Pressing Cider Again!
I know I blogged about my cider press a couple of weeks ago, but let’s face it; making apple cider is just plain fun! Plus, there’s something so gratifyingly simple about the whole process. You grind up the apples and give them a good pressing and you are rewarded with a sweet, refreshing, and healthy beverage. Plus, there’s absolutely no waste involved as the pressed-out pulp is fed to my chickens. It’s also great for composting. Last week on Columbus Day, I spent the day at home working. While taking a break from writing, I decided to give a lesson in cider making to those on the farm that day.
Some cider basics: Approximately 30 to 40 apples will yield one gallon of cider. The apples you use needn’t be flawless, but they should be free of spoilage, which would cause the juice to ferment too rapidly. If you are concerned about pasteurization before drinking, simply heat the cider to 160-degrees for about 6 to 8 seconds. After pasteurization, cider can be frozen for longer storage.
1 I've been telling you in my blog postings that we have an abundance of apples this year at the farm. I've never seen anything like it!
2 With such an enormous quantity of apples, I'm so happy to finally have a cider press. This one is from Happy Valley Ranch in Paola, Kansas. http://www.happyvalleyranch.com/
3 While someone turns the flywheel of the cider press, whole washed apples are fed into the grinder apparatus.
4 The whirring cylinder has sharp teeth-like knives that chop the apples into bits.
5 The very juicy chopped apples fall into a mesh-lined tub beneath.
6 Skins, seeds, and all fill the tub.
7 When the tub is full, a wooden pressing plate is positioned on top of the chopped apples.
8 The tub is then positioned beneath the press screw. Laura begins lowering the pressing foot onto the pressing plate.
9 As pressure is applied, pure apple juice begins to flow. It's amazing how quickly the juice oxidizes into a rich amber brown color.
10 A 2 X 4 provides Laura with more torque for pressing. Pete keeps grinding as I keep feeding more apples. Shaun was fascinated, as he had never seen this process before.
11 Swapping out buckets of cider
12 Pouring the cider into clean, one-gallon containers being careful to leave the foam behind
13 When the juice stops flowing, the screw is raised. The remaining apple pulp is emptied and fed to the chickens.
14 Shaun takes a turn at cranking the flywheel. This is really fun stuff!
15 We had a real production line going and made many gallons of cider.
16 Eliad was amazed how easily the apples were crushed. I warned him to keep his fingers away from the blades!
17 Fresh cider for everyone!
18 Francesca wanted to be part of the action.
19 I love the way the cider looks in these one-gallon glass jars.
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
Martha, what in the world are you going to do with all of that cider?
Can you freeze it in the jars?
I've never really liked apple juice, so I don't know if I'd like cider, but...my mouth is watering from just looking at the pictures.
Gloria G.
Posted by: Gloria | October 19th, 2010 at 12:28 am
Thanks again for showing how you press cider. It must have been fun getting everyone on the farm involved including Franny doing her part to supervise and Sharkey picking the apples.
Posted by: Sonya | October 19th, 2010 at 12:50 am
Hi Martha,
For years we have been having cider making parties with friends and family. Our press is very, very old and it has had a washing machine motor added to it to mechanize the turning of the chopping blades which really helps with the process! This year forty gallons of cider were made. We never pasteurize our cider, preferring to keep all the healthy enzymes of raw cider and we do freeze the cider in plastic gallon jugs. We have a party that always includes fresh hot doughnuts and sometimes hot soup and a bonfire. All the participants take home gallons of cider. All the apple pulp gets fed to the goats, chickens and onto the compost pile. Pressing fresh cider is a special family event with us and I'm glad to see you all making special memories too.
Pam
Posted by: Clayvessel | October 19th, 2010 at 2:31 am
Martha, thanks for sharing this blog. You guys were really working hard. You give it your all in all when you are into something. Take care.
Posted by: KLBrown | October 19th, 2010 at 3:22 am
Thank you for these wonderful autum pictures.
In Germany cookbook authors make "Pomme Cuvee" and "Pomme Secco" . Their link ->www.apfelgut.de
Another idea for your Cider is apple-jelly.
Do you have Apple festivals in America,too?
There are lots of "Apfelfeste" in Germany and Italy(Pomeria).
Petra
Posted by: Petra | October 19th, 2010 at 3:33 am
It really does look great. We don't have apple cider like that in the UK - just the alcoholic kind, and until people told me I was getting quite tipsy from the warm apple cider recipe!
Posted by: Pru | October 19th, 2010 at 3:37 am
Apple and autumn, what a perfect combination!
Posted by: Ney Padilha | October 19th, 2010 at 9:39 am
Hi Martha,
I don’t need to see the cider to get my mouth watering. Just looking at all those apples does it for me. I’m an apple freak and usually eat one a day from an assortment I get at Costco. I was wondering if you used one kind of apple for each gallon of cider or do you mix varieties? Not all apples are sweet or taste the same and it seems different kinds would alter the taste of the cider like grapes make wine different. I have never made cider but have tasted a lot of it in Michigan and noticed that some is sweeter than others. Well, cheers! I’m getting ready to watch the show. Trish
Posted by: Trish | October 19th, 2010 at 9:53 am
Anything looks good in those Ball jars!I eat so many apples this time of year, that doctors don't even speak to me..Watching those great fall arrangements today on Hallmark channel in galvanized buckets. Chartruese rules! Thanks for pics of Laura and her MOST gorgeous hair..
