Apples

[sg31]

As some one who has been part of an ad hoc cider club fpor several years I can confirm that scratting (chipping) the apples is the naff part.

I know some people that have quartered, frozen and defotsed apples to break down nthe apples so they can just go straight into a press, but then again they were only doing it for a few bottles of apple juiice. The sacle we were producing it would have taken an army of freezers!

didds

We used a garden shredder to work over our apples, we made 80 pints I forget how many sacks of apples were used but we were at the car loads amount.

I've got a couple of shredders so I might have a go at that. 10 gallon from car loads of apples doesn't seem like much. Was it worth the effort and was the cider good?

What did you do with the pulp?

[didds]

one chum had pigs so the pulp got fed to them.

didds

[sg31]

Thanks.

[johnstevens77]

Well, it seems that I never have enough! This year we had a small crop from our 6 apple trees and I had to go to an abandoned orchard and battle my way through 2 metre tall nettles, never mind the brambles to get somewhere near the usual quantity. We made 15x1litre preserving bottles in light syrup, used some for blackberry and apple jam and redcurrant and apple jelly with some still wrapped in newspaper for use in tarts, pies, crumbles and baked etc. Not enough to warrant collecting rosehips for rosehip and apple jelly though as we still have some jars of that left from last year. I also made several jars of thick puree, good enough to use on toast, with yoghurt and for apple tarts with sliced apples on top maybe. Many other ways of eating them.
The apple puree is the easiest thing, just wash the apples, windfalls will do, cut out any bad bits, put into a preserving pan with half a lemon and just enough water to start them off with a tight lid on and cook them to a puree, rub through a sieve and return to the pan with a little sugar and a knob of butter and reduce it down until thick, stiring constantly. I made some jars with lemon zest and vanilla and some with cinnamon and also with ginger. Bottle into sterilised jars whilst still hot and they will keep for at least a year.

john

[kempiejon]

I've got a couple of shredders so I might have a go at that. 10 gallon from car loads of apples doesn't seem like much. Was it worth the effort and was the cider good?

What did you do with the pulp?

sg31, yes worth it.
There were 2 batches of cider, the apples collected over a few weeks from several trees. The first batch was pretty good, had a surprising, to me at least, pink colour; the second a bit sharp and a darker brown hue. Made with a friend, the apples came from his grandfather's old trees, gathered over several visits to his family home. Pulp we bunged into the compost heap, it made that a bit sharp for a couple of weeks too.
It was an interesting project, had a bit of sentiment too it and yes was worth it, the majority polished off in one session at the party the following summer.

[sg31]

I look forward to giving it a try. Thanks for the info.