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Thread: Apple season!

  1. #1

    Apple season!

    Hello fellow apple lovers. You know who you are.

    Here is the place to share your favorite things regarding apples.
    Especially recipes!


    I am in the middle of my apple season, and today marked an important milestone that comes each year...
    I have enough bottled hard and sweet cider to last me all year!
    Now, I can devote more of my apples to less important things such as:

    Apple crisp!

    Apple Pie!

    Apple Turnovers!

    Apple Fritters!

    Apple Jack!

    Apple Wine!

    Apple Cider Vinegar!

    Caramel Apples!

    Apple Sauce!

    And so much more.

    To start, here is a recipe for apple crisp, or apple crumble as some people call it...

    1cup Oatmeal
    1cup Brown Sugar
    1cup Flour
    2tsp cinnamon
    1cup sugar
    1/4 tsp salt
    1/2 cup butter
    5 cups peeled, cored, and chunked apples.

    1. Arrange apples in 8-10 inch cast iron dutch oven
    2. mix sugar, 1tsp cinnamon, and 1/4 cup flour in bowl
    3. Pour sugar mixture over apples and let it fill in the gaps.
    2. Mix oatmeal, brown sugar, 3/4 cup flour, 1tsp cinnamon and salt in bowl
    3. melt butter
    4. pour butter into oatmeal mixture and blend until crumbly.
    5. Spread crumbly mixture over top of apples and press to form a solid crust.
    6. Bake uncovered at 375*F for 1 hour or until apples soft and sugar is starting to melt.

    Let cool and serve with cream, whipped cream, ice cream, or just milk.
    Last edited by Icymudpuppy; 09-11-2011 at 09:16 PM.
    CPT Jack. R. T.
    US Army Resigned - Iraq Vet.
    Level III MACP instructor, USYKA/WYKKO sensei
    Professional Hunter/Trapper/Country living survivalist.



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  3. #2
    best way to make apple pie evar!

    Ingredients

    * 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
    * 1/2 cup unsalted butter
    * 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    * 1/4 cup water
    * 1/2 cup white sugar
    * 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
    * 8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced

    Directions

    1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.
    2. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.
    3. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

    Attachment 546

  4. #3
    /subscribed

    How many apple trees do you have?
    The ultimate minority is the individual. Protect the individual from Democracy and you will protect all groups of individuals
    Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual. - Thomas Jefferson
    I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when it has gone past I will turn the inner eye to see its path. Where the fear has gone there will be nothing. Only I will remain.

    - Bene Gesserit Litany Against Fear

  5. #4
    Right now, I personally have only 1 tree that's producing, but there are many more growing, and there are many in my area. My dad's part of the land has about 12 trees. I also take my cider press on the road and press other people's apples for a share of the cider.

    The Lord is good to me.
    And so I thank the Lord
    For giving me
    the things I need
    The sun and the rain and the appleseed;
    The Lord is good to me.

    Oh every seed I sow
    Will grow into a tree.
    And someday there'll
    be apples there
    For everyone in the world to share.
    The Lord is good to me.

    I'm here beneath blue skies
    Doing as I please.
    Singing with
    my feathered friends
    Spreading seeds to the world's end
    and Humming with the bees.

    I wake up every day,
    As happy as can be,
    Because I know
    that with His care
    Apple trees will be everywhere.
    The Lord is good to me.

    I wake up every day
    As happy as can be,
    Beacuse I know
    the Lord will be
    Watchin' over all my friends and me
    The Lord is good to me.
    Last edited by Icymudpuppy; 09-11-2011 at 09:47 PM.
    CPT Jack. R. T.
    US Army Resigned - Iraq Vet.
    Level III MACP instructor, USYKA/WYKKO sensei
    Professional Hunter/Trapper/Country living survivalist.

  6. #5
    any hard apple cider recipe?
    We'll know our disinformation program is complete when everything the American public believes is false. -- William Casey, CIA Director

    Get your facts first, then you can distort them as you please.-- Mark Twain

    When people like us-- the scum of society-- don't risk our lives when a rare chance comes our way, we become losers at that moment. So courage is the only thing we can rely on.-- Anchan
    Rick Simpson Hemp Oil

  7. #6
    The only true "American as Apple pie" pie is a Crab Apple Pie.

    My main Crab Apple tree only has a few this year.

    I may get one pie though.

    I have a smaller tree that gives tiny apples (the size of cherries). They are good for pickles.

