{"id":720615,"date":"2025-01-27T11:03:13","date_gmt":"2025-01-27T08:03:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alegria-realestate.com\/?p=720615"},"modified":"2025-04-03T15:24:37","modified_gmt":"2025-04-03T12:24:37","slug":"all-about-asturian-cider-tradition-flavour-and-culture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alegria-realestate.com\/en\/articles\/all-about-asturian-cider-tradition-flavour-and-culture","title":{"rendered":"All about Asturian cider"},"content":{"rendered":"

The origin of the word cider comes from the Greek \u201csikera\u201d, which in Latin became sizra, and from there the transformation to the current word was not very difficult. Strabo already wrote about cider in the 1st century BC and echoed that the Asturians already consumed it.<\/p>\n

The fact is that the drink has survived to this day in perfect health, since Asturias<\/a> continues to be the main producer of cider, accounting for 80% of national production. More than 70 wineries produce 40 million bottles of cider, divided almost equally between natural cider and sparkling cider, which is exported to more than fifty countries.<\/p>\n

So, we are going to explain everything you need to know about Asturian cider:<\/p>\n

The apple and cider cycle<\/h2>\n

When spring arrives, the orchards (land where the apple trees are planted) come to life little by little, and at the end of April or beginning of May the first floral buds appear on the apple trees, coloring the Asturian natural environment white and pink. The flowering of the apple tree is the first botanical step for the subsequent appearance of the apple.<\/p>\n

At the beginning of June, the Preba (tasting) of the first cider of the season takes place, which is bottled in the months of May and June, and which is made with apples collected the previous year. The Cider Test, which is held on the cider boulevard on Gascona Street in Oviedo, is a Festival declared of Tourist Interest in Asturias. This is a unique event that highlights the great connection between the capital of Asturias and the cider culture, and the great power of this culture that is so ancient and increasingly rooted throughout Asturias.<\/p>\n

Then, in autumn, in the months of October and November, the apples are harvested, which will be the raw material for the following year’s cider. Due to the Asturian orography, this work is usually carried out by hand and in small orchards. It is important that you know that the apple that has fallen to the ground is useless, only the one picked directly from the tree is used.<\/p>\n

After this, this fruit enters the wineries in abundance. It is the time of mayanza, and the apple is turned into sweet cider (before the fermentation that will give rise to natural cider). Right at this moment another very typical Asturian festival appears on the scene: the amag\u00fcestu, where sweet cider is accompanied by chestnuts that have just fallen from the tree. This tradition of amag\u00fcestu, far from disappearing, is increasingly gaining strength, and it is very common for cider presses and cider houses to celebrate it.<\/p>\n

Tips for pouring cider<\/h2>\n

Cider is served by the bottle, shared and drunk by culinos or culetes. And most importantly, it is drunk in one gulp.<\/p>\n

To serve the cider well, you must adopt a comfortable posture, with your back straight and your legs open at shoulder height. Hold the bottle firmly with your right hand, starting from the base. Take the glass with your left hand, with your index fingers and thumb around the glass and your middle finger underneath. Raise your arm with the bottle, straight, above your head, with your mouth in front of your forehead. Place the glass right between your legs and, with your gaze fixed on it, begin to tilt the bottle little by little, controlling the weight, until the liquid falls over the end of the glass. Guide the glass towards the stream of cider and pour enough to drink in one go, what we call \u201cculino or culete\u201d.<\/p>\n

In Asturias the price of a bottle of cider is around three euros, a little more if it has a Designation of Origin. As you can see, it is a more than reasonable price to contain 70 centiliters of a delicate drink, which takes about six months to make, and which has multiple healthy properties.<\/p>\n

Types of cider: quality assurance, D.O.P. Asturian cider<\/h2>\n

Little by little, cider has been consolidating, and the consumer is increasingly aware of the added value it represents. Since 2002, the DOP (Protected Designation of Origin) guarantees that the apple is Asturian, and carries out quality controls with the aim of offering the best cider on the market.<\/p>\n

The Asturias Cider Designation of Origin admits three varieties of cider endorsed by the quality seal:<\/p>\n