How'd ya like THEM apples?

[willk]

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

... you trying to walk past the entrance to the Ardbeg shop with a buxom wench calling you in whilst holding a tray of free 30 YO samples ....

Jaysus dude, you should be in advertising - for a second there I was reaching for me Fladen!

[jambo]

Originally Posted by Bigmuz7

Oh aye ? ... do tell

He was waxing lyrical re the healthy food that Rosy serves up. She does no deep frying!!
Look it Murray and see his advice. He's obviously leading a doubt life!!!

Sent from my iPhone using Rib.net

[Poly]

Originally Posted by jambo

He was waxing lyrical re the healthy food that Rosy serves up. She does no deep frying!!
Look it Murray and see his advice. He's obviously leading a doubt life!!

Don't confuse my earlier post with saying I ONLY eat deep fried food. I just said that after it is deep fried I will eat (almost) anything!

[gotchiguy]

Originally Posted by Poly

Don't confuse my earlier post with saying I ONLY eat deep fried food. I just said that after it is deep fried I will eat (almost) anything!

Dirty-Jobs Deep Fried Testicles - YouTube

[willk]

Well, I didn't get the month of settled weather I wanted - instead I got a storm that "picked" 30 kgs of apples, so I harvested the rest and will let them ripen indoors for a week or so. These are mostly "Katy" dessert apples, roughly 130kgs in all. They will be crushed within a fortnight and vinified separately to the Cookers and Cider apples that are following (still on the trees). Pictures of that session later.

For those not in the "know", 130kgs of fruit = 100 wine bottles of cider.

I'm guessing, but I reckon that there's another, oh, 200kgs on the trees...

[kerny]

Nice harvest willk Good luck with the cider making

[hank]

Good to see that Im not the only one into making cider
^
three of us pick and then press using our homemade machine
20 gallons per hour
We usually do 500 imp. gallons a year with 1600 imp. gallons on our best year
so far almost 200
All the apples from old homesteads and the people just want them gone
we mix apples and pears on some batches and some we add mint to the mix.
What we do not freeze get turned into sparkling cider
great time of the year
cheers
hank

[The Black Pig]

Small looking Bramleys mate!!

[willk]

Originally Posted by The Black Pig

Small looking Bramleys mate!!

Bramleys! WTF? I'm not baking a feckin' tart!

Those are sweet apples and a few cider apples (the smaller ones).

[willk]

Originally Posted by hank

three of us pick and then press using our homemade machine

That's serious sh1t Hank. Pictures of this homemade press pls!

I started with a press that I made, it worked fine but I needed to upscale a bit.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by willk

That's serious sh1t Hank. Pictures of this homemade press pls!

I started with a press that I made, it worked fine but I needed to upscale a bit.

My French mate pools his apples with a couple of others & they have a contractor that comes round with a big chopper (ooer) & hydraulic press. They chop/press/bottle between 2-3000L between them in a week. Very nice it is too

[hank]

Hi Gang,
We built this machine in 1978 and have been using it ever since.
We found the plans in the Canadian magazine Harrow Smith.
But instead of following the plans and using wood for the container we went with stainless steel.
The grinder is made from apple wood turned on a lathe and a lot of stainless steel screws. 1hp. electric motor for power. The hopper for the grinder holds a 20L bucket of washed and cut apples (if they are too big).
The machine takes about 8 to 10 buckets of apples per pressing
Each pressing takes about 15 minutes with from 5 to 16 gallons of juice depending on the apples.

Around here in the mid coast of British Columbia the juiciest apple and best for cider is the Gravelstein. Most of the apples we get we don't have a clue what variety they are, mostly very old stock planted in early 1900's.

Yesterday we picked and pressed 60 imp. gallons with lots more to gather.

I like to leave a full bucket with a tight lid on the porch and let it get sparkly
fine stuff
cheers
hank

[willk]

Wow! That's some contraption Hank - looks the business. I'm fond of the fizz too, I "condition" my cider in old champagne bottles. It's supposed to keep well in those as well. I haven't managed to test that theory yet...

[hank]

Funny that is what we call the machine the "Immaculate Contraption"
and did another 50 imp. gallons today
this is what else we are into

[Barrowboy]

Hank, that is superb; made my morning seeing those pics. I can smell the smoked fish and taste the cider from those wonderful images....even moved me to play a live version of Lynryd Skynrd's 'Freebird' here at Barrowboy Towers this morning. I know they're from the deep south, miles from BC, but it seemed somehow appropriate!

The missus was very proud of the blackberry jam she made at the weekend from fruit collected from an overgrown bush on our property. I've shown her your pics and suggested we need to 'raise our game' next year.

[Mollers]

[QUOTE=willk; I'm not feckin' a baking tart!

[/QUOTE]

I'll have a go.

[Pikey Dave]

Originally Posted by willk

Wow! That's some contraption Hank - looks the business. I'm fond of the fizz too, I "condition" my cider in old champagne bottles. It's supposed to keep well in those as well. I haven't managed to test that theory yet...

The French use old Champers bottles, you can get an oversize crown stopper that fits perfick.

Hank, that is superb It puts my measly efforts to shame doing one side of salmon at a time. Is it all for your own consumption or do you sell it?

[kerny]

Originally Posted by Pikey Dave

The French use old Champers bottles, you can get an oversize crown stopper that fits perfick.

Hank, that is superb It puts my measly efforts to shame doing one side of salmon at a time. Is it all for your own consumption or do you sell it?

Hank, now that is some smoke house Mate

[willk]

Originally Posted by hank

Funny that is what we call the machine the "Immaculate Contraption"
and did another 50 imp. gallons today
this is what else we are into

Perhaps I should have mentioned, I only make what you guys in North America may refer to as "hard cider"*, so fermented and bottled at somewhere around 6-8%ABV. The apple juice is astonishingly tasty, but it would be a crying shame to drink it for the vitamins and healthy bits

* Actually, I make well-hard cider!

[hank]

With a Big family the apple wood smoked Coho will not go to waste.
Willk your cider sounds real healthy- high octane
cheers
hank