    Ingredients:

    6 cups apple cider vinegar
    8 cups brown sugar
    2 teaspoons whole cloves
    3 sticks cinnamon
    8 pounds crab apples

    Preparation:
    Boil vinegar, brown sugar, cloves, and cinnamon together. Leave stems on crab apples. Mix vinegar and sugar; bring to a boil. Put spices in a cheesecloth bag. Add crab apples and spice bag to syrup and boil until apples are tender. Remove the fruit with slotted spoon and pack into hot sterilized jars. Pour in syrup. Seal.
    Process crabapples in a boiling water canner for 20 minutes. From 1,001 to 3,000 feet altitude, process for 25 minutes, and from 3,001 to 6,000 feet in altitude, process for 30 minutes. Over 6,000 feet, process 35 minutes.

    http://southernfood.about.com/od/pic...r/bl90718f.htm
    Liberty is lost through complacency and a subservient mindset. When we accept or even welcome automobile checkpoints, random searches, mandatory identification cards, and paramilitary police in our streets, we have lost a vital part of our American heritage. America was born of protest, revolution, and mistrust of government. Subservient societies neither maintain nor deserve freedom for long.
    Ron Paul 2004

    Registered Ron Paul supporter # 2202
    It's all about Freedom

  8. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by squarepusher View Post
    any hard apple cider recipe?
    Take fresh squeezed sweet apple cider.

    Put in container with air lock.

    Let sit 2-3 weeks.

    Bottle

    Let sit 4-7 more days.

    195*F hot Water bath for 15 minutes.

    store in a cool place.

    Enjoy.
    CPT Jack. R. T.
    US Army Resigned - Iraq Vet.
    Level III MACP instructor, USYKA/WYKKO sensei
    Professional Hunter/Trapper/Country living survivalist.

  9. #8
    Does anybody have a good recipe for Apple Butter? The recipe I got from a friend always comes out too liquidy, my mom's old recipe always comes out too hard.
    CPT Jack. R. T.
    US Army Resigned - Iraq Vet.
    Level III MACP instructor, USYKA/WYKKO sensei
    Professional Hunter/Trapper/Country living survivalist.



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  11. #9
    I saw the thread title and immediately thought, "DUCK SEASON!"

  12. #10
    Let's move forward to the Constitution.. I am the new GOP. I stand with Rand.

  13. #11
    Quote Originally Posted by Icymudpuppy View Post
    Does anybody have a good recipe for Apple Butter? The recipe I got from a friend always comes out too liquidy, my mom's old recipe always comes out too hard.
    We have a crock-pot apple butter recipe that's super easy. I'll look it up for you over the weekend.

  14. #12
    I'm on a mailing list for Vintage Virginia Apples. I've never ordered from them, but I'll share what I've learned from being on their list:
    vintagevirginiaapples.com
    Monticello's 2011 Heritage Harvest Festival
    September 17, 2011
    9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
    http://heritageharvestfestival.com/
    This event is held annually in September at Monticello's Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants at Tufton Farm. This year's event will feature a varied program of workshops, performances, presentations and tastings. Vintage Virginia Apples is one of the co-sponsors and participants.
    Apple Harvest Festival
    November5, 2011
    10:00 a.m.-5:00 p.m.
    Sponsored by Vintage Virginia Apples and the CoveGarden Ruritan Club, our festival features the diverse bounty of the apple crop and the heritage of apple-growing in Southern Albemarle County. This event includes displays of crafts and skills of yesteryear, apples for tasting and purchase, old-fashioned apple butter cooking over a slow fire, cider pressing, hay rides over the nearby ridge, and instruction on growing your own fruit. Again, this year, we will feature tours through the Cidery and events in our Tasting Room. Come join us for a beautiful fall day in the foothills of the Blue Ridge mountains. Open Event: Free Admission.
    Also, this weekend (for those with access to middle-of-nowhere Ohio):
    The 13th Annual Ohio Pawpaw Festival will take place September 16-18, 2011. Come join the crowds of happy folks at scenic Lake Snowden in Albany, Ohio for 3 days of Pawpaw music, food, contests, art, history, education, sustainable living workshops and activities for the kids!
    I went to the Paw Paw Festival in 2009 and had a great time.

