Annual cider pressing

annie1992

17 years ago

I never did press cider last year, between Dad's passing and the farm auction and everything else, it got "lost" in the shuffle. This year I meant to make up for lost time, and it was a bumper apple year here in Michigan.

I got the apples together, cleaned off the press. Makayla promptly got sick and missed all the fun, as did Savannah, Noah and Dylan. I still had a little help though, my nephew Philip agreed to turn the crank in exchange for fresh cider:

The terrible twins, Autumn and Summer were there, of course, they're my sister's girls. The little boy is Xander, Philip's son. He was having a great time tossing apples into the grinder:

Philip's daughter Cadence had to get in on it, if her big brother did. My sister Candi gave her a boost:

We ended up with about 20 gallons of nice, fresh, sweet and unpasteurized and therefore illegal to sell cider, LOL. Not that I plan to sell any, it's too darned much work!

And, just in case I wasn't having enough fun, David's Dad dropped off a flat of local Concord grapes that he "didn't know what to do with".

I knew what to do with them of course. Two batches of jelly and a couple of canners full of juice later, I had 14 of these:

The kids really like to mix it half and half with Sprite or club soda and have "homemade" grape soda. I try to convince myself that it's a little healthier than just soda, it actually has some fruit in it. Yeah......

I'm almost reaching the end of the garden/orchard/canning season. I hope.

Annie

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (10)

shellm
17 years ago
I Love it,Very impressive.

Shelley
lindac
17 years ago
Those grapes could have been put through the cider press and allowed to ferment....you might like your own wine.
I'd sure love to have some cider fresh out of the press....just hold my cup under the spout!
Linda C
Related Discussions
Tractor powered Cider Press
Q
Comments (1)
Cider presses are usually hydraulically powered and seldom need more then a 5 hp electric motor to run. Your biggest limitation is the capacity of the press and not the amount of power... Bob.
...See More
Is cider easy to make?
Q
Comments (3)
The best cider in the whole world is just apples pressed....worms and all. The resulting juice strained and poured into jugs. When I was a kid ( in the dark ages!) actually when my kids were kids!....we could go to the orchard and literally get a paper cup of cider as it came out of the press...... Now....it has to be pasturized and that kills all the flavor. A few years ago, you could find a small cider press at about every county auction.....sitting on the hayracks with the fly netting and the soapstone foot warmers... If you can find a way to squash the apples....there's no trick at all to cider. Linda C
...See More
Apple cider vinegar in small batches--a recipe that works for me.
Q
Comments (0)
There have been a number of speculations on methods of making your own apple cider vinegar, many of which go from apples to cider to hard cider, finally to apple cider vinegar (ACV), a process that can be simplified. I'm not an expert on this, but did find information, and my small batches are well on their way, and smell wonderful. My first batch, in 2 one-quart canning jars, consisted of approx 3 apples per jar. I removed/trimmed the stem/blossom ends of the fruit, and washed them. These were cut into coarse chunk, skins and all, and packed lightly into cleaned jars, 2/3 or less full. If the jars are too full, you'll have overflow later as the apples ferment. Add enough non-chlorinated water to cover the apples, and add 2/3 tsp of sugar to each jar. Place a double layer of paper towel on each jar, and tie it on with twine or a rubber band. The apples will be obviously fermenting in a few days, and the apples should be pressed down/stirred a little at least daily for the first few weeks. I found it useful to "knock" the jars to get air bubbles to the surface and discourage overflow. The smell should be pleasant. If it's not, consider throwing this out and starting over. The apples, skins and all, will look like tan applesauce after a few weeks. Add more non-chlorinated water to bring the level back up, if necessary. The scent should be distinctly of vinegar. A 2nd batch I made used apples from a neighbor's tree, and these turned to 'mush' much more slowly than the others, but the progress seems the same. I'm half-way through this 12 week process, and stir the jars only once a week, checking to make sure no 'unfriendly' cultures or mold starts. Again, use the sniff test. The first batch of jars have 1/3 clear tan ACV over dense sediment. The 2nd batch only just finished losing its chunkiness, probably because the apples were granny smiths. This jar also has a somewhat solid disc of "mother', whitish and translucent, which I'm told is desirable. I press this down with a clean spoon every few days when stirring the mixtures, just to keep unwanted cultures from taking hold here. I'm guessing that at the 12th week, the jars should be strained through a coarse sieve, and the ACV bottled and saved. The organic ACV from the health food store has substantial mushy mother in it, so that's what I'll aim for. Any suggestions of what to do with the mother 'disc' from the later batch? Some of the solids after filtering will be used to inoculate new batches of ACV, and I guess the rest will go to compost? The organic ACV from the store was ~$5 for less than a pint--hopefully these batches at home will be worth the wait! The next batch will be in a much larger container. Has anyone used a method like this? I'm starting to ferment a lot in my quart jars--sourdough starter, yogurt, sauerkraut, etc. There's a trend here! --Rick in CT first batch, after 11 days:
...See More
Cider Press
Q
Comments (9)
Sugar Cane Mill, hand cranked. This press has fluted cylinders for grabbing and pulling the tough cane through the mill. An adjustment is provided for setting the space between cylinders. Sorghum mills may have cylinders with no flutes, but may have roughened surfaces. https://www.amazon.com/Sugar-Manual-Juicer-Extractor-Crank/dp/B00DQBCU8K/ref=pd_sbs_79_3?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B00DQBCU8K&pd_rd_r=6CEXZXCZAWGVN8HHZFQ9&pd_rd_w=Iq2nb&pd_rd_wg=LE4vA&psc=1&refRID=6CEXZXCZAWGVN8HHZFQ9
...See More
annie1992
Original Author
17 years ago
LindaC, Elery tells me Concord grapes make wine that's too much like Welch's grape juice for him, LOL, and I only had one flat, so not much wine there!

