apple cider
We took 5 bushels of apples -- red and golden delicious, cortland and empire from our orchard, wolf river (from outside my doctor's office where I saw them while getting a flu shot) and a lovely red and green streaked variety from mom's, all organic -- up to Bob Sewall's orchard on a ridge in Lincolnville overlooking Penobscot Bay and he pressed them into 22 gallons of cider. Such a gorgeous drive through the hills covered with golden foliage and still green fields to Bob's -- blue sky and mild temps. Jack, Sam, Mom and I climbed up the mountain behind Bob's house and saw Isle au Haut in the distance. The pressing took about 45 minutes. We dumped the apples into a bin where they hit a small metal conveyor belt and were hoisted to a grinder. The resulting pulp (the consistency of oatmeal) came out of a tube and Bob spread it onto a sort of square pallet lined with heavy cloth. When the pallet was full he folded over the edges and put another pallet on top, beginning the process all over. By the time the apples were all pulped, Bob had a stack of 7 or 8 pallets which he then pressed. The juice oozed out the sides and down through a spout into a big stainless steel bin. From there it was piped through a filter and out spigots into gallon jug. The press is so efficient all that's left is thin pads of apple pulp that look and feel like felt pads (we took the pulp home for the compost bin). Jack and Sam helped pour the apples into the grinder and then helped drink the juice as it came out of the five spigots. We ended up with 22 delicious gallons of cider made from our own apples by a neighbor. How cool is that!
