North American Fruit Explorers mailing list at ibiblio

[Thomas Olenio <tolenio@sentex.net>]

Hello,

Regarding pressing bags...

You refer to them being made of nylon, is this the best material to use?
Are there others just as good (muslin, etc)?

I bought my press late last year, and only had enough apples to run a test
or two, and it was decided we needed a pressing bag (and electric
crusher), as the pulp pressed out between the staves.

Could a pressing bag be made by just sewing a tube that is a couple inches
larger in diameter than your pressing basket?  I am assuming that if it is
long enough to gather at the both the top and the bottom, around the 
screw post, the pressure would keep it in place.

Is there any trick/s as to how you load the apple pummice into the press
basket?  The big presses I have seen use large flat boards between layers
of bagged apple pummice.  My guess is it to evenly distribute pressure,
and gets the most cider.  Is anything like that done with small presses
using a manual screw and stave pressing basket?

Sorry for this off topic thread, but this will be my first year pressing
my own cider, with our small press.

Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Tom

--
Thomas Olenio
Ontario, Hardiness Zone 6a

On Thu, 22 Jun 2000, Don Yellman wrote:

> 1.  Since Doc and Claude seem interested, here are a few more details on
> the garbage disposal apple grinder.
> 2.  The table I built measures 20X24" across the top, and is 36" tall.
> Top is a piece of kitchen countertop.  Those dimensions are not rigid.
> I discharge into 5-gallon buckets lined with nylon pressing bags, but if
> you want to discharge into a 40-gallon garbage can, build a bigger
> table.  Don't know how you would move around 40 gallons of slurry
> though.  The legs have to be braced so the unit is stable.  You could
> also use an old sink, although I see no advantage to that.
> 3.  Wiring is pretty simple.  Use 16/3 cord, and a switchbox with an
> ordinary light switch.  Carry the ground all the way through, since you
> will be working in a damp environment while standing on the earth.  Only
> the hot wire needs to be switched.
> 4.  Garbage disposals come with a 90 degree black plastic fitting for
> the discharge outlet.  That's all you need.  It will cleanly fire the
> slurry into your bucket.
> 5.  This system works only with nylon pressing bags, the strongest you
> can find.  Coarser mesh is usually heavier and for that reason better.
> You can blow out a weak bag with a screw type press.  I did that last
> fall and put some apple slurry up on the garage roof.  Nylon bags are
> available at beer/winemaking shops.
> 6.  Once the bucket is 2/3 full, twist and lift the bag out to the
> press.  You can put two bags of slurry into your pressing basket; I do
> not recommend three or more, since you start to lose some efficiency.
> Even so, you will have at least 6-7 gallons of slurry.  There will
> already be a gallon of juice in the bucket when you lift out the bag.
> 7.  The difference between a garbage disposal and any type of toothed
> grinder is that the disposal produces slurry, with the juice cells
> already broken up, while a toothed grinder produces chunks.  Even a
> well-engineered toothed grinder like Claude's will turn out chunks,
> although they might be smaller chunks.  A garbage disposal is
> essentially a miniature hammermill.  Slurry will always give you a
> higher juice yield.
> 8.  Victoria's idea of using a trash compacter as a press is intriguing,
> but I think the problem would be --- how do you strain out the juice?  I
> have thought about drilling hundreds of little holes in a stainless
> stock pot, eliminating the pressing basket and bags completely.  But I
> have not found a sturdy stockpot with the 13" diameter of my pressing
> plate, and anyway, I wonder if it would not quickly clog up and reduce
> my juice yield.  With the nylon pressing bags, you just dump out the dry
> cake, call the horses over for a little treat, rinse the bag and resume
> pressing.
> 9.  If you can sell this idea in N.H. Victoria, it might mean an
> expanded market for garbage disposals.
> Rgds, Don Yellman, Great Falls, VA
> 
> 
> 
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