Cider Tip from Facebook

[sandbur]

They said you can freeze the apples for 3-4 days, thaw and then press. Then I could mix early varieties with later varieties.

I also have been trying to think of a way to modify my shredder for smaller apples like crabs but quickly change back to larger apples. With freezing, I probably won’t need to shred the crabs.

Anybody try it? Comments?


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[cavey]

I have yet to build a shredder.. slowly gathering parts; Its going to be belt driven/electric ( have the motor ) with the round wood block with stainless screws drilled in - wood or plastic feed hopper and a stainless steel plate in the hopper feed... below is what Im going for minus the gas motor. Im just going to mount the almost finished block on it and turn it down right where she sits.... I dont have a lathe and it was bothering me on how and where it get on turned then the light switch came on ... get it close put the shaft in and mount it and turn it on its own bearings... should work.

I was thinking that apples and crabs would mash up the same with this unit, are you finding the crabs do to their smaller size a problem... or is your shredder design way different? I have not built it yet so any info now may save me time later.

ps i dont know why the image has that subscribe thingingy on it - ignore that part

 

[Jhoss]

I’ll be test driving mine soon. This is an older pic back before many coats of oil based hi-traffic floor varnish.

 

[NE PA QDM]

Claude jolicoeur in "the new cider maker's handbook" describes pressing (without grinding) after freezing and then thawing the apples. He recommends for freezing them for a full week. It's a great book, full of useful info.

I have been freezing the fresh cider for the last few years, it stays good all year if frozen. My plan for once my cider varieties are bearing a large enough quantity of apples is to press and freeze the juice from earlier ripening varieties and then blend them the fresh juice of the late ripening apples later in the season.

 

[NE PA QDM]

I have a lot of work yet to do with building the hopper etc but so far the frame and grinding wheel are done. Pretty exciting to see I'm not the only one undertaking a project like this!

 

[Jhoss]

Work of art right there!

 

[Prof.Kent]

My rather crude scratter video. Hard to test while hand-held filming. Our first test of the scratter. It needs some improvements for next year.

 

[sandbur]

Claude jolicoeur in "the new cider maker's handbook" describes pressing (without grinding) after freezing and then thawing the apples. He recommends for freezing them for a full week. It's a great book, full of useful info.

I have been freezing the fresh cider for the last few years, it stays good all year if frozen. My plan for once my cider varieties are bearing a large enough quantity of apples is to press and freeze the juice from earlier ripening varieties and then blend them the fresh juice of the late ripening apples later in the season.

My frozen cider doesn’t keep that long, I drink it too fast!

 

[NE PA QDM]

Thanks for posting the videos, they are VERY helpful especially as I'm still working on designing the top part of my scratter. I will add some photos and hopefully videos of mine in a few months once completed (so you all can learn from my mistakes and make a better design!!!)

 

[NE PA QDM]

Videos soon to follow. Just need a sunny dry day to run it outside, should have some action videos by the end of the week. Very happy with the way it came out.

 

[Prof.Kent]

Nice!. I wish I were more of a carpenter. Do the dogs help?

 

[NE PA QDM]

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[NE PA QDM]

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[NE PA QDM]

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[NE PA QDM]

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[NE PA QDM]

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[Jhoss]

Right on...Right Friggin On!

 

[Prof.Kent]

And it works as well as it looks! Nice job. What did you use for stain/finish on the wood?

 

[NE PA QDM]

And it works as well as it looks! Nice job. What did you use for stain/finish on the wood?

Minwax red oak stain (most of the wood is red oak) and epifanes marine varnish. The varnish isn't cheap but it's great stuff, really durable and from what I've read it's food-safe once completely cured. I've used a lot of their varnish over the years and it's really solid stuff.

 

[Prof.Kent]

My brother was adamant that we had to use "Food Grade" finishes. I couldn't find any so we used latex paint. And the latex paint makes for soft surfaces which kind of stick together on one anther. I wish I had used thicker boards. My plywood likes to war. I made do with only crude carpentry tools. Scratter 2.0 will probably be built with steel if I can learn to weld or better wood. Your scratter looks professional. I am betting your wife won't let your make the apple slaw in the living room.