  15. #13
    Country Apple Crumb Cake

    Cake

    1/2 cup butter, softened
    1 3/4 cups flour
    1 teaspoon baking powder
    3/4 teaspoon salt
    6 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
    1 1/2 cups sugar
    4 large eggs, room temperature
    1 teaspoon vanilla
    1 lemon, zest of, grated


    Apple Crumb Topping

    1 tablespoon butter
    3 cups golden delicious apples, peeled, cored and sliced crosswise (about 2.5)
    3/4 cup flour
    3/4 cup sugar
    1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
    1/8 teaspoon salt
    6 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/4 inch pieces

    __________________________________________________ __

    Apple Cider Vinegar with Mother

    By the gallon

    10 ripped apples
    Purified or distilled water
    Organic Apple Cider Vinegar with Mother
    Cheese cloth

    Take the apples washed, slice, and cored them.
    In a glass jug add apples and purified water to just about an inch under to top of the jar.
    Add two tablespoons of Organic Apple Cider vinegar with mother as a starter for your vinegar.

    Place a piece of cheese cloth over the top of the jar, to keep fruit flies out of your vinegar. Place it in a cool dark area. Once a week, stir the mixture with a wooden spoon. Within a week or two you will start seeing, what appears to be a scum at the top of the jar, do not be alarmed, that is the mother forming at the top.

    It should take about 30 days to complete this process. Using a ladle to get the chunks of apples out of your vinegar. The mother (the good bacteria) is important to keep, it will settle to the bottom. With every application you can shake the bottle to stir up the mother.


    The Benefits of Apple Cider Vinegar
    “The spirits of darkness are now among us. We have to be on guard so that we may realize what is happening when we encounter them and gain a real idea of where they are to be found. The most dangerous thing you can do in the immediate future will be to give yourself up unconsciously to the influences which are definitely present.” ~ Rudolf Steiner

  16. #14
    musicmax
    Member

    Where I'll be on Saturday:

    http://www.lincolncountyapplefestival.com/

  17. #15
    musicmax
    Member

    Quote Originally Posted by flightlesskiwi View Post
    best way to make apple pie evar!

    * 8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced
    That seems like a lot. How many pounds is that (pre-peeling & coring) approximately?

    The butter/flour/sugar mix sounds like it gives the filling some substance to help keep the pie from falling. Will have to give it a try.

  18. #16
    Quote Originally Posted by Krugerrand View Post
    We have a crock-pot apple butter recipe that's super easy. I'll look it up for you over the weekend.
    My apologies for this taking so long. This smells delicious as its cooking, and it's pretty simple.

    Crock Pot Apple Butter

    12 medium Granny Smith or othter cooking apples (4lb), peeled and cut into fourths
    1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar
    1/2 cup apple juice
    1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
    1 tablespoon lemmon juice
    1 teaspoon ground allspice
    1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
    1/2 teaspoon ground gloves

    Mix alll ingredients in 5-6 quart slow cooker. Cover and cook on low heat setting 8 to 10 hours or until aples are very tender. Mash apples with potato masher or large fork. COok uncovered on low heat setting 1 to 2 hours longer, stirring occasionally, until very thick.


    Spoon apple butter into container. Store covered in refrigerator up to 3 weeks.

    Recipe from:

    Betty Crocker Cookbook: Everything You Need to Know to Cook Today, New Tenth Edition (Ring-bound)



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  20. #17
    musicmax
    Member

    Quote Originally Posted by flightlesskiwi View Post
    best way to make apple pie evar!

    Ingredients

    * 1 recipe pastry for a 9 inch double crust pie
    * 1/2 cup unsalted butter
    * 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
    * 1/4 cup water
    * 1/2 cup white sugar
    * 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
    * 8 Granny Smith apples - peeled, cored and sliced

    Directions

    1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Melt the butter in a saucepan. Stir in flour to form a paste. Add water, white sugar and brown sugar, and bring to a boil. Reduce temperature and let simmer.
    2. Place the bottom crust in your pan. Fill with apples, mounded slightly. Cover with a lattice work crust. Gently pour the sugar and butter liquid over the crust. Pour slowly so that it does not run off.
    3. Bake 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Reduce the temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Continue baking for 35 to 45 minutes, until apples are soft.

    Attachment 546
    Made this for Thanksgiving and it was OUTSTANDING.

  21. #18
    Quote Originally Posted by Kotin View Post
    /subscribed

    How many apple trees do you have?
    About 50-60 "wild trees" expecting a heavy harvest this year.

    I just built a 20 ton oak barrel press with stainless garbage disposal "scatter".


