Some bastards never learn eh. This easter I am contemplating having another go at some rought home made cider. I am trying to get a better (cheap) rig together. Benchmark is this guy
He spent 40 euros apparently. Should be able to do it cheaper than that.
Afer work one day this week I thought I'd get stuck in to the good bottle of sherry I had gathering dust in the booze rack. Disaster. Must've drunk it at some stage before. I did find the cooking sherry.
rob
rob
I didn't quite get what he made the press cage out of (Damn ears are failing me.). The cage is what gets the pressure, with little support. Perhaps he was just demonstrating the equipment, but he was squeezing the apple slurry much too quickly. You need to let the cake drain before continuing or some of the juice will be physically blocked from draining. Rice hulls would help the juice find its way around the pectins.
My god, have you seen the price of Calvados recently? Couple of years ago, I could get a bottle for $15. Now it is $40 and (way) up.
For sure. You should be able to do this for next to nothing, given beggin' borrowin' and whatnot.
I've given up on the homemade hooch, given my propensity towards, uh...drunkenness.... and don't need lots of really bad hooch, my experience, on hand. I'll save my occasional bender for better than I can brew and be satisfied with that.
But, I'm still experimenting with fermentation in that we have started baking with home started sourdough and are really getting into it. Have turned some really good loaves of rye and regular sourdough and am going to start a sponge tonite for tomorrow.
We also have been fermenting, for years, milk....yogurt and keifer, though concerning the keifer, one of these times I am going to have to go the proper route and get grains instead of simply using whole keifer to make more.
Enjoy your winter, I am sick of mine, which will not go away.
Charlie
Apparently you don't learn, if you are reduced to drinkin' the cooking sherry?
Charlie
Hmmmm.....maybe 'cuz the dollor ain't worth....oh, niver mind.
Charlie
did the trick. A change from cooking cider.
rob
frame was wooden, screwed & gang nailed. A bottle jack A couple of old wood turned spindles Some mdf cut for a pressure board An old drum to take the apple cake A baking tray with a 'nodge' cut out of it
Thats about it.
good tip, thanks.
????? ????????
-----------> cooking sherry, $10 nz odd per 1 litre bottle.
What does an old drum mean? An old METAL drum? If it is metal, be sure to give it a good coat of food grade paint. The acids from the apple juice will leach metal and can cause a haze in the cider.
I took it to mean a 'bang bang' type drum. I assume it is a wooden with the skin taken off.
If it is metal I guess the joker would've been aware of rust etc.
I am using a plastic bucket.
rob
OK, I just wanted to voice my concerns. The plastic bucket, is it food grade plastic? It is probably more of a concern for fermenters, but you may want to consider it.
Yeah, this from the bloke who was giving me a ration of shit about drinkin' my cider young....
Charlie
ain't gonna hurt 'im one bit.
Charlie
Hey, any Oporto in a storm ;O)
LOL....how well I know
Charlie
No, not me. Billy maybe. I give you heaps about all manner of things, but not that.
Harveys Bristol Cream Sherry, Riverlea Rich Cream 'Wine'. The result is the same.
rob
also food grade, being 2 old plastic chopping boards that I got from second hand shops for 50c each and cut down. My 'turkey baking tray' is a food grade steel waiters tray that I also got for 50c. I will have to cut a 'nodge' in it.
My 3 spindles are not food grade but they also cost a dollar or 2 from second hand shops. I am going to try and borrow a bottle jack from a neighbour. If I can't locate one it'll be the scissor jack. I ain't spending $40 on a brand new bottle jack. The wooden frame I used last year may do the job again. I'll inspect it next weekend. Might need to laminate my top & bottom plates. If not, I'll go and get some scrap lengths of timber and bodge up a sturdy frame. Likely $5 to $10 for all the wood, nails, screws etc. I'll try and keep costs down by salvaging some of the screws & mails from my old frame if I need to build a new one.
That should suffice.
Rob
If I could buy cooking sherry from a second hand shop, that'd be grand.
rob
uh, second hand sherry? You might want to reconsider that one, Rob ;O)
I put you guys crook there. It wasn't 50 cents, it was actually 20 cents.
That is about 10 cents in old US currency but probably about 50cents now, since your dollar plunged.
rob
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