Cider mill

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A large cider press at a cider mill in Jersey, used for squeezing the juice from crushed apples Cider making Jersey.jpg
A large cider press at a cider mill in Jersey, used for squeezing the juice from crushed apples
Apple Press Monument (a relic of the Mid-Winter Fair, 1894, still in its original location), Music Concourse, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, USA Golden Gate Park - Apple Press Monument 02-2.jpg
Apple Press Monument (a relic of the Mid-Winter Fair, 1894, still in its original location), Music Concourse, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco, California, USA

A cider mill, also known as a cidery, is the location and equipment used to crush apples into apple juice for use in making apple cider, hard cider, applejack, apple wine, pectin and other products derived from apples. More specifically, it refers to a device used to crush or grind apples as part of the overall juice production.

Contents

The mills used to manufacture, ferment, store, and ship juice products are usually located near apple orchards. Historically, the types of structure and machinery have varied greatly—including horse powered, water driven, and machine operated mills. The presses can be fixed or portable.

Cider mills were subject to legal proceedings in New York state in the 1800s over whether they were "fixed to freeholds" [1] and other cases addressing legal designation as to what kind of property a cider mill is. [2]

Use

Cider-making takes place in numerous countries and regions. As with the cider itself, the various techniques used in milling and pressing the apples vary with each cider-making tradition. In most traditions, cider milling traditionally takes place in two stages: first, milling or grinding the apples into a pulpy mass called pulp, and a second stage, pressing the pulp to release the juice or "must". The remaining solids after juice extraction is "pomace" or "pommage".

Some mills provide custom pressing of a farmer's apples. In this way, apple varieties can be blended to make a cider of mixed juice types, for instance, a combination of sweet and aromatic juices. Various types of apple are recommended for making cider. [3] Alcoholic cider can also be produced and is known as hard cider or applejack. Cider is stored and fermented in wooden barrels, carboys, stainless tanks, or glass jugs. [4]

In 19th-century New England, apple farmers paid a mill owner a fee to crush apples into juice. A typical cider mill would look like many other small barns and sheds, with a set of large doors in the center of the longer side. Most cider mills were 20–30′ long by 20–25′ in width. [5] At Old Sturbridge Village in Massachusetts, 19th-century cider mill equipment is still used to make cider. In The Marble Faun , author Nathaniel Hawthorne contrasted the wine-making in Italy with the cider-making process of "New England vintages, where the big piles of golden and rosy apples lie under the orchard trees, in the mild, autumnal sunshine; and the creaking cider-mill, set in motion by a circumgyratory horse, is all a-gush with the luscious juice." [6]

Operation

Milling

Milling, grinding, or crushing can take various forms, depending on the quantity of apples to be crushed and the motive power available.

The earliest and most basic form of cider mill consists of little more than an enclosed area where apples are pounded by large wooden pestles. [7]

In England, Jersey, and northern France, the traditional form was a "horse-mill" or "stone mill". A horse-mill consists of a circular trough made of stone, in which is set either one or two large stone wheels called "runners". [8] At the center is a pivot point or "nut". [8] A horse is harnessed to the outside of the wheel, and driven in a circle, slowly grinding the apples to a pulpy mass called pommage. [8] Through the early 19th century, this was the dominant form in England. [8] By the early 20th century in Britain, however, the stone mills had largely fallen out of fashion, increasingly replaced by the roller mills, though they continued to be the primary form in France. [9] [10] Though the stone mill had been introduced to and used by the American Colonists, its usage was not well recorded, and by the end of the 19th century it was essentially unknown in the United States. [10]

In Germany, apples were traditionally grated by hand rather than crushed. [11]

A later innovation was the toothed roller-mill. These mills use toothed cylinders made of stone or metal to grind the apples into pomace. [9] Such mills are portable, and produce a pomace that is finer than that of the large horse-mills. [8] [9] It was first introduced to England in 1689 by agriculturalist John Worlidge, who adapted it from the sugar-cane crushers used in the West Indies. [12] Yet as of the beginning of the 19th-century, such mills could not handle the same quantity in bulk as the horse-driven mills. [8]

Basic methods of cider-milling
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Pounding: Pounding apples in the Basque Country
Fais'sie d'Cidre 2009 27.jpg
Horse-driven stone mill: At the Faîs'sie d'Cidre 2009, Jersey
Hachoir a pomme pour le cidre.JPG
Roller mill: a roller-mill machine in France

Pressing

Apple pressings Apple pressings.jpg
Apple pressings

After the apples have been ground into pomace, the pomace must be squeezed to extract the juice. This is done in a device called a cider press, which like the cider mill, takes various forms. [13]

One form is a large horse-operated lever press or screw press. This method was common in Britain, Jersey, and northern France, as well as the United States. This form involves either of two methods to hold the loose pomace in place as it is pressed. The first is to use alternating layers of straw and pomace, creating a mixture known as "cheese". The other is to wrap the pomace in cloth. The German tradition used smaller, hand-operated lever presses in the same manner. [11]

An alternate form is the "hand press" (sometimes called a "Continental Press" in England), a small screw-press operated by hand. These presses dispense with the various methods of covering the pomace, and instead use a container made of wooden staves.

