with anywhere from 1-12% alcohol content. So the choice is yours really.

I find it interesting that the type of apple best suited for cider and brandy is what’s called a “spitter.” This is a fruit so bitter and tannic that one’s first instinct is to spit it out and frantically look for something sweet to lick. But ferment those bad boys and you’ve got yourself a wonderful beverage with low alcohol that was perfect for early world dwellers who wanted a refreshing drink without all the cholera.

Now the good news about American apple cider is that it can be made into an array of alcoholic beverages, so you’re not stuck with one kind. And, of course, you can also just drink it straight, without the alcohol, but then you should really start calling it by a more world-friendly name. Something more accurate like I used as a kid when I referred to it as “cloudy apple juice.”

Cider is sort of doomed to be low in alcohol content because the apples themselves are so low in sugar. I’m not a big fan of cider as it sort of just tastes like a cheap version of a real drink. Like a sparkling wine with less sparkle and a strange apple-y aftertaste that wasn’t supposed to be there. And in all honestly, at the end of the day, I think I’d rather just eat an apple and be done with it.

Beyond the “cloudy apple juice” I had as a child, my mom always had a hot spice tea mix during the colder months, which was a concoction of packets of other mixes, from Lipton, KoolAid, and Tang. The only ingredient not engineered in a laboratory was sugar, but adding it made one feel like they were more involved. Like “baking” with pre-made cookie dough… that’s also been pre-sliced. Though perhaps this was even more ridiculous as this mix was something your cat, running across the kitchen counter, could have created entirely by accident.

But for today, it’s time to pour a glass of whatever you call cider and enjoy! These celebration days can be a bit ridiculous, so feel free to mold them and reinvent into something that works for you. Or, if you’re like me and have trouble following rules entirely, pour yourself a nice glass of wine and call it cider. Really, nobody is going to know.

Charlie O'Shields

Creator of Doodlewash, founder of World Watercolor Month (July), World Watercolor Group, and host of the Sketching Stuff Podcast. Sharing watercolor illustrations and stories while proudly featuring talented artists from all over the world!

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44 thoughts on “National Apple Cider Day”

  1. Oh Charlie ! it’s 11:30 in the night …how am I going to get hold of some good cloudy apple juice now ? your glass is calling me ! well maybe I’ll just bite into an apple 😉
    Turtle Hugs

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  3. The best apple cide I’ve ever had was in Michigan at my son’s elementary school. Every year the school celebrated Apple Day, a day to celebrate all things apple. One station was to make your own apple cider. The guy in charge used this large wooden juicer to mash up the whole apple. The juice that came out was so delicious! I’m not a fan of apple juice but love the cider. We like to warm it up with cinnamon stick and cloves and for me a bit of rum. Yummy! Lovely doodlewash!!

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  4. Kari’s version with rum sounds good to me! But anything hot sounds really good to me right now since the power went out from a storm in our area yesterday. I’m sitting here in the dark wearing my coat and cuddling a blanket. Hehe! Like how you painted your apples especially, Charlie! They look edible! ❤️🎨🍎

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    1. Hehe…I had to add apples. I like painting those for some weird reason! 😊Glad you liked it Jill! ❤️😃And oh no!! Sorry the power went out…but hopefully you’re staying warm. Oh!! Now you can make something in the dark and see what happens!! I’ve always wanted to try that! Hehe 😊💜

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  5. Your yummy doodlewash reminds me that hubby and I have had a discussion about the fact that when people say apple cider here, they mean the non-alcoholic kind (and say “hard cider” to mean the alcoholic drink) whereas when people say “cider” in Canada, they mean the alcoholic kind. I don’t even know what non-alcoholic cider is called in Canada! 😀

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    1. Apple juice!! Lol It’s so odd that we started using to cider to mean the non-alcoholic stuff…it only ever had alcohol when it started. But Americans got prudish about alcohol and mucked things up I guess. Lol And glad you thought the doodlewash looked yummy! Hehe 😊Thanks Teresa! ❤️😃

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  6. I’m sure if you were ever such a way inclined you could sustain a whole series on just apples, Charlie – they’re always mouth-watering!

    I think I tried cider (the alcoholic one) once. Hm. Think I’ll stick to the apple juice, Apple Tango, and indeed, apples!

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    1. Hehe…thanks Jacob!! 😃😃 I don’t know what it is, but I just like painting apples. I’m sure I could paint a series, but would have no idea what to write about! Lol (hence the sneaking them in when I can)… As for consumption… I agree…cider isn’t my first apple choice! 😉👍🏻

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      1. Well, it goes without saying that I approve of apples showing up as often as possible! I had a similar affinity for starfruit in high school. I just thought they were fun; I must have snuck in five or six of them in my final year (and yet, I never actually tried one!!)

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  7. My son came home today from the farm he works at with a big jug of apple cider. They make it fresh and it’s suppose to be wonderful but I’m not much of a cider person either. I’m sure it has lots of vitamins and other good stuff. It’s so funny that you mentioned “Tang”! My dad used to drink that every morning with his breakfast. He always said that if it was good enough for the astronauts than it was good enough for him!!

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  9. Ha! I celebrate Apple Cider Day each time I eat at my local Schnitz restaurant — Monteith’s Apple Cider, alcoholic of course, but very dry, just how I like it. Coming from European parentage, the fresh pressed stuff was always something special and we always made sure we were on the ‘right’ side of the people who made it, and I miss that! Lovely doodle, Charlie.

    Speaking of food, I am going to be getting really fat just watching the new SBS 24/7 food network, Ch.33. Always being a fan of any food show since they started on Aussie TV, for me they are also often travelogues of places I’ll never get to visit. There have been some fantastic shows! And I’ve learned something about food in the process. And, in a couple more weeks, the Seven network is also starting up a specific channel just for lifestyle, which also includes food. So, you just may not see me here on WP…LOL. Just kiddin’ 😉

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      1. Oh, don’t worry, Charlie, with these new shows, all that’s gonna happen is that I’ll just continue to blow up like a big balloon…haha! I can control myself! As it’s Saturday night, I am eating South Indian takeout — samosa, vegetable malai curry, chicken tikka, paratha, and some plain sparkling mineral water to wash it all down…yum!

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  16. Absolutely love apples. And this time of year goes perfect with some warm apple cider (the US traditional kind…) with some cloves and cinnamon thrown in for good simmering measure! 🙂 Have a happy Thanksgiving, Charlie!

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