Raw cider from press
by Catherine Haug
Despite forecasts of rain and cold, the weather cleared off just as we were setting up on the deck of La Provence. It was a beautiful day! We started grinding and pressing the first apples around 11:30, and continued without stop until 4:30. Lots of new people brought apples or stopped by to check out our operation.
Jeffrey’s latest modification to his grinder added a bicycle to power the grinder in tandem with the stair stepper – perfect for couples to work together. Our youngest helper, Caleb Riedesel (kindergarden), helped by working the stair stepper! and with pouring cider into the jugs.
14 individuals/families brought apples; a total of 70 gallons of cider was pressed (last year we pressed 44 gallons).
A big THANK YOU to all who brought apples and/or volunteered to wash & rinse apples, feed the grinder, work the stair-stepper and/or bicycle, pour cider into jugs, and give out tasters. Thanks also to Jeffrey for the use of his grinder, and to Marc Guizol for the use of his deck. And thanks to my fellow ESP core team members for your dedication to this community event.
We have no new photos this year, but you can see lots of photos from last year’s cider press event at Event Summary: Cider Press at Tamarack Time, Oct 9, 2010.