Perhaps the most important factor is a drink’s sweetness level. The important rule is always balance ‘like with like’ in this respect. So dry drinks must go with savoury food – they will taste harsh and too tart alongside sugary dishes. But sweet drinks work mainly with desserts and also with certain cheeses and rich patés. Sweet and medium sweet ciders, where the most luscious flavours of the juice of sweet apples really shine through, can dazzle here.

Susy Atkins

Try:

Best desserts with sweet ciders are hot fruit pies, tarts and crumbles, like apple, naturally, but also pear, raspberry, cherry or blackberry, and tarte tatin, and light toffee or caramel and nut flavoured puddings like crème caramel, crème brulée, roulade with toasted almonds and hazelnut meringues. Sip sweet ciders too with blue cheeses like stilton and Roquefort and rich poultry patés.

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