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  • From: "Jim Fruth" <jfruth@tds.net>
  • To: "NAFEX" <nafex@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [NAFEX] Removing berry seeds
  • Date: Sat, 22 Nov 2008 10:16:30 -0600

Mark Angermayer asked, "Is there a better way to separate the seeds from the pulp than a
strainer/food mill?"

I suppose you'd like me to divulge a trade secret, huh?

Here's how we do it at Brambleberry Farm: Make something resembling a pillowcase, but smaller. Make it to fit your cider press basket so it is close to a tight fit but a tad bit looser with extra height so it can be folded over when the basket is filled. Heat (with water to cover) your berries to the boiling point or until they smash very easily. If your cider press bed has a painted finish, you'll want a piece of metal under your basket or the hot mixture will lift/destroy the finish. It is best to have a stainless steel or aluminum liner in your cider press bed. Or, at the very least, let your mixture cool down to 150 F, or lower before pressing.
After you've poured the mixture into your cloth-lined basket, fold the extra cloth over on top. If your plunger doesn't fit tightly against the wall of the basket, hold a wash cloth around it as you insert it into the basket. Then start turning your screw. Do it slowly!!! If you press too fast and your bag isn't sturdy enough, the contents will make a slit and blow out the side. If your bag is strong enough and you turn too fast, you'll have juice squirting in all directions. Press in intervals allowing juice to drain between squeezings and repeat until the amount of juice you get isn't worth your time to tighten again.
I've got a board that fits almost snugly over a pail to catch the seeds and it has a hole in it that is the same size as the inside of the basket. After pressing, transfer the basket to the seed catcher, remove the plunger and push the seeds-inside-the-bag into the pail. Depending upon how tightly you've squeezed, you may have to use force to remove the bag. Then turn your bag inside out to remove the last vestiges of seeds. If the seeds come out easily and the bag is relatively clean, you did it right. If alot of the seeds and skins cling tightly to the bag, your mixture was too hot when you pressed it and you'll have to use a brush to clean the inside of the bag.
While your juice is still warm, proceed to make your jelly. If you let it cool to room temperature or lower to make your jelly later, you'll lose some flavor. BE WARNED: When you remove the seeds from berries you may change the flavor. I have removed seeds from red raspberries and the resulting jelly flavor was unrecognizable.
Before we settled on the above method, we tried many methods. The Victorio Food Strainer was efficient but slow when compared to the above described method. Using a Foley Food Mill for deseeding berries was an exercise in frustration.

Jim Fruth
Brambleberry Farm
Pequot Lakes, MN 56472
For jams, jellies & syrups:
www.bberryfarm.com
(877)265-6856 [Store]
(218)831-7018 [My Cell]





  • [NAFEX] Removing berry seeds, Jim Fruth, 11/22/2008

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