By the turn of the 20th century, hydraulic presses had begun to be introduced. [14]

Basic methods of cider-pressing
Cider pressing Jersey Fais'sie d'Cidre 2006.jpg
Lever press: Cider pressing at the Faîs'sie d'Cidre in Jersey
Remscheid Luttringhausen - Bauernmarkt 10 ies.jpg
Hand-press: Pressing at the Bauernmarkt, Lüttringhausen, Germany
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Hydraulic press: A modern hydraulic press

After the juices had been extracted, the leftover pressings are variously known as "math", "cake", "powz", "mure" or simply "pommage". [15] It might either be watered and pressed again to produce a weak cider known as ciderkin, or when still fresh, used as animal feed. [15] [16]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fruit press</span> Machine or tool for separating fruits juices from the rest of their parts

A fruit press is a device used to separate fruit solids—stems, skins, seeds, pulp, leaves, and detritus—from fruit juice.

Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England, particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire, parts of South Wales and France, especially Normandy and Anjou, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Winemaking</span> Production of wine

Winemaking or vinification is the production of wine, starting with the selection of the fruit, its fermentation into alcohol, and the bottling of the finished liquid. The history of wine-making stretches over millennia. There are authentic proofs that suggest that the earliest Wine production took place in Georgia and Iran around 6000 to 5000 B.C. The science of wine and winemaking is known as oenology. A winemaker may also be called a vintner. The growing of grapes is viticulture and there are many varieties of grapes.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apple cider</span> Non-alcoholic apple beverage

Apple cider is the name used in the United States and Canada for an unfiltered, unsweetened, non-alcoholic beverage made from apples. Though typically referred to simply as "cider" in North America, it is not to be confused with the alcoholic beverage known as cider in other places, which is called "hard cider" in the US. Outside of the United States and Canada, it is commonly referred to as cloudy apple juice to distinguish it from clearer, filtered apple juice and hard cider.

Bulmers cider is one of a number of brands owned by British cider maker H. P. Bulmer of Hereford, an Heineken subsidiary, It is one of the biggest selling British bottled cider brands in the UK because it has the highest concentration of apples, with a number of variants including Bulmers Original & Pear. It should not be confused with Bulmers Irish Cider, sold outside the Republic of Ireland as Magners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pomace</span> Solid remains of fruit after pressing

Pomace, or marc, is the solid remains of grapes, olives, or other fruit after pressing for juice or oil. It contains the skins, pulp, seeds, and stems of the fruit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cider apple</span> Fruit used for making apple cider

Cider apples are a group of apple cultivars grown for their use in the production of cider. Cider apples are distinguished from "cookers" and "eaters", or dessert apples, by their bitterness or dryness of flavour, qualities which make the fruit unpalatable but can be useful in cidermaking. Some apples are considered to occupy more than one category.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Olive oil extraction</span> Process of extracting oil from olives

Olive oil extraction is the process of extracting the olive oil present in olive drupes. Olive oil is produced in the mesocarp cells, and stored in a particular type of vacuole called a lipo vacuole, i.e., every cell contains a tiny olive oil droplet. Olive oil extraction is the process of separating the oil from the other fruit contents. It is possible to attain this separation by physical means alone, i.e., oil and water do not mix, so they are relatively easy to separate. This contrasts with other oils that are extracted with chemical solvents, generally hexane. The first operation when extracting olive oil is washing the olives, to reduce the presence of contaminants, especially soil which can create a particular flavor effect called "soil taste".

<i>Apfelwein</i> German apple cider

Apfelwein, or Viez or Most are German words for cider. It is made from a mix of sour tasting apples, such as "Bohnapfel" or "Speierling", respectively. It has an alcohol content of 4.8–7.0% and a tart, sour taste.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aspall Cyder</span> Formerly a British owned alcoholic cider beverage company part of the Molson Coors company

Aspall Cyder Limited is a manufacturer of cider and other apple derived products. Its cidery is located at Aspall Hall in the village of Aspall, Suffolk, England. It was bought by Molson Coors in 2018.

