An Important Day

[feliciakw]

Today is many things . . .

First and foremost to me is it's my and Geo's 12th anniversary.

Second, my LJ calendar thingy tells me it's kerravonsen's b-day. Happy B-Day! And many more!

Third, it's Veteran's Day here in the US, which means federal holiday tomorrow remembering our veterans, which means Geo gets the day off. So we're going to take some time and actually, like, spend more than just an evening together.

Methinks I'll be back later with a post not about the "10 things that make me happy" but with a post of good things that have happened recently.

On a related note, unpasteurized, hardened (but not alcoholic) cider is a gift from God.

Comments

[kerravonsen]

Thank you!

You get a holiday for Armistice Day, do you? We don't. But that's probably fair enough, because our "Veteran's Day" kind of holiday is ANZAC Day, April 25th.

On a related note, unpasteurized, hardened (but not alcoholic) cider is a gift from God.

What's "hardened" cider?

[feliciakw.livejournal.com]

You get a holiday for Armistice Day, do you? We don't. But that's probably fair enough, because our "Veteran's Day" kind of holiday is ANZAC Day, April 25th.

It sounds like your ANZAC Day is akin to our Memorial Day, at the end of May. Of the two days, Memorial Day is the bigger deal, with parades and picnics, and it marks the traditional beginning of summer. It also focuses more on those lost during war, while Veterans Day honors those veterans still living. Usually for Veterans Day, it's just the federal employees (Geo is a federal employee) and the banks that get the day off, whereas with Memorial Day, it's a far wider reaching thing.

What's "hardened" cider?

Hardened cider is what I call cider that has started to ferment but has not yet turned alcoholic. In the US, there are two types of apple juice. There's apple juice, which is highly processed and filtered and available year-round. Then there's apple cider, which is usually only available during apple harvest season. It's much less refined and processed. It's darker in color and much heartier in flavor. Commercial producers are required to pasteurize their cider to kill the bacteria that might make children and the elderly ill. However, killing the bacteria means that it won't harden and get that delightful tingly-tasting nip that it gets as it ferments. It's different from "hard cider," which is what we call alcoholic cider (and what the Brits--and maybe "Brit"-speakers?--simply call "cider," I think). One of the hard ciders available in our stores is Hornsby's Hard Cider, for example. It's sold with the beers, ales, and the like.

I used to call the kind of cider I like "hard cider," until I discovered that "hard cider" is an actual alcoholic beverage.

I actually find that I like the kick of "hardened" cider better than that of alcoholic hard cider, because I can taste it more.

I hope that made sense.

When I was a child, we used to make our own cider. We'd pick apples in my grandmama's orchard, and my dad and I would grind and press the apples in our apple press. Well, Daddy would grind and press. As a wee one, I just put the apples in the chute to be ground. One at a time, while my dad dumped bushels in. Then my mom would strain the pressed cider through cheese cloth into plastic jugs. Let the cider sit a week or two, and it gets a really nice kick to it.

And finding sellers who don't pasteurize is getting to be more and more difficult. Gift from God, I tell ya. :-)

[izhilzha.livejournal.com]

Happy Anniversary, a day late! Dumb internets are still down at my house.

I hope you two enjoyed your day, just being yourselves with each other.

(p.s. have you told Geo how deeply amused I am at his attachment to SPN? Heeheheehehe.)