Apple cider is one of the most quintessential drinks that has been associated with the autumn for almost as long as the U.S. has been a country. How could it not? The crisp, sweet goodness of the drink, which can be enjoyed hot, cold and boozy, is what, to many, the pumpkin spice latte is during this time of year. Where did apple cider even come from? And just how has it persisted in playing an important part in American autumnal culture?
James Doan, professor of humanities and literature in the Halmos College of Arts and Science, spoke of how the ancient Celts would worship the goddess of fertility, who was “like the Roman Pomona, whose name means the goddess of apples or fruit.”
Doan said, “I would suspect that apple cider productions go back at least a couple of thousand years in Britain. It’s interesting. It does have a very ancient history to it. Both Asturias and Galicia in northern Spain, and Brittany in France, were formally Celtic speaking areas, and cider drinking and making extends to those areas of the continent, not just Britan and Ireland. To me at least this suggests something that’s deep seated in the cultures.”
Apple cider is still enjoyed by many in those regions today, so much so that there are cider festivals every year, and what could be surprising to most, these festivals don’t occur during autumn.
“The festivals in Asturias are generally in the summer, around July,” said Doan, “I would suspect it’s because that’s typical of harvest festivals in a lot of cultures.”
As for how the shiny red fruit arrived in the U.S.? The same way many other well-known delicacies that have made their home in the U.S., by hitching a ride on colonial boats riding to the “new world.”
Apple cider was enjoyed as a purely alcoholic drink for most of America’s early history and given that apple juice can ferment naturally fairly quickly it’s no surprise as to why it was one of the most popular drinks of the 1800’s, according to self-proclaimed “ciderologist” Gabe Cook as stated during an interview for the Ologies podcast. The story of apple cider’s staying power in American culture could been cut short during the prohibition era but due to apple cider’s transformative quality for being able to be fully enjoyed in its non-fermented form, the crisp, cozy fall drink kept buggering on.