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Fruit brandy is a distilled beverage produced from mash, juice, wine or residues of edible fruits. The term covers a broad class of spirits produced across the world, and typically excludes beverages made from grapes, which are referred to as plain brandy or pomace brandy. Apples, pears, apricots, plums and cherries are the most commonly used fruits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cider</span> Fermented alcoholic beverage from apple juice

Cider is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of apples. Cider is widely available in the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. The UK has the world's highest per capita consumption, as well as the largest cider-producing companies. Ciders from the South West of England are generally higher in alcoholic content. Cider is also popular in many Commonwealth countries, such as India, South Africa, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. As well as the UK and its former colonies, cider is popular in Portugal, France, Friuli, and northern Spain. Germany also has its own types of cider with Rhineland-Palatinate and Hesse producing a particularly tart version known as Apfelwein. In the U.S. and Canada, varieties of alcoholic cider are often called hard cider to distinguish it from non-alcoholic apple cider or "sweet cider", also made from apples. In Canada, cider cannot contain less than 2.5% or over 13% absolute alcohol by volume.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pressing (wine)</span> Process of extracting juice from grapes in winemaking

In winemaking, pressing is the process where juice is extracted from the grapes with the aid of a wine-press, by hand, or even by the weight of the grape berries and clusters. Historically, intact grape clusters were trodden by feet but in most wineries today the grapes are sent through a crusher/destemmer, which removes the individual grape berries from the stems and breaks the skins, releasing some juice, prior to being pressed. There are exceptions, such as the case of sparkling wine production in regions such as Champagne where grapes are traditionally whole-cluster pressed with stems included to produce a lighter must that is low in phenolics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oil mill</span>

An oil mill is a grinding mill designed to crush or bruise oil-bearing seeds, such as linseed or peanuts, or other oil-rich vegetable material, such as olives or the fruit of the oil palm, which can then be pressed to extract vegetable oils, which may be used as foods or for cooking, as oleochemical feedstocks, as lubricants, or as biofuels. The pomace or press cake – the remaining solid material from which the oil has been extracted – may also be used as a food or fertilizer.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the wine press</span>

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Cider in the United Kingdom is widely available at pubs, off licences, and shops. It has been made in regions of the country where cider apples were grown since Roman times; in those regions it is intertwined with local culture, particularly in the West Country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cider in the United States</span> Beverage pertaining to the United States

In the United States, the definition of cider is broader than in Europe. There are two types: one is the traditional fermented product, called hard cider, and the second is sweet or soft cider. However, in some regions, cider is the alcoholic version, whether made from apples or pears, and apple cider is the non-alcoholic version.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Slack-ma-Girdle</span> Apple cultivar

Slack-ma-Girdle is an old variety of cider apple formerly widely grown in the South-West of England. It is one of a group of similar and closely related varieties all often known by the name "Woodbine".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Woodcock (apple)</span> Apple cultivar

The Woodcock was one of the oldest described English varieties of cider apple. It originated in the West of England in the counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire.

References

  1. Bingham, Anson (21 May 1868). A Treatise on the Law of Real Property. Anson Bingham. p.  501 . Retrieved 21 May 2019 via The Internet Archive.
  2. New York (State) Supreme Court; Johnson, William (21 May 1873). "Reports of Cases Argued and Determined in the Supreme Court of Judicature and in the Court for the Trial of Impeachments and Correction of Errors in the State of New-York". Banks & Brothers. Retrieved 21 May 2019 via Google Books.
  3. Proulx, Annie; Nichols, Lew (2003). Making, Using & Enjoying Sweet & Hard Cider. p. 103. ISBN   9781580175203.
  4. Proulx, Annie; Nichols, Lew (2003). Making, Using & Enjoying Sweet & Hard Cider. p. 165. ISBN   9781580175203.
  5. Includes illustrations of old cider mills.
  6. Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Marble Faun . Chapter Thirty.
  7. Bull, Henry Graves (1886). The Apple & Pear as Vintage Fruits. Hereford, England: Jakeman & Carver. pp.  42.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 "CYDER-MILL". Rees's Cyclopædia . Vol. 10. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown. 1808.
  9. 1 2 3 Lloyd, F.J. (1903). Report on the Results of Investigations into Cider-Making: 1893–1902. London: Board of Agriculture and Fisheries. pp.  31–32.
  10. 1 2 Alwood, William B. (1903). A Study of Cider Making. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture. pp.  51–52, 55.
  11. 1 2 Alwood, William B. (1903). A Study of Cider Making. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of Agriculture. p.  54–55.
  12. Bull, Henry Graves (1886). The Apple & Pear as Vintage Fruits. Hereford, England: Jakeman & Carver. pp.  43.
  13. "CYDER-PRESS". Rees's Cyclopædia . Vol. 10. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme & Brown. 1808.
  14. Lloyd, F.J. (1903). Report on the Results of Investigations into Cider-Making: 1893–1902. London: Board of Agriculture and Fisheries. pp.  34-39.
  15. 1 2 Bull, Henry Graves (1886). The Apple & Pear as Vintage Fruits. Hereford, England: Jakeman & Carver. pp.  46.
  16. Lloyd, F. J. (1903). Report on the Results of Investigations into Cider-Making: 1893–1902. London: Board of Agriculture and Fisheries. pp.  41–42.

Further reading