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Perry and Cider

These are fermented beverages, prepared from the juice of pears, and apples. They are not usually reckoned among the wines, but they belong to that class of beverages as much as those obtained from currants, gooseberries, and other fruits. Both are of ancient date: Pliny tells us that they were made by the Romans in Italy.

There are many varieties of pears suited for making perry. In Gloucestershire the Tinton squash is in the highest esteem; it is an early fruit, and remarkable for the tenderness of its flesh. The perry obtained from it is pale and sweet, yet uncommonly fine, and of a strong body. The Oldfield pear is another favourite; it yields a finely-flavoured liquor. The Bar-land pear of Worcestershire is in high repute, as is also the red pear. To obtain perry in the greatest perfection, the pear must be in a certain state of maturity: it should be ripe without being either mellow or decaying. The produce of the same tree ripens very irregularly; the planter must therefore have a considerable number of each kind he plants, or he will rarely have a sufficient quantity of fruit ready to be ground at the same time. Even when the pears have fallen spontaneously from the trees, a fourth at least of some kinds will be found immature or decaying, and quite unfit for making fine perry. These ought to be separated from the rest; though they rarely or never are.

To speak now of the apples required for cider: no juice can be depended on for making a good liquor that does not possess at the same time body and flavour; the former depends on the juice contained in the pulp or flesh of the fruit, and the latter on the juice contained in the external skin or peel, and in the seeds or pips. The most agreeable apples to the palate are those which abound in a juice at once sweet and acidulous, whereas those which suit best for cider have the juice both sweet and acerb, with little mixture of acid. Hence the best fruits for cider manufacture, with few exceptions, are too astringent to be in demand for table use.

Perry should be used in moderation by those liable to stomach and bowel complaints, as it sometimes causes colic, especially if it is anywise acid. Either alone, however, or mixed with equal parts of water, it is, when of good quality, an excellent refreshing summer beverage. "Cider," says one writer, "is not so nutritious as malt liquor, but it forms an excellent beverage for labouring men in the summer months, its acid assisting materially in quenching thirst. Rough Herefordshire cider has been recommended as an antiseptic in cases of low fever."