A pressing engagement with apples

Lorraine Turnbull, an experienced award-winning smallholder and author describes how to press your apples and make delicious juice and cider.

- Lorraine Turnbull

One of the joys of the harvest from the orchard isn't biting into a fresh apple - here in the UK we can do this at any time from the end of August through until mid-December, but when we have an abundance of apples of every variety and type means juicing time and the start of cider making. I'm sharing the secrets and an easy-to-follow guide to making your own apple juice or cider in this article.

THE FRUIT

Cider can be made from almost any type of apple. However, you will get a more complex flavour if you use a mix of apple types - dessert, cookers and cider apples.

Apples can be divided into groups according to tastes sweets, sharp, bittersweets and bittersharp. The last two are found in cider apples because of the high concentration of tannin. If you don't have access to cider apples, try adding some crab apples to supply the tannins, and some Russets to give a bit more body. You can even stew a couple of teabags in a litre of hot water and add this to increase the tannin levels.

Apples are ripe when the pips are brown, the skin 'gives' slightly when pressed with a thumb and the skin has a waxy appearance (obviously not for russets). You need ripe apples to get the high sugar levels necessary for fermentation, and can ripen apples by storing for a few days. Don't use mouldy fruit for juice or cider. For juicing apples must be free from any cuts/damage/mould. Basically if you wouldn't take a bite out of it - chuck it away.

MILLING AND PRESSING