    'We endorse the idea of voluntarism; self-responsibility: Family, friends, and churches to solve problems, rather than saying that some monolithic government is going to make you take care of yourself and be a better person. It's a preposterous notion: It never worked, it never will. The government can't make you a better person; it can't make you follow good habits.' - Ron Paul 1988

    Awareness is the Root of Liberation Revolution is Action upon Revelation

    'Resistance and Disobedience in Economic Activity is the Most Moral Human Action Possible' - SEK3

    Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo.

    ...the familiar ritual of institutional self-absolution...
    ...for protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment...


  22. #19
    I have all of these half rie ones that fall of of my trees and have no ide what to do with them. I was thinking about apple butter but not sure of the outcome if they aren't ripe enough. They're probably the size of baseballs but just kind of green and kind of red throughout.

    Anyone have any idea on wht to do with those apples?

  23. #20
    Quote Originally Posted by Natural Citizen View Post
    I have all of these half rie ones that fall of of my trees and have no ide what to do with them. I was thinking about apple butter but not sure of the outcome if they aren't ripe enough. They're probably the size of baseballs but just kind of green and kind of red throughout.

    Anyone have any idea on wht to do with those apples?
    Put them in brown grocery bags and clothes pin the folded edge of the bag shut. Check once a week for bad apples. It will build up ethylene and hasten ripening. A "copy paper" box with a lid works well too. cool damp space; ~60 degrees. Might want to wash them first; I like a kiddie pool and a cotton mop with sodium metabisulphite solution.
    Last edited by presence; 08-28-2013 at 07:36 PM.

    'We endorse the idea of voluntarism; self-responsibility: Family, friends, and churches to solve problems, rather than saying that some monolithic government is going to make you take care of yourself and be a better person. It's a preposterous notion: It never worked, it never will. The government can't make you a better person; it can't make you follow good habits.' - Ron Paul 1988

    Awareness is the Root of Liberation Revolution is Action upon Revelation

    'Resistance and Disobedience in Economic Activity is the Most Moral Human Action Possible' - SEK3

    Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo.

    ...the familiar ritual of institutional self-absolution...
    ...for protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment...


  24. #21
    Quote Originally Posted by presence View Post
    Put them in brown grocery bags and clothes pin the folded edge of the bag shut. Check once a week for bad apples. It will build up ethylene and hasten ripening. A "copy paper" box with a lid works well too.
    I've heard that but never tried it. I'll try it. I have probably 10 a day falling off so maybe need to get one of those big brown bags. Thanks, presence.

  25. #22
    I am pumped for this weekend. We have a bunch of apple trees on our land that were planted in the 1840's; not well kept/sprayed so the apples sometimes are pretty meh. My brother described the apples this year as " magnificent."
    "Your mother's dead, before long I'll be dead, and you...and your brother and your sister and all of her children, all of us dead, all of us..rotting in the ground. It's the family name that lives on. It's all that lives on. Not your personal glory, not your honor, but family." - Tywin Lannister


  26. #23
    Well my dear friend I only know one recipe of apple and that is apple juice. You all must know the procedure of making juice of apples. I find it always healthier than other dishes. It is the part of my daily life. But I will surely try some recipes from this post.

  27. #24
    Quote Originally Posted by Cowlesy View Post
    We have a bunch of apple trees on our land that were planted in the 1840's; not well kept/sprayed so the apples sometimes are pretty meh. My brother described the apples this year as " magnificent."
    Do you know the types of apple. I have about two dozen heirlooms that I've grafted myself. I'm always interested in getting scion wood from apples that I don't have. I'd be willing to exchange scion wood too.

    XNN
    "They sell us the president the same way they sell us our clothes and our cars. They sell us every thing from youth to religion the same time they sell us our wars. I want to know who the men in the shadows are. I want to hear somebody asking them why. They can be counted on to tell us who our enemies are but theyre never the ones to fight or to die." - Jackson Browne Lives In The Balance



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  29. #25
    Quote Originally Posted by acptulsa
    Liberty works best not because liberty is without responsibility, but because responsibility is part of the deal. Capitalism works best not because capitalists love us and want us to be happy, but because the more government you have, the more government they can buy, and if they have no government to buy then all they can do instead is compete--compete to serve us better.
    Quote Originally Posted by Ron Paul
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  30. #26
    I made some apple butter with my June apples, it was very easy. I cooked cut up apples in the crock pot with a tiny bit of water for about 18 hours (just a guess). I just kept checking on them and stirring occasionally until they were getting brown and thick. They were a little lumpy so I used a hand blender to get them to a nice consistency. Then I seasoned the apples to taste with brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice. That's what I had on hand and it tasted great!