Posted by: ann | October 19th, 2010 at 10:38 am
What an interesting process! The gallons in the market are fully stacked. It is a great part of this beautiful season. I wonder what you will do with all those gallons. A productive harvest of apples this year makes me wonder what is happening with the climate that the yield was so high. Apples must have loved the hot, dry summer on the East Coast.
Posted by: Teresa Touey | October 19th, 2010 at 11:25 am
Hi Martha, OMG! What a fun and delicious way to spend part of Columbus Day with some of your great crew there at Bedford! WOW! You sure did have a tremendous crop of apples this year and what a great way to use them without wasting any! These photos are terrific and how great that everyone was taking turns working the cider press and doing such a great job! Even Francesca and Sharkey got involved and they blogged about their adventure, also! I love Sharkey's choice of winesap apples to juice! What kind of apples did you guys use and how many gallons did you wind up with? Yum, I can almost taste that delicious cider! Loved yesterdays TV show with Mario B. Happy Birthday to your great artiste, Joey Kola! Have a great day, again! Jan
Posted by: Jan Erickson | October 19th, 2010 at 11:40 am
Thank You,
I've printed the flatbread recipe that I saw in Martha Stewart Living. What a pleasure your website is, you share information without asking for anything to sell. Integity is so rare now a days.
Posted by: Mimi Vignali | October 19th, 2010 at 11:43 am
Fall is in the air, and making Apple Cider goes along with it. I remember when I was younger, I use to pick apples from a big apple orchard, and then had to sort them so they could be made into cider. I know what you mean about no bruised apples or bad apples for cider. I wish I could have been in on the fun of pressing apples with all of you. I just love your blog because it is so down to earth, and a learning experience also.
Posted by: Paula Jo @ garden decorations | October 19th, 2010 at 12:40 pm
Love it, seeing your pictures almost made me hear the laughter and comments about "--it is your turn to run the 2*4" I must think with Shaun having a pencil behind his ear, he was not planning on sticking around long.
The day must have been just about 10 on a scale of 10.
Posted by: Margie | October 19th, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Looks like fun and so good to drink. Just a couple of questions though. Do you spray your apples and can you freeze cider in glass jars?
Posted by: Frances | October 19th, 2010 at 1:39 pm
A wonderful way to use apples...love how it all looks in the canning jars!
Posted by: sherey | October 19th, 2010 at 1:54 pm
Joey Kola and Sara Carey were terrific today! Such great TV! Also I am loving the Hallmark schedule as well as Mad Hungry and Whatever on the days that I can catch it!
Posted by: Teresa Touey | October 19th, 2010 at 2:06 pm
Martha, we have bumper crops here. Some time ago, there was a recipe for caramel apples using Lady apples in your magazine. Do you have a source to buy these apples online as they don't grow them where I live.
Thanks.
Arlene
Posted by: Arlene Radden | October 19th, 2010 at 3:33 pm
Look at all those yummy apples! Our area got hit with a freak frost back in the spring, so most of the orchards around here only picked for one weekend as they lost most of there crop. I was able though to pick up cider from a local farm. Thanks for sharing your wonderful blog with all us.
Tracy
Posted by: Granite Farm Studios | October 19th, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Love your blogs. Is there any way you can increase the space around the pictures? So often, at least on my computer, the words are either cut off or not visible and it's such a shame to miss what is being said about that pic.
Thank you.
Posted by: Robin | October 19th, 2010 at 5:52 pm
I knew it takes a lot of apples to make cider but could not have guessed this many.
Thanks!
Posted by: Nisrine | October 20th, 2010 at 1:33 pm
Hi Martha....I saw your Halloween decorations. I saw the WITCH on the wire for the house in the Halloween Village. Where can I copy this witch for
my house? I've looked at alot of witches and I like your's best. Let us all know where to copy this from. Thanks Martha.
Teresa Benninghoff
Grand Junction, Colorado
Posted by: Teresa L. Benninghoff | October 20th, 2010 at 7:24 pm
We're so lucky on the east coast to have such fantastic soil and grow our own food!
Posted by: VA in Virginia | October 21st, 2010 at 1:30 pm
Hi Martha. I loved the pic you put up on your blog re: you instructions to your staff on how to care for apples while you were away on a business trip. I ReTweeted it and it got a lot of hits. Here is a story on pagan rituals and the apple harvest in England. Much Ado about Marcle - Pagan Wassail Still Bears Fruit in Herefordshire http://bit.ly/a6BUx7 Thanks Martha and gang.
Posted by: http://twitter.com/Geotravel | October 28th, 2010 at 1:28 pm
hello, I just wanted to say i saw an old video of yours on chickens and quickly order a magazine form mcmurry.OH MY STARS! i never knew there was so many chicken in the world.I saw how easy it was to raisse chicken on your show it made me want to have chickens too, so i did the only thing i could do and got my uncle on the project even as i type this he building me chicken coop! for my new chick that i will get in april from none other than mcmurry, there was other hacthery i reseached too but i knew they were the best if you ordered from them. Just wanted to thank you for the inspriation you gave me and so many others.
Posted by: nikki | February 26th, 2011 at 3:20 pm
What a great and informative site. LOVE IT!!! could you reccomend a primer on apples? Thanks Martha. Keep up the great work. Patti H.
Posted by: Patti Henkel | October 17th, 2011 at 2:06 pm