Growing Apples for Homemade Cider

Article Tools

Image Gallery

Print

E-mail

Comments

RSS

Apple varieties ripen at different points in the harvest season, and some varieties ripen unevenly on the same tree over the course of several weeks. The seeds of a ripe apple will have begun to turn brown: cut one open for a look. "Spot picking" the best colored fruit on the outside canopy of the tree allows the sunlight to reach in and color the inner apples for picking two weeks or so later. Apples that aren't yet ripe make a green-tasting cider, and once overmature, if they haven't dropped, press out a less zesty juice.

Cider apples should be set aside to "sweat" until you have an assortment of varieties ready to press. The woodshed or porch is a good odor-free spot, out of the scalding sun and protected enough from a deep freeze. Our cider apples are set aside by variety in bushel boxes for two weeks or so before pressing. The apples yield their juices more readily after this mellowing, and the flavor of the cider is fuller. When a good firm squeeze leaves finger indentations on the fruit, it's ready for grinding. Some apples varieties — Rome, Jonathan, and Newton come to mind — are best pressed ripe from the tree, as their juices begin to bitter after storage.

Many cider-making handbooks will tell you to thoroughly wash your fruit before pressing. If you're taking the bruised and stubble-spiked route of windfallen fruit, I heartily agree. Blasting the apples with a garden hose in an old washtub (with holes drilled to allow good drainage) works well. Pull any rotting fruit you see, and stay away from those pasture drops! There's no need though, to wash hand-picked organic fruit that never came in contact with the ground. What to do with fruit sprayed with chemicals is a personal decision. One or two low-impact sprays done early in the summer have probably been sufficiently rinsed by the rain. Then again, I know of people who cut away both the stem and calyx end of the apple where residues are more likely to stay behind.

The Cider Press: Screw-Pressing Basics

Choose a cool day to press your cider outside — lower temperatures reduce the risk of vinegar bacteria and just may keep those pesky yellow jackets at bay. All of your cider equipment should be clean: make sure it's scrubbed and rinsed down thoroughly with clean water (no soap) after each day's pressing. Vinegar bacteria and fruit flies quickly take up residence where good sanitation is lacking.

Get the flywheel on your press turning to speed before dumping the apples into the grinder hopper. Grinders are designed to be self-feeding, so there's no need to get off-flavored fingers anywhere near the rotating cylinder. A nylon press bag placed in the tub catches the mushy pomace as it comes down through the grinder. The press bag serves as a filter to keep seeds and bits of apple from flowing out with the juice. Once full, fold the bag closed and place the wooden pressing disk in position.

RSS | Comments | E-mail | Print