    I cooked them a little longer and sealed in jars.

  31. #27
    I canned some apples in syrup (homemade) and some applesauce. My wife got the apples from a friend. Ummm, ummm
    "When a portion of wealth is transferred from the person who owns it—without his consent and without compensation, and whether by force or by fraud—to anyone who does not own it, then I say that property is violated; that an act of plunder is committed." - Bastiat : The Law

    "nothing evil grows in alcohol" ~ @presence

    "I mean can you imagine what it would be like if firemen acted like police officers? They would only go into a burning house only if there's a 100% chance they won't get any burns. I mean, you've got to fully protect thy self first." ~ juleswin

  32. #28
    Quote Originally Posted by catfeathers View Post
    I made some apple butter with my June apples, it was very easy. I cooked cut up apples in the crock pot with a tiny bit of water for about 18 hours (just a guess). I just kept checking on them and stirring occasionally until they were getting brown and thick. They were a little lumpy so I used a hand blender to get them to a nice consistency. Then I seasoned the apples to taste with brown sugar and pumpkin pie spice. That's what I had on hand and it tasted great!

    I cooked them a little longer and sealed in jars.
    I was thinking about doing this. I'm going to out and pick this evening. I've never made it before though.

  33. #29
    Here's an article from Backwoods Home on making hard cider and applejack;

    http://www.backwoodshome.com/article...eypile143.html

    Hard cider is an American tradition dating back to before the Revolution. In the early days of America, it was as prevalent as beer. Unlike what we teach school children, Johnny Appleseed did not wander the American frontier planting apple trees to give everyone apples to eat as they settled — he was planting orchards so that the settlers would have mature apple trees to make hard cider. This turned out to be a very profitable venture for Johnny Appleseed. Even though hard cider is as American as apple pie, it seems to have fallen out of favor.


    Hard cider is simply apple juice that has been fermented to create an alcoholic beverage. It is surprisingly easy to make.

    The first step in making hard cider is to get five gallons of apple juice. If you have an orchard, you can take your apples and crush them in a press to make the juice. Although some people don't find it visually appealing, having chunks of apple in the juice won't hurt anything. If you don't have a large supply of fresh apples, a good alternative is to use apple juice or cider from a grocery store. Going this route also eliminates a lot of the mess and hassle that goes into making fresh apple juice.

    Once you have your five gallons of apple juice, you can add any additional flavorings you like. I find a pound of brown sugar is a good addition. To add the sugar, I usually heat a half gallon or so of the juice — enough to absorb the brown sugar, but not to the point of boiling.

    Once you have your juice ready, it is time to turn it into hard cider. For this you'll need a container that you can seal off with an airlock. Five- or six-gallon glass carboys are ideal, although you can also use a food-grade bucket with a lid and hole for an airlock. For an airlock you'll use a rubber stopper with a hole that the airlock fits into. The airlock is essentially a device that will let gas out, but not into the container.

    Before you add the juice to the container, you'll need to sanitize it; simply washing it with dish soap won't suffice. You can fill it with water and a little bit of bleach and let it sit for a few minutes to sanitize it, although make sure you rinse it several times. Another alternative I prefer is an iodine solution such as Star San. With this, you simply fill the container up with a cap or two of the solution, let it sit for a minute, then empty it. No need to rinse it, and you don't have to worry about it ruining your batch of hard cider.

    Once you've sanitized the carboy or bucket, fill it with your apple juice. A funnel is essential if you're using a carboy. Once you've added all your juice, add cider yeast and put the airlock on. The yeast is what makes the magic. The yeast will multiply, using the sugar in the apple juice as its source of food. As it eats the sugar, it'll expel carbon dioxide and alcohol as by-products. This is the same process as wine and beer — all alcohol is essentially yeast "poop."


    You can use a half-gallon growler from a brew pub to experiment with various recipes.

    Now comes the hard part: waiting. It will take about six weeks for the yeast to finish working. It can be done as early as four weeks if you're impatient, but I've also let it sit for nearly four months without a problem.

    After about a week you can rack it. Racking is when you take the cider from one carboy or bucket and siphon it into a second, leaving the accumulated yeast on the bottom. This results in cider that looks and tastes cleaner. Make sure that the tubing and second container are sterilized when you rack. If things are not sterilized, wild yeast and bacteria will compete with your alcohol yeast and contribute to foul flavors at best, and will make your batch undrinkable at worst. (This is why you sanitize everything and use an airlock.)

