It all started when my neighbor's apple tree lost a limb and he didn't know what to do with all those apples. It didn't take long for me to say, "I'll take them!" Over the past few weeks I have scrambled to get a grinder and a press put together and press some apple juice. So far five gallons have been made.
I may turn this into a how to article. Let's start with a parts list...
Shredder
- Waste King L-8000 Legend Series 1.0-Horsepower Continuous-Feed Garbage Disposal
(I have witnessed this one run continuously for 20-30 min. Hasn't shut off yet. I have heard some overheat.)
- plastic cookie container for hopper (could use a bowl I guess)
- old scrap wood and screws for table
- powerstrip for foot switch
- PVC pipe (some comes with the disposal)
- wood for frame (was laying around)
- bottle jack
(I used a 6 ton from Harbor Freight)
- 6.5 gallon food grade bucket (5 gal would work too, maybe better. I drilled a bunch of holes in it for the juice to come out)
- 5 gallon food grade bucket
- a tin foil baking pan for under the bucket to catch the juice
- disc of sturdy wood cut 1 inch in diameter less than the bottom of the bucket
- pieces of wood to reinforce the disc (lots of pressure!)
- a couple 5 gallon paint strainer bags
- something for the top of the bottle jack to press into, a piece of hardwood
- plastic wrap to wrap the disc
It didn't cost me much because I had most of the stuff. Only had to buy the disposal ($80 sale on Amazon) and the bottle jack ($16?). The setup works pretty well. Here are the steps for a session.
- drag stuff out of my garage and setup
- sanitize equipment (I use Iodophor Sanitizer 32 oz
. It is biodegradable. If you are going to pasteurize you don't have to worry about this step because you'll be killing any wild yeast and pathogens with the heat on the stove.)
- wash apples (throw them in a big tub of water)
- quarter apples with knife & cutting board (quartering helps the disposal deal with the apples, the skin kinda acts like a slick shield and the disposal doesn't like to bite. Quarter helps this.)
- turn on disposal
- put apples in 2 quarters at a time
- use a dowel or short board to push appls into disposal safely
- apples come out the PVC into the bucket lined with paint strainer
- two large bowels of apple quarters (I know very scientific) provide almost two gallons of juice
- that's about the right amount for one pressing
- put bucket with holes on the tin foil baking pan, on the press
- transfer pulp in the paint strainer bag from bucket to the bucket with holes
- fold the strainer back on itself
- place disc press head on the pulp outside the bag
- add the bottle jack
- start pressing by jacking up the ....er...jack
- wait for the pulp to compress and the jack to loosen a bit
- repeat until it seems like you are reaching the point of diminishing returns
- be careful because the jack is under lots of pressure, don't go too far
Fermenting a still cider (no bubbly)
NOTE: very simple method, there are tons of variations you can try
NOTE: very simple method, there are tons of variations you can try
- get some english ale yeast (English Ale Yeast - Safale S-04
- find a container to ferment in, a fermenter (something with an airlock would be good)
- sanitize it (no fragrance oxyclean, one step, iodophor, etc.)
- pour juice into fermenter, close it up, add air lock
- wait till the bubble stop (should be less than a week, perhaps a few days)
- bottle (be careful not to bottle before it is done, you don't want to create bottle bombs)
- drink
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