I did my first batch of apple scratting / pressing yesterday, but didn't get through them all. I'll be doing another batch later and am wonder if I need to clean all the equipment (fruit press, bowls & jugs for collecting juice etc) before I use it again (which seems to take as lobng as getting the juice) or just carry on. Thanks!
Re sterilise equipment each day of use?
- Thread starter paddyb2
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An Ankoù
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Your apples are very early! Some of mine are just beginning to drop!
To answer your question, at the end of a day's cidermaking, I give the whole lot a good seeing to with the jet wash, and again before restarting. Ten minutes a side not counting searching for the jetwasher.
To answer your question, at the end of a day's cidermaking, I give the whole lot a good seeing to with the jet wash, and again before restarting. Ten minutes a side not counting searching for the jetwasher.
Thanks for your replies. I’ve had some others stuff to deal with today, so I’m going to wait until tomorrow to continue juicing and get it all done in one long session. So I’ll give it all a good clean at least, but will probably sterilise as well.
I’ve other pondered this myself, I spend so long cleaning and sterilising everything the apples will come into contact with, but not the actual apples! I wash them with Veggi Wash, but I doubt that will get rid of much, even at surface level. I would have thought it would be quite easy for something in the apples to contaminate the juice, but so far (thank god!) this has never happened.
Yes, very early this year. I'm in the UK. About half of them have already fallen. Wish I had a jet washer! I clean it in the shower!
Not always a bad thing. Many people (and in the past just about all) go for a natural fermentation and don't add yeast and let the fruit do their thing.
I've not done it myself so can't comment on that.
The Norse when making mead believed the paddle they used to mix it had magical powers that turned honey in to mead. It was just impregnated with yeast from previous brews, still quite magical in my opinion.
The Norse when making mead believed the paddle they used to mix it had magical powers that turned honey in to mead. It was just impregnated with yeast from previous brews, still quite magical in my opinion.
Shirley Bassett
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Before scratting and pressing apples I wash all of my equipment in hot soapy water and then rinse with warm water. I then sterilise the equipment by spraying it with Starsan from a small spray bottle, the kind you could mist plants with. I then leaving it standing for 10 mins, then drain/ tip out the Starsan that has run down the surfaces. This takes around 20 minutes for the whole process.
Post scratting and pressing I rinse everything down. I use a modified garden shredder as a scratter, and this contains non stainless metal parts. I strip down the scratter and clean the metal parts. I then dry them and store them in sunflower oil to prevent long term corrosion problem. The oil is washed off prior to reuse.
I use large plastic trubs, the kind that plasters use to mix in, they are about 3 to 4 quid from B&Q, as a collection vessel for the scrat. I also use these to rinse the whole apples in cold water.
I also have a few trays that I scrounged, precovid, off of a supermarket delivery driver. I use these to a few bricks to drain the apples.
If you hand pick your apples off the tree, then. I use the above trays to store the apples in my garage. Leaving them for about a week or two will ripen and sweeten them. You will smell the esters as they ripen. You will also get more juice from them. It doesn’t work with windfalls or bruised fruit. I periodically check stored apples for damage.
I‘ve made cider from natural yeast and by adding Camden tablets and a commercial yeast.
I’ve had mixed results with natural yeast, so nowadays I only use tablets and commercial yeast. I buy 100g packets of “Bigger Jugs” cider yeast. I tastes ok and stores well in the fridge. I’ve got a packet from 2019, that I’ve used this year to make turbo elderflower cider and elderflower champagne, so it appears to stay active long term.
I personally think it’s worth the extra time sterilising your kit each time. It’s quite disappointing to find in 3 months time your efforts taste rank.
If you try to make Perry I find it is best drunk young, as every long term batch has turned vinegary on me, after about 3 months in the bottle. Apples don’t do this. I’ve never found out why the pears do this.
Hope this helps, and happy pressing.
Post scratting and pressing I rinse everything down. I use a modified garden shredder as a scratter, and this contains non stainless metal parts. I strip down the scratter and clean the metal parts. I then dry them and store them in sunflower oil to prevent long term corrosion problem. The oil is washed off prior to reuse.
I use large plastic trubs, the kind that plasters use to mix in, they are about 3 to 4 quid from B&Q, as a collection vessel for the scrat. I also use these to rinse the whole apples in cold water.
I also have a few trays that I scrounged, precovid, off of a supermarket delivery driver. I use these to a few bricks to drain the apples.
If you hand pick your apples off the tree, then. I use the above trays to store the apples in my garage. Leaving them for about a week or two will ripen and sweeten them. You will smell the esters as they ripen. You will also get more juice from them. It doesn’t work with windfalls or bruised fruit. I periodically check stored apples for damage.
I‘ve made cider from natural yeast and by adding Camden tablets and a commercial yeast.
I’ve had mixed results with natural yeast, so nowadays I only use tablets and commercial yeast. I buy 100g packets of “Bigger Jugs” cider yeast. I tastes ok and stores well in the fridge. I’ve got a packet from 2019, that I’ve used this year to make turbo elderflower cider and elderflower champagne, so it appears to stay active long term.
I personally think it’s worth the extra time sterilising your kit each time. It’s quite disappointing to find in 3 months time your efforts taste rank.
If you try to make Perry I find it is best drunk young, as every long term batch has turned vinegary on me, after about 3 months in the bottle. Apples don’t do this. I’ve never found out why the pears do this.
Hope this helps, and happy pressing.
Thanks
Do you ever use apples that have signs of insect attack etc? Nearly all mine do, even if taken from the tree early. Some have black patches around the core as well. I do my best to cut these out, but some inevitably end up going into the juice. It occured to me that unless I dowse them in steriliser, the apples will never be that sterile, and if I did this, it would never wash off completely and taint the taste.
For my scratting, after trying several methods, I use a kitchen food processor, which can take about 9-10 apples at a time and gets them down to a fine pulp which is already running with juice when I put ity into the press. I was considering buying a proper scratter this year, but this method still works well to me.
Do you ever use apples that have signs of insect attack etc? Nearly all mine do, even if taken from the tree early. Some have black patches around the core as well. I do my best to cut these out, but some inevitably end up going into the juice. It occured to me that unless I dowse them in steriliser, the apples will never be that sterile, and if I did this, it would never wash off completely and taint the taste.
For my scratting, after trying several methods, I use a kitchen food processor, which can take about 9-10 apples at a time and gets them down to a fine pulp which is already running with juice when I put ity into the press. I was considering buying a proper scratter this year, but this method still works well to me.
Shirley Bassett
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I too cut out as much of the bad bits that I can.
My understanding is that Camden tablets kill off the natural yeast and some of the nasties.
if you use Camden tablets then it’s one crushed tablet per 5 litres of juice. Give it 24 to 48 hours before you add your commercial dried yeast, otherwise the tablets will kill that yeast as well.
If you’ve got insect attack I wouldn’t recommend the storage step that I suggested above.
My understanding is that Camden tablets kill off the natural yeast and some of the nasties.
if you use Camden tablets then it’s one crushed tablet per 5 litres of juice. Give it 24 to 48 hours before you add your commercial dried yeast, otherwise the tablets will kill that yeast as well.
If you’ve got insect attack I wouldn’t recommend the storage step that I suggested above.
Thanks for your feedback. I'm gsthering them as I need them. Quite a few windfalls as well, with brown bits cut off. I always use Campden tablets before adding yeast.
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