In ancient times apples were pulped for cider in stone troughs by men wining heavy nail-studded clubs called ‘beetles’.
The name ‘cider’ is rooted in the Phoenician ‘shekar’ meaning wine or strong drink.
Drawing from Paleolithic age depicts apples and the people of this era probably discovered that wild yeasts would quickly act upon the fruit to ferment it.
In 400 BC Hippocrates the Father of Medicine is known to prescribe his patients with apple cider. He used un-distilled apple cider as a powerful cleansing and healing elixir.
Created through the fermentation of raw apples within wooden barrels, vinegar from apple cider is extremely acidic (with pH around 2.8) and this may be the key factor of its amazing curative powers.
The Babylonians used it as a condiment and preservative, while the Greeks and Romans used it both for flavoring and healing purposes.
Julius Caesar led two Roman legions to England in 55 BC and discovered cider to be common drink. The apple was a sacred fruit to the Celtics according to their mythology, and an apple was worship by many early tribes in England.
The Roman found that Celts fermenting the juice of native crab apples to make cider.
By the second and third centuries, Roman authorities reported that various European peoples were making a number of cider-like drinks created from different types of fruit.
It was used a body deodorant, healing tonic and delicious drink to keep body healthy and ageless in Paris during the Middle Ages.
Even Christopher Columbus used it to prevent scurvy, pneumonia and to aid indigestion in 1492 when he discovered America.
Apple cider during ancient time