Diana Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 I love our bit of Normandy but I am sometimes sad that we miss out on some things that are quintessentially French, wine in particular. I would love to be in a community which celebrated the wine harvest and the nouveau vintage. As we are not there full time yet it is possible that we have missed a local fete de cidre or calvados but I am not aware of having heard of such an event. Do these things happen in an organised way or do you need to know the local farmer to get a private invite. Although I hate to think of the consequences of an organised cidre and calvados drinking session, and the ministry of health may have band such events in the interest of public wellbeing. Diana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catalpa Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 LOL! I have a bottle of cidre nouveau seething quietly in the kitchen at this moment. It arrives in a cristalle mineral water bottle and it took just a couple of hours for the ribs on the bottle to expand. Venting the bottle (otherwise known as carefully loosening the cap) seems to help. I suppose I'd better drink it.I've not heard of any form of foire or festival. I know that there's a cooperative of sorts in Sourdeval where apples get pressed and (I believe) depending on your apple volume contribution you get allocated a liquid amount. I'm not sure how it works because my French got confused half way through the explanation. But no one said there was any form of get-to-gether celebrating the harvest.Cidre nouveau is quite sweet, only slightly fizzy and very cloudy. A glass or two at night certainly gets one moving in the morning! (TMI?)Carole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexis Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 We had a cider apple tree and the other year we gave all the apples to a friend for him to make cider. He gave us a load of the finished product and they all bloody blew up. The room still bears the scars.Calva needs quite some tme to mature. The new stuff is well, awful! Nearly blew my head off. Talk about catching the back of your throat!Next time you see the travelling still you must fake a breakdown and you might get invited to taste the brew. Make sure you are driving an Express and are wearing wellies and a blue boilersuit. Electric cars are often spotted abandoned close by too.....!Now, if anyone wants a recipe for 44..... Just time before New Year. Just counted. After New Year! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diana Posted November 26, 2004 Author Share Posted November 26, 2004 I'v got my jars of 44 festering away nicely to themselves in our garage in the UK, they will just be ready in time for Christmas. I suppose if your breakdown was due to running out of petrol a tank full of calva would get you home faster than 4 star.Diana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catalpa Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 44?Recipes please Carole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diana Posted November 26, 2004 Author Share Posted November 26, 2004 CaroleI equlilant of one bottle of calva1 orange44 coffee beansMethod:Piece the orange 44 times and stud it with the coffee beans.Put studded orange in a kilner jar and full up with the calva.Leave for 44 days.It's then ready to drink, but proceed wtih caution.I don't know the histroy of this drink or where the name came from (apart from th 44 beans)Diana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexis Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 44 sugar lumps too.Don't you have them in your recipe? Isn't it a bit bitter? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weedon Posted November 26, 2004 Share Posted November 26, 2004 My neighbour farmer is the one in the village for making Pommeau, Poire William, Prune and Calva. The last 3 seem to me to taste the same, sort of like a cross between petrol and thinners with a hint of fruit. I have seen him on his travels towing his still behind his tractor, the still looks similar to Stephensons Rocket. The locals speak of him with extreme pride and who am I to argue when they say his stuff is "magnifique". I went with my family once to his house for a tasting and came out after about an hour and a half later rosy cheeked having purchased a few bottles of each and it was still only 11 o'clock in the morning.Weedon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted November 30, 2004 Share Posted November 30, 2004 Here in Camembert, the big apple thing is in Vimoutiers in October...http://camembert-country.com/vimoutiers/infeng01.htmMark61120 (whos neighbours include a gold medal winning cidre, pommeau and calva maker) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diana Posted December 1, 2004 Author Share Posted December 1, 2004 AlexisYou are right, I forgot to mention the sugar.Diana Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabman Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 I am new to this cidre business.They were filling bottles at our local market last month. I asked the stallholder if it was jus de pommes? he replied it would be cidre in 2 or 3 days.I bought some which was sold in a 2lt. plastic Evien water bottle.We drank some after 3 days (sweet and tasty) and the rest exploded the following day!Is this stuff alcoholic?Any dangers from drinking unpasteurised fruit juice? Any advice would be welcome. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catalpa Posted December 1, 2004 Share Posted December 1, 2004 Quote:<< Any dangers from drinking unpasteurised fruit juice? >>Yes there are, Cabman. An Evian cap in the eye can be very painful. People just don't realise how lethal this stuff is. It's alive! For safer storage, use ex-fizzy mineral bottles because they're made stronger. Then always vent the bottles twice a day minimum. If you're happy drinking the juice of rotting apples, worms, earth and anything else that's shovelled up and thrown into the macerator to be pressed, carry on. We're in our second year of doing so and it doesn't appear to have done us any harm. Of course, I haven't had an internal parasite check recently. Carole Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Please sign in to comment
You will be able to leave a comment after signing in
Sign In Now