Poiret (Perry) – Anglo-French pear cider

Poiret (fr. poiré, eng. perry) – fermented pear juice. Most often it is informally called pear cider, although in theory this is not true, since cider is only apple cider. Poiret is popular in England, South Wales and France. Traditionally, it is made on farms for their own consumption and to a small extent for sale, but recently commercial production has also begun to gain momentum.

Features

Compared to apple cider, poiret is lighter in color with a greenish tinge. It is sweeter and more aromatic, with notes of citrus and tropical fruits like guava and pineapple.

Manufacture

Poiret cider is made from perry pears, which grow in abundance in the English counties of Gloucestershire, Herefordshire and Worcestershire, as well as in Normandy and Anjou.

The common name “perry” combines about 120 varieties. All pear representatives of this species are small, dense, rounded, with a high content of tannins and phenols. They are not suitable for food, but they make quite strong (up to 8% by volume) and aromatic alcohol with a clear floral bouquet.

Pear trees, unlike apple trees, bring the first harvest in a dozen years at best (but after that they bear fruit for up to 250 years), so first-generation farmers say that they plant pear orchards not for themselves, but for posterity. In addition, far fewer fruits can be harvested from a pear tree than from an apple tree, and each fruit is plucked by hand – this explains the increased price and relatively little popularity of pear cider.

The fruits intended for fermentation are harvested while still green and left to “ripen” already indoors. The next steps more or less coincide with the production of classic apple cider: the fruit is crushed under pressure, yeast is added to the resulting juice, the drink is allowed to ferment and immediately sent for repeated, malolactic, fermentation, during which sharp malic acid turns into soft lactic.

History

The first mentions of a pear low-alcohol drink are found in Pliny the Elder in the 1066st century BC. BC. Apparently, the poiret originally appeared in France, and was brought to England by the Norman conquerors in XNUMX. It turned out that the country is perfect for the cultivation of pears, and already in the XNUMXth-XNUMXth centuries, the British drank pear cider with might and main. It took root especially well in the western counties, since apples ripened poorly there, and pears, on the contrary, well.

By the second half of the 1970th century, domestic production of cider—both apple and pear—decreased as it became harder to hire people for day labor, and many orchards died in the fire blight epidemic of the 80s and XNUMXs. The meager harvests of pears went mainly to the production of desserts, not alcohol.

Since 2007, the revival of cider and poiret has begun. The Welsh Cider Society has re-bred Burgundy and Potato Pear, which were considered lost, and work is underway to improve production technology.

The English “perry” remained dry and is still served straight from the barrel. French poiret is much sweeter, it ferments in the bottle and becomes sparkling.

Today, the term “perry” refers more to pear mash made by the traditional method, and the result of industrial production is more often called “pear cider”.

Difference Between Perry and Pear Cider

Some experts consider these terms interchangeable, others insist that they refer to completely different products. According to the latter, the key differences are as follows.

How to drink poiret (perry)

Fermented pear juice is good to drink chilled during the hot summer. Dry styles make successful gastronomic pairings with fish or creamy sauces, they can be served with seafood.

Sweeter and stronger poiret goes better with salads, white meats, savory pastries, meat platters, egg dishes.

Very sweet cider can be eaten with dessert, fruit, blue cheese.