Apple Cider Time

I went home to Richland this weekend to make apple cider. This has been a tradition in the Treat family for generations as you can probably tell from our cider press which is easily 100 years old. It was originally owned by an older woman who was a neighbor of my great grandparents. She used to rent it out every year to her neighbors so they could make cider from their apples. When she took ill, she gave the press to my great grandfather for all of the years he maintained it for her.

In past years I have helped my dad pick apples but my schedule prevented me from doing so this year. You're probably wondering where we get the apples since we don't have a family orchard, right? My dad has made friends with a couple of the local farmers who let him go through (free of charge) and gleen apples from their orchards after they have been harvested. The apples would otherwise go to waste and it is surprising how many they leave behind on the trees. My dad and his friend Jack did all of the picking this year. They collected 18 boxes in roughly 5 hours (6 boxes of Red Delicious, 4 boxes of ripe Fuji and 8 boxes of green Fuji).

When I arrived on Saturday my dad and I cleaned all of the apples. This consisted of washing the apples in a large washtub of water, using a knife to cut out any bad spots, and discarding any that were rotten. We only encountered one rotten apple so the pickers did a good job this year. The weather in Richland was unseasonably warm which made immersing your hands in cold water a little more bearable.

The actual cider making took place on Sunday. The process is for one person to turn a crank connected to a large gear while another person feeds apples into the hopper where they are ground up and fall through into a basket. The basket consists of several wooden slats held together by two metal bands. When the basket is sufficiently full it is repositioned under a threaded shaft. A circular wooden disk is positioned over the top of the basket and the wheel is slowly turned to press the juice from the apple pulp. The juice collects in a basin and exits through a hole in the front where it fills a metal bowl. The contents of the bowl are then carefully poured through a strainer and funnel into a juice container. When the containers are full they are rinsed and placed in the shade until all of the apples have been pressed. Then the containers are reopened to remove the foam that rose to the top. The void left behind by the foam is filled with more cider.

It took about 4 hours to grind/press all of the apples and fill the containers. My dad estimated that we made 34-35 gallons of cider this year.

If you're wondering how my separated shoulder faired, well... it actually did fine. I only turned the crank for 4 baskets full but I think I could have done more. My wrist actually bothered me more from the heavy ladle I used to fill the containers. I did the majority of that task since it is easier for me to get up and down off the ground.