Copy Link
Add to Bookmark
Report
Cider Digest #1563
Subject: Cider Digest #1563, 6 May 2010
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #1563 6 May 2010
Cider and Perry Discussion Forum
Contents:
response for DIY apple grinders (Aaron Skelton)
Why do apples float? (Warwick Billings)
Heirloom apple/juice map (Alan Yelvington)
NOTE: Digest appears whenever there is enough material to send one.
Send ONLY articles for the digest to cider@talisman.com.
Use cider-request@talisman.com for subscribe/unsubscribe/admin requests.
Archives of the Digest are available at www.talisman.com/cider#Archives
Digest Janitor: Dick Dunn
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Subject: response for DIY apple grinders
From: Aaron Skelton <zookie400@gmail.com>
Date: Sun, 2 May 2010 10:07:28 -0400
hello everybody, i'm new to the hobby, first time posting here. i hope this
helps...
i have a video of a test run of my grinder.
- -i made the hopper out of 3/4" PVC, plywood is more than adequate but i used
pvc A) because i had it, and B) its easier to keep clean.
- -the motor is overkill but i had it as a spare for my tablesaw. i used a 4"
pully on the head, and 2" on the motor for slower rpm's at the head, the
motor spins 1200rpms so the head should be at 600.
- -to make the grinder head, i milled a block of wood down to fit snug inside
a piece of pvc pipe, and drilled it to fit the 3/4" driveshaft. then i put
in rows of screws. my first design had even rows, and it would groove the
apple and then the apple would sit on the head and not get caught by any
screws. here was the first test:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tv6otFlK3gQ&feature=watch_response_rev
- -i redesigned the head, with alternating rows of screws, and it is now very
aggressive and works beautifully. i kept the heads of the screws about 1/8"
extended from the head, and assembled the hopper so there is almost no
clearance from the screws, so it keeps the apple pieces (for the most part)
small and "crushed" rather than large and "chunked".
- -i was just letting the end product fall into the pail, but when i actually
get to use it i will have a thin sheet of rubber or plastic to make some
sort of a boot that guides the mess into the bucket, for less waste. i have
also found the grinder is hungry, and if you let it get down to the last 1
or 2 apples, it tends to spin them and throw apple bits out of the top. when
the hopper is kept full, there is virtually no waste coming out of the top.
Here is the final test - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGfo2gX8EJg&NR=1
i have plans to build my own press, and i will take pictures and make a
video of that in action as well.
------------------------------
Subject: Why do apples float?
From: Warwick Billings <tokolosh@penalvagold.net>
Date: Tue, 4 May 2010 12:36:27 +0930
Why do apples float?
This is sort of a question for the boffins out there. Grapes at 16
Brix don't float, apples do. It isn't the voids around the seeds
because if you cut an apple horizontally so that the gaps fill up, the
halves still float. So a fair bit of the substance of the apple is
less dense than water - more than you might think as all of that sugar
is denser, as is the malic (that also sinks). Starch seems to be
quite heavy - rice sinks, and I believe that is mostly starch.
How I got to this was pondering on keeving, it being a sort of reverse
racking, where the unwanted stuff floats and the juice is below. I am
not talking about a full pectin clot, more of a chapeau brun. I
believe that it floats because a bit of wild yeast activity is buoying
the particles, but if it is light then it is tending to go upwards
easier than a grape solid which tends to gather in fresh juice at the
bottom.
Winemakers sometimes do something called flotation, where gas is
dissolved into the fresh juice under pressure and then released which
creates a foam (sort of same effect as a widget in a Guiness can), and
they can then rack out from under the juice. This took me to the
thought that maybe it would be a more reliable way to get a consistent
keeve - anyone tried it?
cheers
Warwick
Lobo Juice and Cider, Lenswood, South Australia
------------------------------
Subject: Heirloom apple/juice map
From: Alan Yelvington <alany@semparpac.org>
Date: Wed, 05 May 2010 23:09:34 -0400
I'm partnering with Dave of http://www.oldtimecider.com to create a map
of folks in North American that do one or more of the following:
Sell heirloom apple trees.
Sell heirloom apple fruit.
Sell fresh-pressed apple juice suitable for making hard cider (no
under-ripe culls and the like).
If you would like to be listed on the map, please send me your particulars:
Business/farm name
web site
Address
What you have...
Here is the current state of the map:
http://maps.google.com/maps/ms?ie=UTF8&msa=0&msid=102487776368726541031.00048513
ade770cc6b56a&ll=41.14557,-75.783691&spn=8.088518,14.128418&z=6
I'd really love to hear from Canada!!!
The intent is to help promote your venture, slow food, craft cider
making, and propagating traditional apple varities.
At your service,
Al Yelvington
Happy Dog Farm
Russell, PA
------------------------------
End of Cider Digest #1563
*************************
