—by Matt Milkovich
Growers don’t have to thin their hard cider cultivars as hard as their regular, fresh-market apples, but they still have to thin them for return bloom and optimum flavors.
That’s one of the findings of a recent research study of cider cultivars shared by Shanthanu Krishna Kumar, assistant professor of tree fruit at Penn State University, who studied cider apples and participated in the research with Cornell University associate professor Greg Peck before joining Penn State.
Cidermakers tend to take whatever varieties they can get, often seconds from blocks farmed for the fresh market, but there are varieties grown specifically for hard cider that can’t be used for any other purpose. They’re classified into four types: bittersweets, bittersharps, sharps and sweets.
Krishna Kumar said there are about 200 acres of those hard-cider-specific cultivars in New York state and up to 50 acres in Pennsylvania. Popular choices include French cultivars Binet Rouge and Doux Normandie, and English cultivars Dabinett, Kingston Black, Yarlington Mill and Porter’s Perfection. Some cidermakers like North American heirloom cultivars, too, including Winesap, Baldwin, Ashmead’s Kernel and Golden Russet, which aren’t as susceptible as European varieties are to fire blight.
The Cornell research team evaluated more than 300 cider cultivars from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Malus germplasm collection in Geneva, New York, for their horticultural and juice characteristics.
They conducted thinning trials, too. Based on the results, Cornell recommends a crop load of nine or 10 fruit per square centimeter of trunk cross-sectional area to gain optimum yield, fruit size and juice attributes while maintaining return bloom. That’s more apples than Cornell recommends for Honeycrisp (four to six), Gala (six to eight) and other fresh varieties, but hard-cider apples don’t need to be as big as fresh apples, Krishna Kumar told attendees at the Great Lakes Fruit, Vegetable and Farm Market EXPO in December.
Hard-cider varieties are often grown in modern, high-density plantings and picked by hand, but such an expensive arrangement might not be feasible in the long term. To improve profitability, Krishna Kumar recommends U.S. hard-cider growers plant freestanding, medium-density systems (4 or 5 feet between trees) that can be mechanically harvested, as done in Europe.
Hard-cider growers don’t need to worry as much about fruit size or appearance, so pesticide applications can be dialed down. Crop load management, however, can’t be ignored. Hard-cider varieties tend to be biennial, and overcropping can zero-out return bloom the following year. Applying NAA (naphthaleneacetic acid) or Accede (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid) for fruitlet thinning can manage that problem, he said.
Proper crop load management also affects the level of tannins, phenols and other chemical compounds in fruit that contribute to hard cider flavor and aroma. So does the nutrient management program.
“This goes against the grain of some cidermakers, who feel that if you leave the tree undisturbed, and don’t give it nutrition, it grows crabby and will produce the best cider with the best tannins, but that’s not necessarily the case,” Krishna Kumar said. “Multiple experiments have shown that the better care we take of cider apples, the better phenolics we get.”
Sweet cider
The ratio of sweetness to acidity might be the most crucial factor in sweet cider flavor and aroma.
“Any year when you are very happy with the cider you made, try to measure the sweetness and acidity levels so you can hit that ratio every year,” Krishna Kumar said.
The tricky part is that sweetness and acidity levels change from year to year. Both factors decrease with an increase in crop load. Rainfall, especially just before harvest, can dilute sweetness. Acidity decreases during storage, he said.
Apples used in sweet cider are usually seconds or culls grown for the fresh market, managed the same as other fresh apples. Golden Delicious and GoldRush are popular in Pennsylvania blends, he said.
Direct-market cidermakers rely on the fact that their customers know they use apples from their own orchard — and generally make better cider than the product found in grocery stores. But that reliance has made cidermakers complacent in terms of product innovation. Hard cider labels often list the varieties used in the blend. Sweet cider labels should do that, too. Unique flavors or aromas, apples with red or pink flesh, other fruit added to the mix — if it’s in the cider, put it on the label, Krishna Kumar said.
“What is something that makes your sweet cider unique?” he asked the EXPO audience. “Consumers want to know.” •
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