On Sunday we pressed the apples that we had scratted the day before. I enjoyed the process as it was quite therapeutic and not something that could be rushed.
Here it is in pictures:
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| Laying out the first "hair" (dustsheets that have been washed ready for use) on top of a frame |
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| The first cheese formed |
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| Some of the pulp we were pressing - the red flecks were from the tom putts that we added to the mix of apples |
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| Building up the stack. the two bars under the frame are called needles and they keep the frame sitting square until the next layer is added. |
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| The press was fairly simple just using a 20 ton bottle jack with metal frame above - so not much could go wrong with it |
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| The juice flowed well! |
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| When being pressed the cheeses almost look like they've been glossed |
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| It's amazing how thin it gets once its been pressed |
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| We did two pressings in the end and that gave us 150 litres of apple juice |
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| Testing the sugar content so we can work out the % of alcohol when it's finished fermenting |
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| Dinner was a traditional Malaysian dish call mee hoon - Lovely and completely different from my normal sandwiches |
We're now going to let the natural yeasts ferment the juice and the next step should be in a month or so. Trouble is I want to try the cider now!
How interesting, I have never seen apples pressed like that but it is a good way to do it for sure. We have machines with hand cranks on them in this area and of course they cost a lot if you can find one. Most of our orchards are gone now.
ReplyDeleteThis seemed a good idea because there were so few moving parts and so little to go wrong. The only thing I could think of changing was to change the oil in the jack to vegtable oil so there would be no risk of contamination if it leaked. But so long as it was looked after I see no real reason why this would happen anyway!
DeleteI imagine the smell was heavenly!
ReplyDeleteJane x
It was apple-ly to say the least!
DeleteNot the way we did it, but it sure brings back the memories!
ReplyDeleteI think everyone has different methods. I'd be interested in hearing yours?
DeleteNever seen apples pressed this way, but very neat!!! You should sneak some regular cider too.
ReplyDeleteIn the UK we only call it cider if it's fermented otherwise to us it's just apple juice. We did take home a couple of litres each to drink straight away and my little girl loved it!
DeleteIt isn't cider yet though?
ReplyDeleteNot yet but hopefully it will only be a few months depending on the temperature
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