9.08.2015

cider time



thanks to generous neighbors and abandoned local factories with trees dripping with apples, we recently picked approximately 3 bushels or so of the fine fall fruit.  some have been dried (and more will be dried) to stock us up, at least briefly, on apple rings.  some will no doubt go into pies, and maybe there will be a bit of applesauce.  mostly though....... cider.

last year papa figured out how to make a simple press out of scrap lumber, a car jack, and some odds and ends.  we made five gallons of hard cider and about three gallons of delicious drink-it-right-away cider.  this year, so far, there's just the five gallons in the fermenting bucket but we think we'll be able to do another press soon to put away a bit of regular cider as well.  considering that last year we didn't press until mid-October, I'm betting we have time for some more apple fun.


first, we give them a quick rinse.  next, they get quartered and then run through the food processor to turn them into more of a pulp.  we fill brewing bags with the pulp and make a kind of layered sandwich out of wooden boards and bags filled with pulp.  and then we press.  repeat this process many times over and voila! a bucket o' cider.









there was plenty of tasting.  yum, yum, yum.

16 comments:

  1. Mmmm. Fresh cider is hard to beat, that's for sure. Enjoy the treat! (Love the press by the way!)

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    1. oh it is! and we did (and will, surely, once the rest is bottled up and ready to enjoy). thank you. Mike saw something on youtube a while ago about making one out of what you had on hand and it grew from there!

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  2. OMG completely brilliant!! We are going apple picking on Thursday. I am so glad it's apple season again.

    I really hope I get to meet you when I come out to NC. Maybe I can taste that cider too. :)

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    1. I would LOVE to meet you when you're here at Lisa's. There is no reason that it can't be completely doable! I imagine the cider should be ready by mid to late October.... it takes a bit longer than beer to really get good carbonation going. when will you be here?

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  3. Impressive, you certainly are an inspiration.

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    1. youtube videos + a tinkering husband + a desire for fresh cider can lead to good things, for sure :)

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  4. you guys are so clever! I love your invention (which you should sell the instructions and make a bit of money unless it's already out in the world..) I bet it tastes GOOD.

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    1. Mike came up with it after seeing some videos on youtube about making a press with things you have on hand- I'm not sure exactly how alike/different this one is from the ones he was inspired by, but it was definitely a fun and fairly easy addition to our pseudo-suburban- mini homestead repertoire!

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  5. when my daughters were small we found an old cider press. We tore it all apart and painted it nice and fresh. It was a small one but it sure did make nice cider.

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    1. what a great find! makes me want to gussy this one up a bit and paint it a fun color!

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  6. So much fun!!! We're still trying to figure out a way to get up north to do some apple picking. We had a farm pretty close to us when we lived in Orange County, but now that we are north, for some reason, we're finding it hard to pin point a good farm to apple pick. Love your photos and your girl is growing up so fast!!

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    1. oh gosh, yes she is! as is yours no doubt~ love the recent photos of her and buddies having their 'homeschool preschool day'! very sweet!

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  7. i just love that you made your own press! i want to link to this from now on when we post our pressing.... to inspire people with your idea of making an original press!! so fantastic! you did get an early start... i'm a bit jealous... i started picking but we have lost so many to the deer and cows already.

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    1. we tend to rig something up when need be- whether it's a press or a maple syrup evaporator, a cold smoker, etc. fun, fun, fun!

      I can't believe how soon some of the apples were ready around here! there are certainly lots of others, other varieties I suppose, still on the trees.....

      I hope you have a good apple year!

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  8. Thanks for the cider press inspiration! My husband started making one of his own just yesterday. (We're in NC as well!)

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    1. you are most welcome~ that's wonderful!
      I hope it goes well!

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thanks for taking the time to read and comment~