It is rare to find someone—at least in Spain—who does not know what is cider. Broadly speaking, we could define it as a typical alcoholic drink from northern Spain made from fermented apple.
However, this drink is not only typical in the Cantabrian Mountains, but is also prepared and consumed beyond our borders. This happens in nearby countries, such as France, but also in very distant regions, such as Germany, the United Kingdom and even the United States. And although we can call them all ‘cider’, not all of them are the same. Therefore, it is worth asking: what exactly is cider?
This same question has led to European Commission to seek an official definition in order to establish and harmonize what is cider. The community institution is also concerned about pereda, another similar drink based on pear juice, although not as popular as cider in our country.
If approved, the measure would follow in the wake of other products, such as jam, juice, honey or milk, widely consumed on the continent but which at the time presented significant differences depending on where they were purchased.
“Several types of products, from those made entirely with apple juice to those premixed with added sugars, currently receive the name ‘cider’. This generates unfair competition among the producers, since they do not All consumers easily recognize the differences between products that carry the label ‘cider'”, the Commission argues in one of his reports.
According to Euroactiv.comthe Commission presented a project last December with several proposals to harmonize criteria. Thus, one of the options considered in this document is to establish that cider contains, at least, a 50% juice of unfiltered fruit.
As an alternative, the Commission has also proposed on other occasions to establish different names for each type of cider:
- Made from fresh pure juice (100% fresh apple or pear juice or a mixture of both);
- farm (made from fresh pure juice + fruits processed on a farm);
- Artisanal (made from pure fresh juice, without the use of industrial processes or over-pressing);
- Natural effervescence (produced solely from alcoholic fermentation).
If approved, the measure would harm the industrial cider sectorwhich can currently make cider with a very low percentage of juice; particularly to Nordic countries such as Sweden, Denmark or Finland, where a large part of their industrial sector produces cider with a 15% juice.
Among the opponents of the measure are also countries such as Francealthough for very different reasons. In the French case, their standards require producers that cider be made with 100% fruit juice, so they would feel aggravated if that bar were reduced by half.
At this point, Brussels has clarified that these producers could also benefit from the rule, since those labeled could specify that their cider has been made with 100% appleas happens with other products such as bread or honey.
As a possible solution, these countries—as stated by the European news portal—would be willing to accept a distinction between ‘cider’ and ‘traditional cider’, although nothing is finalized yet.
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