    No need to worry if you end up with a bad batch, though. The alcohol will kill anything that will hurt you, so while it may taste terrible, you won't get sick. Sunlight will also contribute to off flavors, so if you're using a glass carboy you'll want to cover it with a dark shirt or towel. You'll know your cider is fermenting when you see the airlock bubbling after 12 to 24 hours. This subsides after a few days as the amount of sugar for the yeast decreases.

    Once you've waited six weeks, it is time to bottle your cider. When bottling, first rack the cider into a bucket, following the sterilizing procedures I've mentioned before. Add a dextrose (corn sugar) solution into the bucket. Take about a pint of water and four ounces of corn sugar and boil it for five minutes to sterilize it. This additional sugar gives the remaining yeast enough to eat to naturally carbonate your cider in the bottle.

    You'll also need to sterilize your racking device, bottles, and caps. The bottles and racking device can be done in a bleach or iodine solution. You'll want to boil the bottle caps in water for about five minutes. I usually keep my bottles upside down until I fill them to help prevent airborne contaminates from getting in. You'll need 48 12-ounce bottles or about 26 22-ounce bottles. These bottles don't have to be new; you can recycle commercial ones. If you use recycled bottles, make sure they don't have twist off caps — those might prevent a good seal and ruin some of your bottles of cider.


    Fill all of your bottles, leaving about 1/2 to one inch unfilled so there is room for some air to create the carbonation. Cap each bottle with a bottle capper as soon as you fill them to minimize the chance of contamination. After you've bottled everything, let the bottles sit for 10 days or two weeks so they naturally carbonate. You'll want to reduce their exposure to sunlight, so keep them in a box or dark place. After 10 days or so, stick some bottles in the fridge overnight, then crack them open and enjoy an American tradition!

    It is also possible to put your cider in kegs instead of bottles. The advantage to this is that there is less work at this stage — filling a keg is essentially like doing one big bottle instead of many small ones. There's also the appeal of having a fresh pint of cider straight from the tap. For kegging cider, use five-gallon Cornelius (soda) kegs. Any book that discusses kegging homemade beer is a good reference — the equipment and setup is the same for cider as beer and you can even mix the two on a single system.

    There is one more thing you can do with your hard cider if you want — make applejack. Applejack is essentially the hard alcohol version of cider. To do this you'll carry out a process known as freeze distilling. Fill up a pitcher of hard cider and place it in the freezer. As slush starts forming, fish this out. Continue doing this until the mixture doesn't freeze at all. Since water freezes at a much higher temperature than alcohol, what you're doing is removing the water from the mixture and leaving the alcohol and flavoring behind. In the old days people would leave barrels of cider on their porches and fish the ice off every night, leaving applejack.

    A great source to get the equipment and yeast you need is a home brewing store. If you don't have a local homebrew store, an excellent online source is www.morebeer.com. They have great prices and will ship your order for free if you make a modest-sized order.

    I've often said that making hard cider is so easy an elementary school student could (but probably shouldn't!) do it. I'm sure you'll find it to be the same. It is a great hobby and an economical way to make your own booze. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.
    Last edited by tod evans; 09-20-2013 at 05:41 AM.

  34. #30
    On washing your apples...

    1 small plastic kiddy pool
    enough apples to cover the surface of the water x2
    a cotton mop (used just for this purpose)
    and a drop of dish soap and a tablespoon of sodium metabisulphate


    swirl for a few minutes, remove bad apples and leaves = clean apples


    Helps to have one person pulling bad apples while the other swirls.






    About 50 gallons of apples picked and washed so far I can't wait to start pressing!
    Last edited by presence; 10-24-2013 at 04:26 PM.

    'We endorse the idea of voluntarism; self-responsibility: Family, friends, and churches to solve problems, rather than saying that some monolithic government is going to make you take care of yourself and be a better person. It's a preposterous notion: It never worked, it never will. The government can't make you a better person; it can't make you follow good habits.' - Ron Paul 1988

    Awareness is the Root of Liberation Revolution is Action upon Revelation

    'Resistance and Disobedience in Economic Activity is the Most Moral Human Action Possible' - SEK3

    Flectere si nequeo superos, Acheronta movebo.

    ...the familiar ritual of institutional self-absolution...
    ...for protecting them, by mock trial, from punishment...


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