Hardy apple varieties for juice and cider

The project in brief

The project will develop hardy apple varieties for juice and cider manufacturing for an expanding Swedish beverage production and for innovative product development. It is particularly desirable to develop hardy, bittersweet cider apple varieties (high in phenols, high in sugar and low in acidity) which, along with presently cultivated dessert varieties, can be used for the manufacturing of unique Swedish ciders.

The interest in manufacturing cider from Swedish apples is great. However, Swedish-grown dessert apples do not have enough bitter substances, or (poly)phenols, and their acidity is usually too high for quality ciders. Sweden has no tradition of growing cider apples, and most foreign varieties that have been tested so far ripen too late in the season and are not adapted to the climate.