When I found out that none of the tool libraries nearby had a cider press, I thought I was going to have to give up and buy one. Then I read about the three bucket cider press on the Practical Self-Reliance Blog. Yes, I tried it. And yes, it works. Really well.
Practical Self-Reliance's Super Easy 3 Bucket Cider Press
Parts (food grade plastic plz!):
- Cider Catcher: a large bucket (Trash Panda used a good sized Tupperware storage container)
- Apple Mash Presser: a slightly smaller bucket (TP - 3.5 gallon bucket)
- Apple Mash Platform: a bucket that is slightly smaller than the slightly smaller bucket (TP - 2 gallon bucket)
- Clean cotton bag for holding apple mash (TP - pillowcase)
You'll need some apple mash - I'll talk about how to make that in a sec.
Also some containers to pour the pressed cider into, and some filters (fine mesh or cheesecloth) to pour the cider through so you can catch any little bits that get through.
VERY IMPORTANT: Choose presser and platform buckets that will 1) hold your seated weight and 2) have enough room between them that they will not stick together and will allow juice to flow out.
Also some containers to pour the pressed cider into, and some filters (fine mesh or cheesecloth) to pour the cider through so you can catch any little bits that get through.
VERY IMPORTANT: Choose presser and platform buckets that will 1) hold your seated weight and 2) have enough room between them that they will not stick together and will allow juice to flow out.
Tools:
- Just your hands
- Ok, a water source would be good too
Assembly & Pressing:
- Clean all your buckets, then sanitize them with water with a little bleach in it. And wash your damn hands, now and throughout the process
- Put your biggest bucket on the ground - hurray cider catcher!
- Set your smallest bucket upside down inside the biggest bucket - there's your apple mash platform
- Put apple mash into clean cotton sack and tie off, place sack on the top of the smallest bucket. Make sure you don't overfill your mash bag, because it needs to all fit on top of the apple mash platform or it won't get pressed
- Place medium-sized bucket on top of the apple mash on bucket platform - with your apple mash presser your cider press is complete
- Sit on the apple mash presser and wiggle back and forth a bit. I'm serious. The juice will flow off of the platform bucket and into the biggest bucket that the platform is set in*
- To make sure you get all the juice out, stand on the bucket carefully if you feel like your assembly is strong enough to hold you. You can also lift off the apple mash presser, rearrange the apple mash bag to get any unjuiced bits up on the platform, and try pressing again
Pressing Notes:
This press works real well. The notes about it on Practical Self-Reliance say that there's enough juice left in it that you can use the pomace (pressed apple mash) to make apple butter. In my pressing, there was little juice and even less flavor left in the pomace after I used the three bucket press. I did reconstitute it with some Cornelian cherry juice and made an OK fruit leather from it, but I'm not sure it's really worth the effort. You might just want to compost it.
So about the apple mash:
Pressing the cider is the easy part. Making the apple mash is the harder work.
Me and my cider partner Danger Squirrel** chopped up the apples into one inch chunks, then ran them in a blender until they were basically applesauce. Out of the five and a half hours we spent pressing cider, one hour was set up and clean up, thirty minutes was the actual pressing, and four hours was chopping and blending. It was nice that we didn't have to core or peel the apples, but that was the only time saving feature. Next time I do this, I plan to figure out a faster apple mashing process.
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* Yes, you will look like Baby Elmo on the potty, and yes, you will look like you've just taken a copious piss.
** What is a Danger Squirrel you ask? Well, it's either a ferret, or a squirrel that will really fuck you up if you mess with it.
Note: all photo credits in this post are mine
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
Me and my cider partner Danger Squirrel** chopped up the apples into one inch chunks, then ran them in a blender until they were basically applesauce. Out of the five and a half hours we spent pressing cider, one hour was set up and clean up, thirty minutes was the actual pressing, and four hours was chopping and blending. It was nice that we didn't have to core or peel the apples, but that was the only time saving feature. Next time I do this, I plan to figure out a faster apple mashing process.
Choosing the apples:
- Good balance of tart and sweet
- Using several varieties is a nice idea if you have the option
- Bruised or beat up apples are fine, rotten apples are not. If there's bug damage, cut out the worst of it
- Rinse them off a bit before you press them
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* Yes, you will look like Baby Elmo on the potty, and yes, you will look like you've just taken a copious piss.
** What is a Danger Squirrel you ask? Well, it's either a ferret, or a squirrel that will really fuck you up if you mess with it.
Note: all photo credits in this post are mine
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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