How Long Does It Take to Make Apple Cider?

It’s apple cider season — time for our annual visit to a local apple cider press.

Visiting an old apple press

We have a few apple trees that yield a modest harvest each year, while my in-laws’ orchard produces far more. After a full season of pruning and care, their trees reward us with a large crop.

We use many of those apples for apple pie filling, apple butter, dried apples and fresh eating. Once those needs are met, we pack the remaining boxes of fruit and head to a small family farm to have cider pressed.

This traditional press has been serving local families for years. Every autumn we bring our apples here so they can be turned into fresh cider one batch at a time. Each family’s batch size depends on how many apples they bring.

The process begins outside the building where we back the truck up to an old conveyor lift and dump the apples. The fruit is rinsed in a rotating drum, removing dirt and debris before moving on.

From there the apples ride another conveyor to a heavy-duty chopper that breaks them into pulp. The chopped fruit falls onto thick cotton blankets arranged on wooden frames.

Each folded blanket becomes a stack of crushed apples, ready for pressing.

Once the frames are stacked with pulp, they go under a large hydraulic press. The pressure forces juice out of the pulp in a steady stream, creating a cascade of fresh apple juice that gathers at the press base.

The fresh cider is collected and pumped into a large holding tank. From there it’s transferred into gallon jugs through tubing and capped for transport and storage.

The press operator runs the machine, and our family helps unload apples and fill the jugs. This year we walked away with 83 gallons — plenty for freezing, sharing and everyday use. We store many jugs in the freezer and draw them out as needed. Between four families the cider disappears over the year, and my mother-in-law also makes a notable hard cider from part of the batch.

After pressing, the spent apple pulp is loaded into a tractor and taken to feed the cows. The livestock know exactly when the tractor arrives and come running for the sweet treat.

If you make cider this season, I’d love to hear about it. Leave a comment and tag a photo on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop

Be sure to explore other homesteading articles on the blog for tips and inspiration about preserving, canning, and seasonal projects.