Cider Press

[Beekissed]

If you have a really good juicer that leaves very little apple in waste container and makes a thick juice that has to be strained (for actual just juice) is fine. I love the Jack Lalaine Juicer is is really good in my experience using it.

This is what kind I have also and it seems to get most of the juice and pulp and just leaves the dry pulp behind. It looks just like the cider from a press, so I will probably stick with the juicer....I wish I could do a whole bunch without hand feeding the hopper, but such is life!

 

[VT-Chicklit]

I went to a cider mill that used an old time Cider Press to press cider for the tourists, last fall. The press was basicly a tall vice with a square board on the bottom and another attached to the screw for the vice. The apples were coarsly chopped before being placed in the press. The process consisted of a long layer of fabric that acted as a filter being placed on the bottom board of the press, then a layer of chopped apple is placed on top, the long length of fabric was then brought up over the sides of the apples enclosing them. Another layer of fabric was then laid on top of the first and more chopped apples are placed on top of that fabric which is then wrapped up over the top. This continues until there are several layers of filter fabric and apple on top of the bottom board. It is important to keep the layers of apples flat as you layer them. The top board was then placed on top of the pile of apple and fabric. A worker then turned a wheel that was attached to the screw of the cider press vice. This put pressure on the top board which then "pressed" out the cider form the apples. A large tub below the press caught the cider as it was pressed. With each turn of the wheel, more cider was pressed, until there was only slightly moist pulp was left.

I was thinking at the time that it would be easy to do this on a small scale using 2 plywood squares (18 inch square), some muslin cloth, coarsly chopped apples and 4 large C clamps. You would follow the same stacking procedure of fabric and apples, then place the top plywood square on top. Add 4 large C clamps to the corners and tighten each clamp in an X rotation, being careful to tighten each equally. This way you can even have cider without electricity.

 

[Beekissed]

That's how it was described in my Back to Basics book, but they used a car jack.