The cider was really good, a mix of MacIntosh, Red Delicious, Golden Delicious, Russet, Jonathan and some old Wolf River. Oh, and some very small Gala from my neighbor's tree. It was pretty sweet this year, a lot of sweet varieties, but the kids loved it and I have 3 gallons in the freezer. That's enough for Elery to take a gallon home for his grandkids and leave a couple of gallons for me to drink or use as a marinade for pork roast.

So, I should let you know in advance next year? Or just bring a bunch of apples, I'll set up the press whenever you like!

Annie
lindac
17 years ago
I wonder how far it is from where I live to where you are...."as the car drives"....which takes longer than a flying crow!
I know of at least 3 apple trees that are not picked and just fall....but I am sure they are full of worms!
You need a few crab apples to put in with the apples when all you have are sweet varieties.
User
17 years ago
Looks like lots of fun Annie! I bet the kids really enjoyed it.
maggie2094
17 years ago
Cool, Annie...I was seriously thinking about this a few weeks ago:) Where the Bud man? He sick too? Has been a bumper crop for germs this year, toooo :(

Great pics and omg the twins are Autumn and Summer...I luv it!

Well, lets see concord grapes....makes a sweet wine like Manischewitz....u just need a rabbi...

Next time, how bout bottling some of your energy and send it to me ASAP!!!! xo
annie1992
Original Author
17 years ago
Maggie, I'm so glad to see you here! Yes, the terrible twins are Autumn and Summer. Hey, they didn't ask me before they named them, LOL.

Yeah, I've had Manischewitz. I bought it to make haroset like Carol (dishesdone) instructed me. I got a laugh from the "wine guy" who had to ask me why I was in an Italian Catholic grocery store at Easter time, asking for Jewish Kosher wine. (grin)

LindaC, start now. You'll be here by tomorrow. Bring apples!

Annie
dixiedog_2007
17 years ago
"We ended up with about 20 gallons of nice, fresh, sweet and unpasteurized and therefore illegal to sell cider, LOL."

Not in my state Annie! I love fresh unpast. cider and buy tons during the Fall season along w/tons of apples of all kinds. Yours looks really good Annie. Hard work but well worth it IMO!
annie1992
Original Author
17 years ago
Dixie, I like the unpasteurized cider too. As soon as you heat it, it just becomes apple juice, IMO.

Here in Michigan there was a problem with some unpasteurized cider in 1997. Out of 180 cider mills in the state, one had a postive test for e-coli. Since Connecticut and California both had "outbreaks" in 1996, and the one in California had a bunch of illnesses and one death, states started requiring the pasteurization of cider.

I don't worry about it much because I don't let my livestock graze around the apple trees and I wash all the apples before they are pressed. The trees are in the middle of my garden so the dogs, the deer, etc. don't go there either. I don't have workers that touch the apples or any of the many concerns that commercial cider pressing operations might have and so I press my cider and freeze it.

It's one of the reasons that I bought those parts and Dad built me a cider press. Well, that and his sister, Lulabelle, had one and he was jealous. (grin)

Annie
piegirltoo
17 years ago
This weekend in the Columbia River Gorge the Heirloom Apple Festival is happening. I'm planning on picking up some fresh cider. Yum. I also love it heated with Tuaca. Does anyone have experience making boiled cider? I've never tasted it, but I'm finding lots of apple pie recipes that call for it.

Annual cider pressing

Comments (10)

shellm

lindac

Related Discussions

annie1992
Original Author

lindac

User

maggie2094

annie1992
Original Author

dixiedog_2007

annie1992
Original Author

piegirltoo

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

Annual cider pressing

Comments (10)

shellm

lindac

Related Discussions

annie1992Original Author

lindac

User

maggie2094

annie1992Original Author

dixiedog_2007

annie1992Original Author

piegirltoo

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US

annie1992
Original Author

annie1992
Original Author

annie1992
Original Author