The cider prepared by Cuthbert Rose on his farm in Cocklake near Wedmore was pure apple juice with no additions. Cider makers have personal recipes and techniques; sugar, raisins, ginger, lemons and even beetroot are added to give the cider flavour and colour, as well as helping it to ferment.
Somerset Voices: Cuthbert Rose (b1907) Part 5
June 23, 2009 at 4:00 am (Genealogy)
Tags: Cocklake, Cuthbert Rose, Wedmore
Somerset Voices: Cuthbert Rose (b1907) Part 4
June 20, 2009 at 4:00 am (Biography, History)
Tags: Cocklake, Cuthbert Rose, Teddy Thomas, Wedmore
Cider-maker Cuthbert Rose of Cocklake, Wedmore recalls the local cooper, Teddy Thomas, who made and repaired the barrels used during cider-making.
Somerset Voices: Cuthbert Rose (b1907) Part 3
June 17, 2009 at 4:00 am (History, Location)
Tags: Cocklake, Cuthbert Rose, Somerset, Wedmore
Cuthbert Rose produced cider on his farm in Cocklake, a hamlet near Wedmore, until his death in the 1990s. The type of cider produced depends on the variety of apples used, the weather, and the cider-maker’s personal recipe. Kingston Black, Yarlington Mill, The Dunkerton Late Sweet, Morgan Sweets and Stoke Red are all varieties of apples grown in Somerset. Some apples are sweeter, while others have high acidity; cider-makers blend these different types of apples together to achieve unique types of cider – usually sweet, medium or dry.
Somerset Voices: Cuthbert Rose (b1907) Part 2
June 15, 2009 at 4:00 am (Genealogy)
Tags: Cocklake, Cuthbert Rose, Glastonbury, Somerset, Wedmore
Cuthbert Rose of Cocklake, Wedmore produced traditional cider for most of the last century. In this recording Cuthbert Rose describes the mill he used to grind up the apples before they were pressed. The Day Iron Foundry in nearby Mark made the mill. The foundry produced a variety of agricultural implements, some of which are on display at the Somerset Rural Life Museum, Glastonbury. Mr Rose used wooden shovels to shovel out the apple pomace from the mill into the cider press. Wooden shovels were used because metal shovels would taint and even poison the cider. It took two men to turn the wheels of the mill.
Somerset Voices: Cuthbert Rose (b1907) Part 1
June 12, 2009 at 4:00 am (Genealogy)
Tags: Cocklake, Cuthbert Rose, Philippa Legg, Wedmore
Cuthbert Rose was born in 1907. He produced traditional cider on his farm in Cocklake, a hamlet near Wedmore. Philippa Legg recorded Cuthbert in conjunction with her book ‘Cider Making in Somerset’. In this clip Cuthbert is talking about the barrels used in cider making, and the fermentation process.
