Cider Scratter/ Apple Shredder- Suggestions wanted.

[liampenn]

I desperately need to upgrade my current method of making cider. At the moment I freeze my apples and then press them in my 18l press. However I keep running out of freezer room and have at least 3 times the amount that I can freeze now.

Just wondering on your advice for what I could use to instead of freezing. I did look at these:

http://www.homebase.co.uk/webapp/wcs/st ... ber=625291

But im a little worried about those whole "Food Safe" thing.

Or is it best to just go out and buy a proper scratter:

www.amazon.co.uk/7L-Fruit-Crusher-Pulpe ... le+crusher

Although they are kind of out of my price range.

The other option is to make one, which I cant do due to the lack of time.

Can anyone offer me any advice or suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Titus A Duxass]

Depends on how many apples you are doing.
I did around 30 kg of apples and 30 kg of pears with this and a bucket.



Next year I am going to turn and old shredder into a scratter.

 

[Deltabrew]

I don't understand how a shredder/scratter will solve your storage issue. You'll still have to store them before using them?
I'm getting by with a juicer at the moment, but if or when that breaks or I get more serious and do some more then I would buy a cheap garden shredder and make/buy a press.
My apples are in the shed ATM and look as good now as they did 4 weeks ago, not sure how long they will last that way though.

I wonder what freezing does to the apple? Good or bad? Does it come out the same?

 

[evanvine]

I don't think storage was an issue, it was freezer space.
Freezing breaks down the cells enabling the apples to be pressed without scratting.

 

[Deltabrew]

I don't think storage was an issue, it was freezer space.
Freezing breaks down the cells enabling the apples to be pressed without scratting.

Ah I see. I wonder what it does to the taste and other stuff like Pectin? I might freeze a batch to see if it's any different....

 

[Steam brew]

As some one who has made cider for over 40 years both freezing and storing there is very little between them ,
As for a scratter make your own drawings on uk cider or cider uk called the apple codler this can all be made from reclaimed wood except the motor this will pulp 50 kls in about 3 mins Do not us a juicer as you need pulp not purie all the info you need is on the above web site :party:

 

[Titus A Duxass]

As some one who has made cider for over 40 years both freezing and storing there is very little between them ,
As for a scratter make your own drawings on uk cider or cider uk called the apple codler this can all be made from reclaimed wood except the motor this will pulp 50 kls in about 3 mins Do not us a juicer as you need pulp not purie all the info you need is on the above web site :party:

Is this the one that you are referring to?

http://www.ukcider.co.uk/wiki/index.php/Homemade_Scratter

 

[Crastney]

if it's freezer space you're lacking then you do realise that they don't need to be stored in the freezer, only put in there long enough to freeze, and then can be defrosted, so you could rotate the space every 24/48 hours take out the frozen, and add some unfrozen ones.
keep the defrosted ones in a sealed container though (Fv would be ideal for this) else they might start a wild fermentation. they will turn very mushy.

 

[tonyhibbett]

I stand by my whole fruit juicer as the best solution all round. You can store the juice if you give it the UHT treatment, without freezing or chilling, but it makes more sense to bulk ferment it and store it in an oak barrel.

 

[danb]

I bought a waste disposal this year, worked brilliantly and took 80kg as quick as I could feed it

 

[danb]

 

[willinliv]

I'm sure other people have done this as well - I did a test where I compared the preparation methods of freezing, vs freezing and scratting, vs just scratting and I got considerably more juice with my setup from freezing and scratting the apples. There is a lot of variables in this but I tried to keep each batch the same in my experiment. The apples were reasonably freshly picked (maybe 2 weeks), I cut them into halves or less prior to either method, and the ones which were freshly scratted were loaded into the press quite promptly but I think that professionals leave them for a bit for the apples to breakdown by themselves a bit. But what I found was with freezing/defrosting and then scratting I was able to get 1.8kg of juice from 2.4kg of apples, compared to 1.4kg from freezing/defrosting alone, and 1kg from scratting them fresh. More info here on what I did and my process: WillMoindrot - Apple Pressing

 

[jceg316]

I store my apples for a week in a shed if they're picked from the tree, or 2-3 days if they're windfall. I scrat them using a hand scratter like the one linked to in the OP. Previously I've used a large wooden post and smashed them up. Depending how much you're making, a wooden post works but is very tiring. Even that fruit crusher can get a bit tiring and there's a knack to operating it smoothly, otherwise you'll need 2 other people to hold it down, or build a frame it can sit snugly in. That's not to say it doesn't work, it will take a bit of practise before it works efficiently. I don't think my one crushes the apples small enough and there are a lot of big chunks left.

Each year I end up making more and more cider as we keep discovering a new neighbour with an apple tree they do nothing with, and and I meet more and more people who want to go apple picking. Next season I'll invest in an electric scratter.

 

[Yasser]

I built my own Scratter. Very easy, I had half a sheet of ply, some wood for the frame and a corded drill for power in the garage. It cost less than £30 in parts to buy and it takes whole apples as fast as i can feed(apart from the odd poke with a long stick).

