There are a few reasons why fall is the best time of year. The oppressive summer heat is abating, mosquitos are dropping dead, new and wonderful fruit is coming into season, and of course the most obvious reason: my birthday. But, worthy a topic though it most certainly is, my birthday is not the subject of this post. Instead I’m going to focus on the penultimate list item just mentioned: fruit. In particular, apples.
This has been a banner year for apple production. Even small, relatively young trees have boughs absolutely heaving with ripe fruit. This is a good thing, too, because last year’s late frost annihilated almost the entire crop. We came dangerously close to the same thing happening this year, but thankfully most nascent blossoms were left unharmed.
Apples are one of my favorite fruits, and I look forward to their arrival every year. I enjoy all the customary apple season treats that people commonly make like apple pie, apple crisp, caramel apples, and other various baked goods. However, there are lots of other things apples are good for that people generally don’t undertake to produce themselves. One of these things is what we in the U.S. call cider (elsewhere, of course, this product is just called apple juice since cider refers to the fermented alcoholic juice of the apple). Cider is something very few people take on making themselves, with almost everyone simply buying it from the grocery store, or perhaps an orchard or farm stand, but if you ever have the opportunity to press your own I can heartily recommend it.
Aside from the satisfaction and exciting sense of adventure that comes from doing it yourself there are some real culinary benefits that come with taking control of the operation as well. The first is that you will have access to unpasteurized cider. I’m not sure if it’s common knowledge, but basically all the cider that’s sold on store shelves in the U.S. has been heat treated to kill microorganisms. This is good for public health and product shelf life, but it does also affect the flavor of the juice. Unpasteurized cider is much more complex and tastes more like the fresh apples it comes from. There are some slight health risks that come with consuming raw cider, and some folks do experience some gastric distress after drinking a lot of it, but if you’ve never tasted the raw product before it is definitely worth a try. I prefer the unpasteurized juice so much that I leave all my cider in its raw state.
The second major benefit of pressing your own apples is that you can control the source. You can make cider from ultra-flavorful heirloom varieties, and also use all one variety in a pressing, giving a very pure expression of that apple. Some of my favorite apples to make single variety cider from are Ashmead’s Kernel (my all time favorite), Golden Russet, and Cox’s Orange Pippin. There are many other worthy varieties as well, but I'll leave you to explore those on your own. However I will say if you’re ever in the position to sample unpasteurized 100% Ashmead’s Kernel apple cider that is something that absolutely cannot be missed.
Here’s a look at our process pressing apples from my uncle’s small orchard a couple of weeks ago. First, we had to harvest the apples. This was a combination of picking up ground fall apples as well as harvesting directly from the trees. There was also some branch shaking using a long hook to persuade the higher ones to fall to the ground.
After harvesting, the apples were washed in a dilute bleach solution to kill surface microorganisms. This is mostly to get rid of the natural yeast on the surface of the fruit to prevent spontaneous fermentation. If you’re interested in making wild fermented hard cider then you can skip this step. After washing, the apples are rinsed off to remove the bleach solution. Once washed, then we grate the apples by hand using box graters. This is maybe overkill as the cider press does have the ability to process the apples directly, but we find the yield is much better if the pieces are small and uniform.
Once the apples are grated, then the fun begins! We load up the press and squeeze out all the juice. It's really incredibly satisfying, and surprising how quickly the juice oxidizes into that familiar ruddy brown cider color. After pressing, the juice is strained and funneled into the iconic plastic jugs. From here, you could briefly boil it to pasteurize or refrigerate or freeze. As I mentioned previously, I skipped pasteurization on all of my juice and simply store it in the freezer to preserve its delicious flavor.
Once you have your prize, then you just need to figure out how to use your bounty. I recommend making apple cider doughnuts, reducing it down into a tart syrup, using it to glaze meats, or even making your own homemade apple cider vinegar.
I know not everybody has the access to a cider press to try this out for themselves, but if you do find yourself in the position to give it a shot, I hope this post will inspire you to take that leap with enthusiasm.
Learn how to make an apple cider vinaigrette that is Instagram-worthy in our new Plates & Photos class with food and beverage photographer Laura Scherb. You'll work with our chef to prepare a menu full of beautiful garnishes, textures and layers as Laura teaches you trade secrets you can use to up your photography game at home on Saturday, October 26 at 11am at Lincoln Square.
