The section I chose was dedicated to the production and drinking of cider that has had quite a comeback in recent years and is certainly a favourite with my daughters and their friends.
The first picture shows a permanent orchard area with some apple trees. A relaxing place to stop and rest with a glass of cider.
Somerset is of course the home of the rough cider scrumpy and there were several demonstrations of vintage cider presses which were once part of most farms. These enthusiasts demonstrated pulping the apples and then pressing the juice out.
We still have a stone in the same shape as the bottom part of this press. Ours is now just used as a garden ornament.
I am not sure I would be first in the queue for a glass full of this. Perhaps I will wait for the finished product!
There was also a large number of home made ciders to be judged. You may notice that several have lost their corks in the warm weather and one did indeed pop out as we passed by!
Cheer everyone or Bottoms Up!
The cider press looks like it would have been fun to watch the demo. I like hot cider with some brandy in the winter months.
ReplyDeleteI have never heard of hot cider with brandy, Mary-Lou. It sounds interesting and something I will have to try.
DeleteLooks like a lot of fun! I love the man in the first photo with the beard and the hat; so distinguished looking.
ReplyDeleteThis looks a really good day out and interesting too. We've just come home from a few days in Somerset and saw Thatchers cider. I didn't realise how big it would be. I'm rather partial to the odd glass and like the red fruit versions too. Like you, I'd give the one in your photo a miss, and I found it amusing that corks from the homemade ciders were popping!
ReplyDeleteThank you for joining in Maggie.
Looks like so much fun. We have some local cider here; but you have taken me back to the days when we didn't have a Sainsburys here and we would enjoy browsing their drinks section when we were on holiday
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