 

[MZonard]

I'm sure other people have done this as well - I did a test where I compared the preparation methods of freezing, vs freezing and scratting, vs just scratting and I got considerably more juice with my setup from freezing and scratting the apples. There is a lot of variables in this but I tried to keep each batch the same in my experiment. The apples were reasonably freshly picked (maybe 2 weeks), I cut them into halves or less prior to either method, and the ones which were freshly scratted were loaded into the press quite promptly but I think that professionals leave them for a bit for the apples to breakdown by themselves a bit. But what I found was with freezing/defrosting and then scratting I was able to get 1.8kg of juice from 2.4kg of apples, compared to 1.4kg from freezing/defrosting alone, and 1kg from scratting them fresh. More info here on what I did and my process: WillMoindrot - Apple Pressing

An excellent study. Many thanks! I'm new to cider making but pressed 50 litres this year scratting freebies from hedgerow trees. Result from first batch (15 litres) OG 1.050 fermented out to 1.000 with pH 3.7. Are you measuring SG and pH? Is there any difference in 'product' between approaches?

 

[Cwrw666]

I'm sure other people have done this as well - I did a test where I compared the preparation methods of freezing, vs freezing and scratting, vs just scratting and I got considerably more juice with my setup from freezing and scratting the apples. There is a lot of variables in this but I tried to keep each batch the same in my experiment. The apples were reasonably freshly picked (maybe 2 weeks), I cut them into halves or less prior to either method, and the ones which were freshly scratted were loaded into the press quite promptly but I think that professionals leave them for a bit for the apples to breakdown by themselves a bit. But what I found was with freezing/defrosting and then scratting I was able to get 1.8kg of juice from 2.4kg of apples, compared to 1.4kg from freezing/defrosting alone, and 1kg from scratting them fresh. More info here on what I did and my process: WillMoindrot - Apple Pressing

That's really interesting. I usually freeze and scrat but this year I just froze and squished. And yes, pretty sure I got a bit less juice but at least I didn't have to clean the bl**dy scratter!

 

[Shirley Bassett]

I use a garden shredder as a scratter. I made the top slot wider to take full size apples and found that I scrat apples as fast as I can feed them in. I have a plastic paddle to push down any apples that get stuck in the top hopper on to the shredding mechanism. The shredder can easily handle in excess of 50kg of apples per hour.

If your lucky you can get one for gratis off Freecycle.org, or relatively cheaply off eBay. Most shredders can be taken apart and the metal parts scrubbed to clean them up. Soaking the parts in full fat coke will also help clean them up. Post usage you can strip the parts out, wash them and then dry them and then store in cooking oil to prevent long term corrosion.

i used to scrat into builders trubs and then build cheeses wrapped in muslin and separated by boards. My press is a cross beam and 6 ton bottle jack.

The pressing was the slowest part and each pressing took around 15 to 20 minutes to load, press and unload. I was getting around 10 litres of juice per hour.

i found that for 10 litres of juice I was getting around 10kg of residual pressed scrat. Assuming 1 litre of juice weighs 1kg the system is around 50% efficient.

I read that apples should be pressed immediately after scratting, but pears should be left for 24 hours before pressing. I found with pears I would get around 15 litres of juice for 5kg of residual pressed scrat, i.e around 75% pressing efficiency. I’ve tried leaving scratted apples for 24 hours before pressing and it increases the juice yield, but it comes out much darker and feels quite thick and syrupy, it also taste very sweet.

Having been in touch with other forum members, and as a trial I changed my method to scratting directly into a 25kg washed, boiled, and oxy bleached Hessian spud sack and pressed this between 2 boards that I placed in a pressing bowl.

The pressing bowl is a stainless steel beer barrel with the bottom ground off and then inverted and pipe work connected to the tap hole, through which the pressed juice drains into the collecting vessel.

I found that using this method I can get around 15 litres of juice from 2 pressings in around 15 to 20 minutes.

Whilst this methodology may not be as efficient as freezing, freezing/scratting it is so much faster and much less time consuming.

I store my apples in banana boxes, that I got (pre COVID) from my local supermarket, for a couple of weeks before scratting. I’m convinced that storing them increases the yield. The boxes stack and so take up very little floor space.

I can get my hands on large numbers of apples so 50% efficiency I consider to be enough.

I note that you said you shake the trees. If you can get your hands on a hard hat, it saves any surprises during this process.

 

[MZonard]

Banana boxes (or bread trays) sounds good and better than the garage floor with apples spread out on cardboard for three weeks!

 

[SteveA]

Having been in touch with other forum members, and as a trial I changed my method to scratting directly into a 25kg washed, boiled, and oxy bleached Hessian spud sack and pressed this between 2 boards that I placed in a pressing bowl.

The pressing bowl is a stainless steel beer barrel with the bottom ground off and then inverted and pipe work connected to the tap hole, through which the pressed juice drains into the collecting vessel.

Sounds interesting SB! I was thinking of building a press using some spare sleepers / butchers block-style wood I have (this year I’ve made approx 40L using a Phillips juicer, which has gone reasonably well but I end up with a lot of float, and I’m concerned it may burn out!) but like the idea of making something that just needs stepping on rather than a car jack/frame etc. Do you have any pictures of your build? Cheers.

 

[Shirley Bassett]

Pressing bowl (beer barrel)