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Cider Digest #1248
Subject: Cider Digest #1248, 21 August 2005
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #1248 21 August 2005
Forum for Discussion of Cider Issues
Dick Dunn, Digest Janitor
Contents:
Re: Cider Digest #1247, 16 August 2005 (Michael Arighi)
Re: poly press racks (Bill)
cider press (Sidney VanNess)
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Subject: Re: Cider Digest #1247, 16 August 2005
From: Michael Arighi <calzinman@earthlink.net>
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005 20:22:30 -0700
On Tue, 2005-08-16 at 11:24 -0600, Lori And Jeff Dutter
<cdsinc@excel.net> wrote:
> Can anyone tell me if there is something special I should do to my old cast
> Iron grinder on my press. Do I need to coat the grinder with anything. I was
> under the impression that apples should not come into contact with iron.
I'm sure someone will chime in with the accepted wisdom. My experience
is purely empirical--my grinder is cast iron with a wood/stainless steel
cylinder. I've used it periodically for about 15 years with no
indication of any problems with the resulting juice/cider.
> Also what is the best method
> of coating the wood base that the juice will flow out on?
Again, purely empirical: I've used polyurethane. We contacted the
manufacturer and determined that, after curing, there were no compounds
that would be hazardous. No evidence in the juice of any off-odors or
flavors. An old standby used to be melted paraffin.
On a different press, we used fiberglass (auto body repair kit),
polished down and recoated with about 3 coats. That base was integral to
the press (large screw-type with the screw integrated into the base), so
it was impractical to replace it. But the base was cracked and pitted
and otherwise so unsanitizable that we opted to fiberglass it. Worked
fine and the press was still going at least 15 years later, when I last
saw it.
- --
Michael Arighi <calzinman@earthlink.net>
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Subject: Re: poly press racks
From: Bill <squeeze@mars.ark.com>
Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2005 08:04:58 -0700
re Joe and Terry's posts about press racks - if proper techniques are
employed, poly racks need be no more than 1/2" thick, and mine at 3/8
work fine except with the latest pulpiest apples [or things like
MacIntosh!], which require patience - breaking racks at the dados tells
me you make layers too thick and apply pressure too fast [or your dados
are too deep, should barely meet to create the openings] - rack and
cloth pressing requires attention to apple and pulp qualities, and
practised judgement of cheese handling based on that.
I think the rounded dadoes would be self defeating Joe, as the sharp
corners of a normal dado are a good part of the "tooth" that helps hold
the cloths against slippage - the cleaning problem is a fact of life in
the biz due to the nature of the beast, and cleaning adds many tedious
hours to any press operators day! The pulp texture [hammer mill chopped
rather than grated or ground] and the cloth coarseness and weave are
also important factors in how readily the juice expresses.
I've been trying for some time to write some technique details, but it
hasn't been happening, so I'll give you folks a look at some of it at my
operation via the page I have on my website:
http://mars.ark.com/~squeeze/pressing/
Bill <http://mars.ark.com/~squeeze/>
------------------------------
Subject: cider press
From: Sidney VanNess <sidney@acumantra.com>
Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005 17:00:17 -0400
Hi,
I'm a new subscriber with two questions. First, do you know of any good
construction plans for a small/medium cider press? Second, is there a
searchable database of past issues that might be a more appropriate
place to go with such questions? I'd wager I'm not the first to ask
this sort of question.
Regards,
Sidney VanNess
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End of Cider Digest #1248
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