Cider Digest #1563

eZine lover (@eZine)

Published in 

Cider Digest

 · 7 months ago

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) 

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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. 

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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 

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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 

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End of Cider Digest #1563 
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