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CHAPTER XVI
" APPLE SASS "
Ancient British seider—Conducive to longevity—The best made
in Normandy—Which develops into champagne—And other
popular and salubrious wines—Non-alcoholic cider—A loath
some brew—German manufacturers—Medical properties of
apple juice—Away with melancholy — The mill and the
press— Pure wine—Norfolk cider—Gaymer's gout-fuge—
Revival of the industry—Old process of cider-making—
Improving the flavour—Boiled cider—Hippocras—Juniper
cider—An ancient cider-cup.
According to some chroniclers the ancient
Britons made cider—or "seider" as the poor
ignoramuses wrote it—but it must have been nasty
stuff, according to our civilized ideas ; for until
the Romans came to visit us the apple was not
cultivated in Britain, nor, indeed, any fruit or
vegetable. Our blue forefathers were not par
ticular as to what they ate or drank; and I
should think the fermented juice of wild or
" crab" apples must have corroded the throats
of the hardiest.
It is claimed for cider, and perry, that no
fermented drinks do less hurt to the imbiber ;
although one authority states that the man who