All of this gets me to the point of the question: In this very urban area, where apples have never been a huge crop, would apple cider be a particularly common thing? Allow me to stress that I mean apple cider, not apple juice; cider is opaque, unstrained, and unpasteurized. I'd assume it could be found if someone went looking, but is it reasonable that a twenty-something woman, unadventurous in her food choices, might never have encountered apple cider?
Searches: Areas where apple cider is common, apples grown in the Midwest, apple growing states, apple cider Midwest, apple growing great plains, history of apple growing great plains
Also: Checked Wikipedia's article on apple cider. This allowed me to articulate the distinction between cider and juice, but was otherwise unhelpful.
(Yes, I know that the Great Plains and the Midwest are different areas, by the way. Preparing this post lead to some significant refinement of the city's concept.)
