IthaCan Cider Pressing 2011

Event Details

Time: October 8, 2011 from 2pm to 5pm
Location: Kate's House
Street: 52 Sodom Rd.
City/Town: Ithaca
Website or Map: http://maps.google.com/maps?q…
Phone: 277-7991
Event Type: skill, sharing
Organized By: Katie Quinn-Jacobs
Latest Activity: Oct 13, 2011

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Event Description

We'll be pressing apples again this fall. BYOA (Bring Your Own Apples). If you have access to unsprayed/untreated apples bring 'em along. Last year we had a gorgeous fall morning and lots of apples and homemade treats as well. Spouse and kids welcome!

In 2009, we averaged 2.5gal/bushel of apples.

Be sure to bring cleaned containers with lids.

We can have 10 members at this event.

The cider will be unpasteurized, but you can pasteurize at home by heating to 165°-180°F. See attached Making Apple Cider pdf.

Apple cider freezes well in half gallon ball jars. Great for the holiday bashes. And...maybe this year we'll figure out how to make some apple jack!

No inorganic apples please. Thanks!

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Comment by Olivia Hall on October 13, 2011 at 6:12pm: Thanks again for hosting this event, Katie. I had a lot of fun, and we love the resulting cider. Now I'm going to try to turn some of it into vinegar.

Comment by Katie Quinn-Jacobs on October 11, 2011 at 5:33am: Whoops, forgot to post the yields from the cider pressing. We pressed 6 gallons of pear juice and 22.5 gallons of apple cider in just under 4 hours. The ratio on the cider to apples was 2.25 gal/bu.

Comment by Katie Quinn-Jacobs on October 10, 2011 at 4:55pm: Had a wonderful time -- what a gorgeous day. Fun to meet new faces and catch up with others. Put up a slideshow of the pics.

Comment by Adam C. Engst on October 10, 2011 at 11:23am: Indeed - we had a good time too. We ended up mixing the apple and pear cider and freezing six 3/4-full jugs yesterday.

We're also trying to boil down a gallon of the pear cider into syrup. It's going a long time in the slow cooker. After a day, it's quite sweet, but not at all thick yet.

Comment by Shoshi on October 9, 2011 at 7:11pm: Thanks so much for a great day of apple pressing Kate!

It was fantastic!

Comment by Adam C. Engst on October 6, 2011 at 2:37pm: Thanks for doing this, Katie. I'm curious about your equipment, since when I've pressed cider with another friend, there was a lot of laborious cutting and grinding of the apples before pressing them (with a hand-cranked press), and it took several hours for just our 4 bushels.

Hey Adam, I pressed apples last night with a couple of friends and fellow IthaCanners and we did 4.75 bushels in 2 hours and that included set up/clean up. Every year is different, but this year the apples we were working with chopped easier and produced more cider than in 2010. I think they were juicier due to the rain and made a terrific smooth cider.

Do you know of any source of containers? We weren't thinking about this in time to have been saving containers (and most of the ones you get with milk or cider now aren't good for freezing anyway). I wonder if Littletree sell containers, for instance.

I know Ludgate's (which we own) has a couple of cases of half gallon Ball mason jars and Ithaca Agway also sells half gallons. I use the mason jars myself as they use space efficiently in the frig and freeze well.

See you tomorrow,

Kate

Comment by Shoshi on October 5, 2011 at 12:17am: Hi Kate!

I'm looking forward to Saturday! Here's a few questions first:

1) Besides washing the apples in a big tub, what else should we do to prepare them for pressing?

Just rinsing the apples in water is usually enough. If there are large bad spots, cut them out.

2) How big is a bushel in regards to your equation of 2.5 gallons to the bushel? This will help me determine how many ball jars to buy.

A bushel is just over 40 pounds of apples...about the size of an average laundry basket.

3) Also, if we buy used jars off craigslist and they're relatively clean looking, do you think its sufficient to wash them again in the dishwasher, or is it necessary to boil them in a kettle before storing the juice inside?

Wash jars with hot soapy water and rinse well. No need to boil them.

See ya Saturday, Kate

Thanks so much!

Shoshi

Comment by Olivia Hall on October 3, 2011 at 7:22pm: Can you please say more about what kinds of containers would be best?

I prefer glass, but plastic works just as well. I use half gallon Mason jars, so I can freeze the extra. Whatever you bring, be sure to clean them in hot soapy water, then rinse thoroughly before the pressing -- no need to sterilize.

Also, is it possible to make pear cider?

Yes, if the pears aren't too mushy.

Comment by Jessica Brown on October 3, 2011 at 12:49pm: This is an RSVP for my family, but my father will be the one coming. James Brown is setting up his Ithacan membership today. :)