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Cider Digest #1593
Subject: Cider Digest #1593, 8 November 2010
From: cider-request@talisman.com
Cider Digest #1593 8 November 2010
Cider and Perry Discussion Forum
Contents:
golden russets ("Rich Anderson")
Clear fresh juice ("Rich Anderson")
What is the pH of titratable acidity of 0.36% (denniswaller@comcast.net)
apple blend ("Kevin Krula")
measures; yield; press pressure (Dick Dunn)
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Digest Janitor: Dick Dunn
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Subject: golden russets
From: "Rich Anderson" <rhanderson@centurytel.net>
Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2010 10:00:24 -0700
Interesting, I would think the russets would have a lower ph, although given
the high SG that may be the case. I have a half bin to be pressed later this
month and will report back.
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Subject: Clear fresh juice
From: "Rich Anderson" <rhanderson@centurytel.net>
Date: Fri, 5 Nov 2010 10:07:10 -0700
I want to preserve a small quantity(10-12 gallons) of fresh juice for
product development. Rather than pasteurized it will be frozen. Question, I
would like the juice to be clear, even brilliant prior to blending it with
distilled spirits. I was thinking about a regime of pectinase and a fining
agent like gelatin and colloidal silica to clear it. Any ideas on this
subject? Or am I going about this all wrong?
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Subject: What is the pH of titratable acidity of 0.36%
From: denniswaller@comcast.net
Date: Sun, 7 Nov 2010 20:50:07 +0000 (UTC)
Does anyone know the pH of unfermented apple cider comprised of the blended
juice of many apple cultivars--chiefly Red Delicious, Gala, Fuji and Granny
Smith--the manufacturer states has a "titratable acidity" of 0.36%?? ?
I have tried to measure the pH of the cider with small test strips but
can not get a precise result: it appears to be somewhere between 3.5 and
4.0. Since cider makers recommend adjusting the pH until it is at least 3.8
or lower? I want to know whether I should add mallic acid to the cider before
fermentation and if so the quantity that should be added to a 5 gallon batch?
Dennis Waller
denniswaller@comcast.net
------------------------------
Subject: apple blend
From: "Kevin Krula" <kkrula1@verizon.net>
Date: Sun, 07 Nov 2010 22:10:30 -0500
I just picked up a bushel of golden russet,read that it's a good single
variety apple but also read that you should have some tart in there too
so i got a peck of R.I. greenings to add.Is this a good blend or should
I do just the russets.hope to get 3+ gallons?
------------------------------
Subject: measures; yield; press pressure
From: Dick Dunn <rcd@talisman.com>
Date: Mon, 8 Nov 2010 09:32:40 -0700
a scattershot bunch of comments:
Don't use bushels when talking about yield or attempting any degree of
accuracy. A bushel is a measure of volume, not weight, so it doesn't
tell you how much fruit it might contain. Moreover, even given a bushel
sized container, when is it "full" with objects as large as apples? The
content of a "bushel" of apples may vary from 48 lb (US) down to 40 lb,
the latter formerly having been called a "box". That's 20% variation
(depending on which side you choose the percentage basis). Why so much
variation? History, plus it's a sloppy measure, plus it depends on
whether you're selling or buying!
Similarly, "bin" isn't useful for any sort of accurate measure.
_ _ _ _ _
On yield: Figure it as weight/weight to get a meaningful number. If you
figure juice volume and guess at SG to find juice weight, you're making
an unnecessary assumption. (When I'm doing quick calculations, I use
8.8 lb per gallon, US measure...but that's to get a rough number.) Oh,
and keep in mind that a pint is NOT a pound. In US measures, a gallon
of water weighs about 8_1/3 lb.
It would be best to use metric measures! It gets rid of the US-vs-UK
difference in volume measure, the ton/long-ton/tonne, and a few other
bits of archaic silliness. Trouble is, in the US a lot of our tools/
equipment measure in US units. But for an article where you might be
communicating with anybody around the globe, it's a good idea to convert
to metric.
_ _ _ _ _
A yield of 80% is possible, with good equipment.
A yield of 90% is a mistake. There's not that much juice in apples.
If you get that number, and your calculations check, it means you're
pulling solids into the juice. Try settling or straining closely and
measuring again.
_ _ _ _ _
What follows is a simple run-down of considerations and calculations
on rack-and-cloth (pack) presses using some sort of hydraulics
(including bottle jacks) for the force. This is mainly for folks
who've gotten overwhelmed by the discussion in recent digests.
Don't confuse force with pressure! The general way to look at this is:
You have a hydraulic system which can produce a certain amount of force
at the point of applying it to the cheese. You can work forward from
this point to see how much pressure you're putting on the fruit, and
work backward to see what your hydraulic system produces (or needs to
produce).
Mostly we're stuck with old units here--force in pounds and pressure
in psi (pounds per square inch).
Given the force supplied by the hydraulic system (generally given in
pounds or tons), you get the pressure on the fruit by dividing that
force by the area of the cheese (note: NOT the press plate). Given
numbers from Andrew, 70 psi on the fruit is good, but you can keep
improving yield somewhat by going higher. Indications are that you're
losing significant yield below that number. BUT also keep in mind
what Bill ("squeeze") pointed out: that if the press plate and bed
aren't stiff enough, you lose significant pressure out at the edges.
On an existing press, if you can figure how much the cheese is deformed
at max pressure, you can figure the loss--it's quite close to propor-
tional: If the thickness of the cheese is 10" at the center when
fully pressed, and 11" at the outer corners, you've got 10% pressure
variation. The center will be above your calculated pressure; the
edges, below.
On force from the hydraulic system: If you're using a bottle jack,
it's simple. It's the rated force. But as Bill said, that's the max
you're going to get--it's the downhill-with-a-tailwind marketing number.
If you've got live hydraulics (a pump and cylinder) the force is the
cylinder area (good old pi*r^2) times the max operating pressure, and
you should have a gauge for that.
There's one other variable: the height of the cheese. Yes, you can
improve the capacity by building a taller cheese, and this doesn't
change the pressure calculations. But there are two downsides: You
can't press a cheese taller than the travel of the cylinder, unless
you stop, back up the cylinder, and insert block(s) between cylinder
and press plate--and those blocks must be able to handle the force.
Second, the taller the cheese is wrt its area, the more likely it is
to slip and push out the side of the press. When that happens it's
a tedious mess. Table/cooking apples are more susceptible to this
than are cider apples, because the pulp is slippery. Worst of all
are table pears, especially when fully ripe.
You can figure the approximate capacity of your press by the width *
depth * height of the space for the cheese, but don't forget to subtract
out the space used by the racks. Now, when figuring out how much fruit
you can fit in (bushels? no:-) remember that the milled fruit will be
more compact than whole apples. But if you know the approximate volume
of fruit you can put in, multiply by the yield and you'll know how
many liters or gallons you can get per pressing. That's a very useful
number if you're getting serious about cider and want to know how much
juice you can produce in a day.
- --
Dick Dunn rcd@talisman.com Hygiene, Colorado USA
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End of Cider Digest #1593
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