Making cider

[jmc]

Andrew Lea is a star. I have the second edition of his book on my "brewing bookshelf". I'd not seen the Claude Jolicoeur one though. I might have to have a gander at that.

Do you have more information on the tray? I can see that as quite a handy addition to my own press.

James

I looked at loads of trays, but finally decided I wanted to go with a SS one as its so easy to clean and can take the pressures.

Gastronorm are a standard for tray sizes. For trays used to hold food dished out in kitchens (eg school dinners).
They come in a range of sizes to fit in a modular fashion.

The one I used was a GN2/1 (650 × 530 mm). I chose the 65mm deep one, like this one:
Gastronorm GN2/1


They come in loads of sizes so you should be able to get one that suits your press.
More info on the tray in my post New 20 Ton Cider Press

[chris2012]

Thanks a lot jmc!

I'll be sure to check out those books and the SS tray looks perfect.

[JamesF]

It'll be interesting to hear how you get on with the new scratter, particularly in comparison to the waste disposal unit. I imagine quite a few people might have gone the other way given the amount of physical effort involved in the more traditional approach I guess there's always the possibility of motorising it for that full on near death experience.

I found with mine it worked well if I sat it on two saw horses with a 25l bin underneath, but accuracy was improved by adding a "skirt" to the bottom that could be tucked into the bucket. I just cleaned and cut a plastic feed sack to the right size and made holes so it would slip over the square bars. That worked nicely.

James

[JamesF]

Forgot to post this bit...

Thanks for the details of the tray. I have ordered one and shall follow your example with the drain hole.

Probably the next improvement I can make after that is to find something better than the wooden racks to separate the individual layers of the cheese. It would be nice to have something that can go in the dishwasher, but I've found nothing that inspires me yet.

James

[jmc]

Forgot to post this bit...

Thanks for the details of the tray. I have ordered one and shall follow your example with the drain hole.

Probably the next improvement I can make after that is to find something better than the wooden racks to separate the individual layers of the cheese. It would be nice to have something that can go in the dishwasher, but I've found nothing that inspires me yet.

James

You're welcome.

I can't remember where but I've seen some plastic racks on US sites but very expensive.
The UK Cider site has info on making HDPP racks.
Not done it myself.

These HDPE peg board ones are interesting, though I think SS bolts would tear the cloths.

Vigo make Acacia racks but don't think they'd like to be in a dishwasher

I've got beech press plates and one traditional rack in oak, another 2 (to be) made from IKEA Lamplig beech cutting boards.
My cheeses work at at about 10Kg per layer so that's fine for now.

[JamesF]

Looks like I can get a sheet of HDPP cut into eight 500mm-ish squares for about £125 after which I'd have to cut some grooves in with the table saw. HDPE is only about £10 cheaper. Seems pretty much comparable with anything else I can think of.

I guess I should get my finger out really. It's obviously not cider apple time yet, but I'll press a lot of our eaters for juice too and I might be tempted to blend a load of Bramleys with our Somersets, which crop heavily but are bland as a bland thing.

James

[jmc]

Looks like I can get a sheet of HDPP cut into eight 500mm-ish squares for about £125 after which I'd have to cut some grooves in with the table saw. HDPE is only about £10 cheaper. Seems pretty much comparable with anything else I can think of.

I guess I should get my finger out really. It's obviously not cider apple time yet, but I'll press a lot of our eaters for juice too and I might be tempted to blend a load of Bramleys with our Somersets, which crop heavily but are bland as a bland thing.

James

My main issue is getting hold of apples over here in Bedfordshire. Once a home to many market gardens and local (eater) varieties like Laxton Superb.
Unfortunately not many orchards left now.

Most I can gather are a mix of eaters and cookers, but i like to add up to 10% crab-apples in the mix. They really help up the tannin and give the cider a bit more flavour. Maybe they would help with your Somersets?

[JamesF]

The Somersets are bittersweets as far as I recall, so there's sufficient tannin but what I'm really missing is the sharpness. I'm hopeful that the Bramleys might provide that. If I ever get the time it will cease to be a problem anyhow. My long term plan is to crown graft the Somersets over to Dabinett as I have two smaller Dabinett trees that I can take cuttings from and they make a good single-variety cider.

There's progress with the apple press this week, too. My stainless tray has arrived, as have eight sheets of 500mm square 10mm HDPP. I need to trim the sheets down a little so they'll fit in the bottom of the tray and then cut channels into them and fit the drain and tap into the tray and then I hope I should be ready to go.

James

[jmc]

I'd be interested of pics once you've had a chance to upgrade your kit.
-PS Topic moved to Cider Making