Apples, apples, apples....

The Apple Lover’s Cookbook by Yankee Magazine lifestyle editor Amy Traverso:

celebrates the beauty of apples in all their delicious variety, taking you from the orchard to the kitchen with recipes both sweet (like Apple-Stuffed Biscuit Buns and Blue Ribbon Deep-Dish Apple Pie) and savory (like Cider-Brined Turkey and Apple Squash Gratin). One hundred recipes run the spectrum from cozy crisps and cobblers to adventurous fare like Cider-Braised Brisket or Apple-Gingersnap Ice Cream. In addition, the author organizes apple varieties into cooking categories so that it's easy to choose the right fruit for any recipe.

Apple Lover's offers a full-color guide to fifty-nine apple varieties, with descriptions of their flavor, history, and, most important, how to use them in the kitchen. You'll know to use tart Northern Spy in your pies and Fuji in delicate cakes.

The Apple Lover's Cookbook is the ultimate apple companion. Hardcover, 304 pages.

Making Craft Cider - a Ciderist's Guide by Simon McKie

This book takes readers through the history and practicalities of cider making, and introduces the concepts and techniques of craft cider production. It looks at the different styles of cider, and the effect of fruit variety, climate and orchard location on the finished drink. Each step in the process of production is addressed and explained, including terroir, cider apples, scratting, pressing, measuring and adjusting, yeasts, fermentation, clarity, sweetening cider, and recipe/process experimentation. The book concludes with a suggested method for the home cider maker.

"Making Craft Cider" a 112 page paperback book is priced at $9.99. The author makes up to 200 gallons of years from his own orchards, yet oddly enough is an accountant by profession and an author of tax planning books. Seems an odd mix, however with credentials like that one might hope for a little straight forward, direct and informative cider instruction.