Cider from fresh fruit

[aero-spaced-out]

Hello all

Context: A work colleague has a pear tree out their back AND his wife has somebody where she works that has an apple tree. He came in with a bag of apples and pears for me and said to me that there will definitely be more coming.
So a perry and an apple cider is on the cards.

I have ordered a scratter/pulping bucket and a 6L fruit press. Except I have no idea where to begin.

My approach was going to be to to quarter them, freeze/thaw them, scratter them and press the juice.
From there
Transfer to a demijohn, kill off any wild yeast, then add some peptic enzyme to clear it before I start adding anything I need to start fermenting.

Killing off wild yeast as I don't feel comfortable leaving them in there... maybe next year I'll try an on fruit natural ferment lol

I just don't know if that is the correct order.
Am I better letting the fruit sit for a while before I do or doing anything different from what I am planning?

It's going to be a weekend job for me so if there are any resources or books I could get to read on it I would be appreciative!

Cheers!

 

[Cwrw666]

If the fruit isn't bruised or other damage then letting them sit for a couple of weeks before freezing will reduce acidity considerably.

 

[fluketamer]

you may have two issues.

1 ) those are unlikely perry pears if they are edible. trying to make perry from regular non perry pears has always turned out not worth it for me. i have tried pear juice and fresh pears both. you need perry pears to maker perry. they prolly have more acid and tannin then regular eating pears.

2 ) similar issue with the apples. to make really good cider you need cider apples with a high amount of tannin and acid. those are different from eating apples.


you can make cider from eating apples but it will not be the same. you will need to add acid and tannin.

you could easily do that to the apples but i have tried with the pears and it doesn work well.

good luck and let us know