Glossary · Fermentation
Inoculation
Also written pitching. Each is a name for the same thing, which is why none of them has an entry of its own.
Definition
Adding a selected yeast culture to the juice to conduct the fermentation, usually after rehydrating dried yeast or building a starter.
- Subject
- Fermentation
- Also written
- pitching
In more detail
Inoculation is not simply about adding yeast — juice is already full of it — but about adding enough of one strain, early enough, that it dominates. That is why the wild population is normally knocked back with sulphite before an inoculated ferment, and why pitching rate matters.
Where this is covered properly
The glossary defines; these pages explain. Each is described in its own words.
Production
Inoculated fermentation
Starting a ferment by pitching a chosen yeast culture so that one known strain, rather than the fruit’s resident population, does the work.
Production
Yeast selection
Choosing which cultured strain to pitch, on the basis of the temperature, nitrogen, alcohol and aroma behaviour that separates one commercial yeast from another.
Production
Yeast rehydration
Reviving active dried yeast in warm water before pitching, so the cells restore their membranes without being ruptured by the sugar concentration of juice.
Related terms
Terms that belong to the same part of the subject, or that this one is routinely confused with.
Microbiology
Yeast
A single-celled fungus that ferments sugar to ethanol and carbon dioxide. Cider is fermented by a succession of yeast species, of which *Saccharomyces cerevisiae* usually finishes the job.
Fermentation
Yeast starter
A small volume of juice fermented in advance to build an active, acclimatised yeast population before it is added to the main batch.
Fermentation
Pied de cuve
A starter made from the must itself: a small parcel of juice allowed to begin fermenting spontaneously, then added to the main tank to give the native population a head start.
Fermentation
Sulphiting
Adding sulphur dioxide, usually as potassium or sodium metabisulphite, to juice or cider to suppress spoilage organisms, inhibit oxidation and enzymatic browning, and give a selected yeast a clear field.
Fermentation
Wild fermentation
Fermentation by the yeasts already present on the fruit and in the press house, without a cultured inoculation.
Where to go next
- Cider glossary — The whole vocabulary, by subject and A–Z.
- Comparisons — Terms that are only really clear when set against the thing they are not.
- Search — Finds terms by their aliases and by their spellings in other languages.
Sources
What this page rests on. Where a source is marked as registered rather than read, CiderHQ is recording that the body is authoritative on the subject without claiming to have worked through the document itself. See our evidence policy for what each state means.
Cornell Cider Research and Extension programme
Cornell University, School of Integrative Plant Science · university · passage verified 2026-08-24
Runs cultivar trials in New York State and publishes juice chemistry for European cider varieties grown in a North American climate — the single most useful counterweight to treating English figures as universal.
Cider and perry production technical training material
Peter Mitchell / Cider and Perry Academy · reference work · registered as competent for this subject
Searched again on 2026-08-25 and it remains the one printed source here that a bibliographic check cannot fix, because it is not a published work with an edition. It is course material issued to participants of a training programme, so there is no catalogue record to verify, no ISBN, and no lawful public copy. Its state stays `registered` for that reason rather than through inattention.