Here is a step by step guide for making homemade apple cider using a fruit press.
Step 1 – Apple Selection & Preparation
This is a critical step as this will determine the quality and flavor of your cider. Make sure you are not using apples that are tree fallen as they will most certainly contain pests, which will not only hurt your cider, they may have contaminated the apples. Quality fruit will produce quality cider, just like anything else. You will also want to select a couple different varieties of apples. Using two or three different varieties will give your cider a unique taste. Each time your press apples you can experiment with different varieties of apples to find the perfect ratio of sweetness and tart. An example of a blend may be Red Delicious apples coupled with Granny Smiths. As I am from the Yakima Valley I always use apples grown in Washington State, I have yet to find better apples than the apples grown in Central Washington. Even with this simple mix you can adjust the ratio of reds to granny’s to refine your blend. Other blends may apple varieties such as: Jonagold, Pink Lady, Golden, Gala, Braeburn, Honeycrisp, or Rome.
Once you have your fruit selected you will want to make sure you wash them throroughly to remove all pesticides. When pressing apples your press should have a grinder to crush the apples into small pieces. However, I suggest at least quartering the apples before putting them through your grinder unless you have a quality grinder that can handle whole apples. Some cider presses have automatic grinders while others have a manual crank.
Hello,
I found this blog looking for some info on cider pressing. Thank you for the great information. I was wondering if you had the names of the orchards where you get the apples from. Previously we have gotten apples from Johnsons Orchards, but we got word that he is not selling bins for cider pressing this year.
Thanks for the help.
Mark
Hi Mark,
my sister is actually a fruit broker here in Yakima, so we can usually get just about anything. This is an especially good time to get apples from last years harvest that have been in CA (controlled atmosphere) all year. The big fruit companies are usually looking to make some room for this years harvest and you can usually get a deal. What varieties and how many bins do you typically buy each year?
Justin