Making Apple Cider

While we were in Michigan the latter part of September and the first part of October, we helped Thayne with his first ever experiment on making apple cider. This first picture looks into the back yard from the garage. It doesn't show well, but there are two good sized apple trees - one has red apples and one has yellow apples







This is only about half of the apples we actually got off from the trees. This is what we had to work with the 2nd day we did the cider.


I mostly worked in the house cutting up the apples and getting them ready to run through the press. On the bar are freezer containers already filled with fresh apple juice.

Thayne borrowed this rather simple apple press from a friend.




Thayne first ran the apples through a cutter that chopped them up into small pieces.

















When the basket made of open slats in a barrel shape with a mesh bag within is filled with chopped apples, the bag is closed and a round wooden disk was placed over it and, under pressure, the juice is squeezed out and runs into a pitcher that is below the tray.


The apple juice was then taken in and strained and put into bottles and frozen for future enjoyment.