Apples can be classified as sweet, bittersweet or sharp. A tasting of nonalcoholic commercial ciders - both fresh and sparkling - revealed that most are made from sweet varieties. Though I found some subtle differences, most were as sugary as Halloween candy.
The most popular and widely distributed fresh apple cider in the country is Zeigler's Old Fashioned Apple Cider ($2.50 for a half gallon), made in Lansdale. It tastes remarkably like liquefied applesauce, with fresh, pure, clean apple flavor.
Orchard Valley Apple Cider ($2.99 a half gallon), sold at Whole Foods Markets, is a thick, creamy cider with a consistency and flavor more reminiscent of apple butter.
My favorite cider was also the cheapest. Autumn Harvest brand, purchased at Produce Junction (many locations around the Philadelphia region) for $1.50 a half gallon, had a more sophisticated aroma and tart, crisp acidity.
A sampling of sparkling apple ciders revealed more sugary syrups.
Martinelli's Sparkling Cider ($3.29 for 750 milliliters) had a delicious apple fragrance and full-throttle fruit flavors with a honeyed character.
More subtle was R.W. Knudsen's Sparkling Crisp Apple Cider ($2.69 for 750 ml), which had tart, bittersweet, almost winelike complexity.
Finally, there was nonalcoholic Apple Beer, a Bavarian beverage made in Utah that tasted like apple juice diluted with carbonated sugar water. It was light and bland with little apple flavor and, despite being fortified with Vitamin C, seemed anemic. At $1.99 for just 12 ounces, it left a sour taste in my mouth.
Contact Deborah Scoblionkov at scoblionkov@hotmail.com.
