question about sulfites

I'm thinking of trying my hand at making cider and I have a question about using sulfites to control wild yeast and to end fermentation. In all of the commercial bottled ciders I've tried (Wyder's for example), I have a real problem with the sulfur dioxide smell and taste that they all seem to have.

Are the commercial cider makers just using way to much sulfites? Or am I unusually sensitive to the stuff? You guys seem to say that you won't taste the sulfur when dosing in the 50ppm range . . but I can certainly taste it in the commercial stuff.

Note that I think I may be allergic to high levels of SO2 . . . . a whiff of a bag of dried apricots can give me asthma. I've never really looked into it further, just bought sulfur free apricots.

Thanks.

If you get an asthmatic reaction to sulfites then I wouldn't use any amount of metabisulphite. It's just not worth it. Just use excellent sanitation practices otherwise and make your cider.

As to ending fermentation I don't know, but perhaps fermenting the cider to dryness and then back sweetening with a non-fermentable sugar substitute would be your best bet.

If you used pasteurized store bought apple juice with no preservatives, and pitch a healthy yeast batch that does not produce a lot of sulfers you should be fine. I would recommend make a 1 gal batch first just to test, everyone reacts differently so its better to find out its not good for you with a little less expense.
Best of luck.