Ciderkin, sometimes referred to as water-cider, is a kind of weak alcoholic
cider
Cider ( ) is an alcoholic beverage made from the Fermented drink, fermented Apple juice, juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom (particularly in the West Country) and Ireland. The United Kingdom has the world's highest ...
traditionally drunk by children, and made by steeping the refuse apple
pomace
Pomace ( ), or marc (; from French ''marc'' ), is the solid remains of grapes, olives, or other fruit after pressing (wine), pressing for juice or Vegetable oil, oil. It contains the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems of the fruit.
Grape pomace has ...
in water.
Ciderkin is currently listed alongside
Cheate bread and Butter on the "Bill of Fare" for the
Plimoth Plantation 1627 Harvest Dinner with the Pilgrims. However, according to the
Plimoth Plantation Food Historian, this is not true 17th century ciderkin; Plimoth uses the term to differentiate between modern pasteurized sweet cider, which is served to guests, and period hard cider. ''Stagecoach and Tavern Days'', written by
Alice Morse Earle, describes a 16th-century New Hampshire settler proudly recounting "he made one barrel of cider, one barrel of water-cider, and one barrel of charming good drink" from his first apple crop of eight bushels. According to Earle:
In ''Berkshire Stories'', by
Morgan Bulkeley, ciderkin "was deemed especially suitable for children", especially compared to the stronger ciders widely consumed during the American colonial period.
References
* ''Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary'' (1913)
* ''Berkshire Stories : nature, history, people, conservation'', Morgan Bulkeley (2004), ,
''Stagecoach and Tavern Days''Styles of Cider
Cider
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