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Cornell University : Cornell Cooperative Extension
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Cider Making |
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October 3 , 2001 Cider is the juice inside each apple. To make cider, apples are broken or mashed into tiny pieces, and the juice is pressed out of them. The remaining pulp or "pomace" can be used for compost or fed to rabbits, cows, deer, or other wildlife. Thousands of new and old cider mills dot the countryside in New England. Some old internal combustion engines are still functioning in traditional cider houses. The "rack and cloth" press is the most common. Half a ton (1,000 pounds) of apples are first washed, then inspected to make sure that they are clean and whole. Then they are fed into a grinding mill that mashes them into a texture resembling that of applesauce but with seeds and skin included; the taste and aroma in cider come from the skins as well as flesh. Next, the pulp is pumped or scooped into a strong woven cheesecloth placed in a square frame above a wooden rack such as an open checkerboard of thin oak slats crosswise to each other. After each cloth is filled with about five gallons of pulp, it is folder over snugly and another rack and cloth are placed on top. When a dozen or so racks and cloths are filled and stacked in a pile about three feet high, the "cheese" is finished and can be rolled into a big viselike press that applies a pressure of 2,000 to 3,000 pounds per square inch to the whole stack. The cider seeps and gushes out through the cloth and runs into a large tub beneath the press, leaving a solid pomace behind. The cider is then filtered once more and quickly pumped into a refrigerated tank for storage. Each pressing yields about 50 gallons of sweet, fresh, delicious cider. Making Fresh Cider at Home Youth will
Materials needed
Choose clean, intact apples. Do not use dropped apples or apples that show signs of bruising or decay. Drops may be exposed to more harmful microbes than apples on the tree. Damaged or decaying fruit could promote the growth of harmful microorganisms that might be present. Small cider presses are available from some garden supply catalogs. Someone in your community might have one that could be borrowed for this activity - you may want to ask around. Local growers may know of individuals with small presses. These cider presses are made from oak or maple wood and have a masher that shreds apples into small pieces in a cylindrical tub. A screw press and plate compresses the mash to squeeze out the cider. If a press is not available, you can use a large blender or food processor to mash or "pulp" the apples. Or slice apples finely into a large stainless steel soup pot and crush with a potato masher. Use only stainless steel or wood for pressing or storing cider because the juice reacts with iron or aluminum containers. Whichever method you use for mashing, once pulped, you will need to squeeze the cider out. To do this, wrap the mash in several layers of clean cheesecloth. Twist the cheesecloth as tightly as you can over a large bowl to extract and collect the juice. Compost the remaining pomace. Unfortunately, scientists warm that some apples may be contaminated with harmful microorganisms that can make people sick. Young children and elderly people are particularly vulnerable to foodborne illness. You can make safe cider by following the guidelines below. The heating process is called pasteurization. Besides making the cider safe to drink, it will make it last much longer than if it had not been heated.
Pour the cider and the purchased juice into cups and taste. Cornell
Cooperative Extension Yates Association |
