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[Mominohio]

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@flickerbulb wrote:

@Mominohio

That is so cool! Learn something new every day!

I would love to see a picture of the antique cider press! Do you have a flash on your phone to get a better photo?

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@flickerbulb

My phone was about the cheapest one I could buy about a year ago, and if it has a flash, I've never been able to figure it out. My guess is for the couple hundred dollars it cost, it doesn't.

It was my first 'smart phone' and every salesman really thought I was going to pay $700 for a phone. I walked out of several carriers because they simply started there and thought I should just sign up! My phone really doesn't take that great of pictures, as it really isn't an expensive phone, but as time goes on, I may upgrade to better in a few years. 

My phone mostly lives in my car, and I go days (some times a week) and never look at it! 

The press really is kind of fascinating.

[mistriTsquirrel]

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@Desertdi wrote:

Cider is a laxative.............

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@Desertdi  Thanks for mentioning that.  I did not know.

I was wondering what my problem was today.  

[Nataliesgramma]

There is nothing like good ol' Ohio cider!!!

I get mine from our local apple farm though........LOL

[house_cat]

Looks wonderful and I'm envious of your lifestyle, but this city girl would like to know what the difference is between juice and cider. Thank you.

[Mominohio]

@house_cat

In general, apple cider is the raw unfiltered and unprocessed product from which apple juice is created. Cider is nothing more than the apples crushed and the juice that comes from that process.

Apple juice starts out as cider, but is often concentrated then reconstituted with water. Apple juice is usually a much more processed food. 

Cider is generally darker, slightly thicker, and has sediment in it from the pressing of the apples. 

Most people in our area prefer cider than has not been pasteurized as well, as it seems to reduce the flavor (although 'they' claim it doen't). 

[DREAMON]

We live near Cranberry Bogs..Yesterday my hubby stopped at the produce stand and bought Cranberry Apple Cider and Plain Apple Cider both are delicious.

....And he bought a fresh baked Blueberry Pie that was still warm......of course I had to give it the taste test...it passed 

[PA Mom-mom]

@Mominohio I just saw this thread and am very interested. What kind(s) of apples did you use? Do you find that the cider takes on a different (sweeter?) flavor if you have frost before picking the apples? Do you also make applesauce; and, if so, what kind of apples do you use?

[Mominohio]

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@DREAMON wrote:

We live near Cranberry Bogs..Yesterday my hubby stopped at the produce stand and bought Cranberry Apple Cider and Plain Apple Cider both are delicious.

....And he bought a fresh baked Blueberry Pie that was still warm......of course I had to give it the taste test...it passed 

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@DREAMON

Fresh and warm blueberry pie? And you forgot to invite me!? I would have brought the vanilla ice cream!

Dang, now I want some blueberry pie!

[Mominohio]

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@PA Mom-mom wrote:

@Mominohio I just saw this thread and am very interested. What kind(s) of apples did you use? Do you find that the cider takes on a different (sweeter?) flavor if you have frost before picking the apples? Do you also make applesauce; and, if so, what kind of apples do you use?

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@PA Mom-mom

Cider and applesauce are both very much affected by the kinds and mix of apple you use. 

Most of our apples are red delicious and they were huge this year. We also have yellow delicious, but that tree, for the first time in 20 years had no fruit (well maybe 16 apples where we usually get hundreds). 

We mix our apples with some from a friend's orchard for better flavor and he has several older varieties (can't remember just now what they are) but this year, he had very little yield, so essentially our cider and applesauce were made using just the red delicious. 

If it were up to me, that wouldn't be our major apple crop, but those are the trees we have, and that is what we use. We have planted some other varieties, but they have been slow to grow and haven't produced anything yet. In a few years we will have a much better mix from just our orchard.

It wasn't the very best cider we ever pressed, due to the lack of variety, but certainly better than anything at the grocery store, and better than some of the orchards around here. There is one orchard here that grows tons of varieties of apples, and they have the world's best ever cider, but it is over $7 a gallon, so it kind of makes ours taste even better to us! LOL

As for the frost thing sweetening the apples, that is an old time thing and we think it is true. Definitely the later into the season you can wait, the chance at colder nights gets that sugar going in the fruit. 

This year, while it was very warm the week we pressed, a couple of weeks prior, we had nights in the 40's here a couple of times and that helped with the sweetness.

What we find is that we have to pick and press based more on when the tree will no longer hang on to the fruit. Some years we have to press early (mid Sept, which is way too early here really) because of wind taking down most of the fruit, and we need to get it processed before it rots. 

I will say, many people have specific apples they consider the best for applesauce, but just about any kind will work, and I don't add anything to it (some people use cinnamon or sugar before canning), and then I can add sweetness when serving if I need/choose to. I like it plain (and not very sweet) because I use it as a replacement for oil in some baking, and I make apple butter with it and add spices and sugars later for that use. 

Just a side note, one thing we discovered a few years ago was that when running the cooked apples through the food mill  (it pulls the skins and seeds out and just gives you the applesauce), if you run the 'scrap' through a second time, you get super thick applesauce and it about doubles your yield. Don't know if this is common practice, but something we tried once and really like the results, especially for giving us thick applesauce for making apple butter.

[PA Mom-mom]

@Mominohio Wow! Lots of info there! Thanks! My best friend always runs her apple scraps through her Victorio strainer the second time. I just thought it was because she was extremely frugal. I didn't know it changed the texture. I'll have to think about that one. We have thick and thin preferences in my family. I don't think $7.00 per gallon sounds too expensive. I like to try to get apples after the first frost too. Lately, I have been using Empire for sauce.