Foraged cider entered the spotlight at CiderCon 2024 with the panel “Foraged Fruit Project: A Discussion of Discovery.” This event was a combination tasting and conversation between researchers, cider foragers, and an enthusiastic crowd, moderated by NYCA’s very own Executive Director Scott Ramsey. Dr. Maria Kennedy of Rutgers University and Dr. Gregory Peck of Cornell University, with their undergraduate researchers, described their research into how fruit foraging fits into the landscape of New York Cider. Fruit foraging research is an important look into a small but fascinating part of the cider industry that speaks to the unique way that people interact with their natural environment.
Cideries on both coasts were represented on the panel: from the Pacific Northwest, Kim Hamblin representing Art+Science Cider and Wine and Sager Small representing Mast Year Cider, as well as Steve Selin from Ithaca, New York’s South Hill Cider. Participants got to taste ciders and perries from all three, paired with the wild stories of their foraging. Through these stories, these cidermakers talked about the unique landscape of cider foraging. There are the uncertainties of foraging on public land, and the struggles of gaining permission to collect on private land. There’s also the task of finding apple trees in the first place (spot them when they flower in the spring—nothing else looks like them!). Then, of course, there’s the process of foraging from enough different trees to achieve the right blend of acid and tannin for that perfect profile. Panelists and participants also talked about the accessibility of foraging. Foraging can be challenging—besides the trouble of physically accessing the apples, the act requires careful research and negotiation. At NYCA, we hope to facilitate continued discussion amongst our foraging members.
After all, overcoming the obstacles makes the success (but maybe not the cider) all the more sweeter, for foragers. The joys of foraging are endless, and every panelist’s story was told with no end of laughter. Foraging has a wildness to it that expands the boundaries of what we consider cider. This is reflected in unorthodox harvest methods, in artful labels, and the ways in which the cideries were begun and continue to operate. Most of all, the creative and natural spirit of foraging is reflected in the unique profiles of ciders made from blends of apples that often don’t even have names. Foraged fruit connects the creativity of the cidermaker to the splendor of the natural world, resulting in a cider that brings a beautifully wild taste to the cider consumer.
