Abstract
Twenty-eight apple cultivars were selected for their potential for hard cider production in Ontario; their juice characteristics were measured in 2017 and 2018, beginning two years after planting in 2015. After being harvested and pressed, each juice sample underwent analyses to determine soluble solids concentration (SSC), titratable acidity (TA), pH, yeast assimilable nitrogen (YAN), and polyphenolic concentration. Soluble solids concentration ranged from 10.6 °Brix in Brown’s Apple to 18.3 °Brix in Ashmead’s Kernel. Titratable acidity ranged from 31 as mg malic acid per 100 mL juice in Sweet Alford to 191 as mg malic acid per 100 mL juice in Bramley’s Seedling. The pH ranged from 2.88 in Breakwell to 4.76 in Sweet Alford. Yeast assimilable nitrogen concentration ranged from 60 mg YAN·L−1juice in Medaille d’Or to 256 mg YAN·L−1juice in Bulmer’s Norman. Polyphenols in juice ranged from 131 μg gallic acid equivalents (gae)·mL−1juice in Tolman Sweet to 1042 μg gae·mL−1juice in Stoke Red. Firmness ranged from 6.3 kg in Yarlington Mill to 11.7 kg in GoldRush. The relationships between these variables were also analyzed, showing a connection between acidity and juicing efficiency as well as a relationship between polyphenol concentration and fruit weight. Exploratory analyses indicated that juice attributes can be used to distinguish between cultivars and their origins. Cider producers can use these data to determine what to expect in juice from these cultivars.
Highlights
IntroductionProducers usually blend the juices of several apple cultivars to achieve the desired physicochemical characteristics for the best fermentation and final product
The apple cultivars were selected by consultation with members of the Ontario Craft Cider Association, with special attention being paid to cultivars that had a historical reputation for cider production in Europe and North America as well as those with a noted tannin concentration
In 2017, juicing efficiency ranged from 0.48 mL juice g-1 fruit for Muscadet de Dieppe to 0.72 mL juice g-1 fruit for GoldRush (Table 3)
Summary
Producers usually blend the juices of several apple cultivars to achieve the desired physicochemical characteristics for the best fermentation and final product. Many cider makers choose apples using the cider apple classification system developed by the former Long Ashton Research Station (LARS) in the United Kingdom (Lea, 2015). This approach was useful when the system was developed at the beginning of the 20th century; with more accurate and complex analytical methods to determine juice components, there is greater ability to discriminate between juices destined for cider production. An apple juice characterized as bittersharp one year may be a classified as bittersweet the next. This study was conducted to provide more information to cider producers on the attributes of the juices extracted from the 28 cultivars when grown in Ontario, while a concurrent study was conducted to evaluate the horticultural attributes of those same cultivars (Plotkowski and Cline, 2021)
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