Cheap way to get juice from apples??

[maisiehumby]

looking wistfully at the hundreds of apples in our new garden, I thought it'd be great to freeze loads of apple juice to last us for a bit (spare freezer lurking in the garage). But I think you need some kind of a press for that?? Is there a cost-effective way to do it, bearing in mind I somehow don't think I'll be buying one of those wooden fruit press things.....???

[shirlthegirl43]

Our local homebrew and health food store hires out a fruit press.

[Hilary B]

Cider makers don't press whole apples, they crush/chop them first. I don't know whether homebrew shops still sell the gadget for attaching to a DIYer's drill, which you then use to chop the apples in a bucket (a bit like a heavy-duty version of those 'hand held blender' gadgets). Once chopped, SOME juice will run out as soon as you give it a chance. Try pouring the result through a jelly-bag (or substitute). You won't get as much as you would with a press (perhaps half). The juice will be brownish in colour, because you won't be able to keep the air out as they do in the commercial places. It will carry on oxidising as long as the air can get to it, so seal the bottles well (but beware of unplanned fermentation).

[SarzWix]

Home pressed/juiced apple juice is best preserved by freezing - washed plastic milk containers work well, leaving space for the juice to expand once frozen. If you try and keep it in the bottles without freezing, it will start to ferment unless you've put Campden tablets in it.
We improvise a press from a Workmate, and put the apples through a mincer or food processor before pressing. See this thread for more info http://www.growfruitandveg.co.uk/gra...ress_6770.html

[littlemark]

Hiring a press from a local homebrew shop is far and away the most cost effective way of pressing your apples. Sadly, specialist homebrew shops are as rare as hens teeth these days, and not all have a press and crusher to hire out. Presses come up on eBay regularly, but the prices are anything but cheap even for secondhand kit. Freecycle is often suggested, but I've never seen one come up myself.

One other possibility is to visit the ukcider producers list (http://ukcider.co.uk/wiki/index.php/Regional_Producers), and contact a local cidermaker who may be able to press your apples for you for a small fee.

As stated, freezing is the best oprion, and adding ascorbic acid (vitamin C) at a rate of 5 grammes per 10 litres of juice will help reduce the browning caused by oxidisation. I would not recommend dosing with Sulphite to prevent fermentation, at moderate levels this will merely slow down the process, and the levels required to completely prevent any chance of fermentation are higher than most people would want to use. Pasteurisation is another good option.

Mark

[Farmer_Gyles]

a small apple press doesn't cost that much
Homebrew & Winemaking Online Shop & Forum

[SarzWix]

The cheapest press I've seen is on the Hamstead Brewing Centre website, but it's still an investmest of £100 or so to get a decent sized one. Wine/Fruit Presses & crushers
The one you've found is a good price Farmer Gyles, but it's capacity is really very small, it'd take ages to press a tree worth of apples!

[Capsid]

I've made my own press using these plans. I hope to make a few gallons of juice this weekend for cider.

I'll post pics on my blog probably.

[Farmer_Gyles]

yes sarzwix, i've got a small press - it's for all sorts of fruit, not just apples - sadly i didn't get enough elderberries and blackberries this year due to lack of time - but i've got a few buckets of apples and i'm making apple wine and cider - i'll be pressing about 6 pounds of apples for one wine, 12 pounds for another - they'll be done at separate times - so in a way it really depends how quickly you want to press a whole tree worth of apples - even if i had a big press and squeezed out 2 trees worth in one day, i won't have much time to do anything much with the juice straight away ...........

[godders]

I love the innovation, SarzWix!!

I found this fairly simple looking idea on YouTube. . .



YouTube - How to make Cider at home the easy way: Part 1



Looks like the sort of thing you were talking about that inspired your OH.
I reckon even I'd be confident enough to have a go at this, and I've not
done woodwork since I was about 12!!! Need to find some apples though, as
our tree didn't really have any this year. .

[rana]

For small batches of apples (about 5lbs) an effective method to extract juice is to use a pressure cooker. Just halve the apples, throw in the pressure cooker with a little water and cook at pressure for about 10 minutes. The resulting pulp can be strained in a collander. Juice is great to drink or freeze for later use.

[SarzWix]

yes sarzwix, i've got a small press - it's for all sorts of fruit, not just apples - sadly i didn't get enough elderberries and blackberries this year due to lack of time - but i've got a few buckets of apples and i'm making apple wine and cider - i'll be pressing about 6 pounds of apples for one wine, 12 pounds for another - they'll be done at separate times - so in a way it really depends how quickly you want to press a whole tree worth of apples - even if i had a big press and squeezed out 2 trees worth in one day, i won't have much time to do anything much with the juice straight away ...........

Fair point

We had about the equivalent of 20 buckets last year, and hope for more this year Most of them were being juiced for cider & we wanted it all at the same time. So for us, it's a case of start pressing and don't stop til it's all done. 7 hours last year So I want as big a press as I can afford. So that's no press this year, and back to the Workmate

[quark1]

And don't forget to enter this month's giveaway compy where 2 pretty professional presses are up for grabs!

Real people DO win these prizes - I've won a couple of small ones this year already. Someone else has recently reported a win of a waterbutt and system! I think yet another may have won a more heavy duty piece of equipment - similar to a rotovator or the like.

[Capsid]

And don't forget to enter this month's giveaway compy where 2 pretty professional presses are up for grabs!

Real people DO win these prizes - I've won a couple of small ones this year already. Someone else has recently reported a win of a waterbutt and system! I think yet another may have won a more heavy duty piece of equipment - similar to a rotovator or the like.

Oh crap. I thought I was the only one entering!