Apples, Apples for everyone.
A few weeks ago, Just as my wife was getting into house organizing in a serious way I decided to throw a serious wrench in the works. I had been spying on several apple trees in out neighborhood for several weeks. Ever since we finished canning peaches actually. It turns out you really don't need to go to all the trouble to grow fruit trees in order to generally end up with all the fruit you could wish for. Simply keep your eyes open as you go about your daily activities, and you are sure to notice fruit trees burdened with fruit which the owner of said tree curses as the bane of their yard. That's right, fruit is generally free for the asking, all you need do is be forthright and courteous...oh, and a promise of a little finished product never hurts either.
So, the tree in question is an apple tree located on the property of a local circle K gas station. Somehow I don't think the sign posted by the sidewalk underneath advertising fresh fruit was in reference to the tree. Anyway, a gallon of gas for the lawn mower, and a quick chat with the manager of the gas station assured me that all the fruit I wanted was free for the taking. A quick job of picking (about 45 minutes and a few scratches) later I had over three bushels of apples. Yes you read that correctly, three bushels, had I bought these at the grocery store I would have paid over $100. Now comes the part where my dear wife begins to curse me roundly, the canning of these apples........
........About three days later we had a final result of 30+ pints of apples sauce, and about 60 8oz jelly jars of apple butter. Kelly had decided to make the apple butter after reading a post on Etsy by a woman who was selling a similar product for $6 per 8oz jar, and so she decided to try her hand. I ended up with about 3 1/2 gallons of apple cider, which is now on it's way to being hard cider.
After doing some experimenting with the apples we decided the easiest way to process them was to use an apple corer/slicer, and then slow bake the apples. This took us about three evenings of processing (but only about one hour of actual work per night) to fill all the roasting pans we could fit in the oven. These were filled with extra water around the apples, slow roasted at 250F for four hours, and then left to steep/cool overnight. Once completed the apples were drained, the juice set aside for hard cider, and the apples were processed with the Victorio food strainer. This made short work of the apples, and rapidly turned them into apple sauce. The addition of some sugar to set the natural pectin in the apples, and some spices completed the apple butter. Some of the sauce was also canned unsweetened (it is naturally sweet) for our growing boys who do like applesauce, or for use in baking.
The cider was turned into hard apple cider as follows:
cider plus about 2 lbs white sugar, 2 lbs brown sugar, and 1 lb honey. Add sugar and honey and heat to dissolve the sugar and the honey, then re-add to the other cider. The result is 4 gallons plus or minus of must/wort (I'm not sure what to call it, is this wine or beer I'm making?) which when you add a package of champagne yeast begins the transformation to hard cider. The juice should be at roughly 75F after it is mixed before adding the yeast, if it is too warm cool water can be added, or just wait for it to cool. This should be primary fermented at room temperature until the escaping CO2 slows to a bubble every 5 minutes, this should take 1-2 weeks. Siphon off the mix into a second container with a bottling spigot at the bottom, be careful not to pick up the dead yeast which has settled to the bottom of the primary fermenter as this will cloud your cider, and may add a bad taste as well. If you want the cider to remain fairly flat you can skip the second container, and go straight to your bottles. Add between 1/2 and one cup of brown sugar to the second container and stir slowly to dissolve the sugar. Do not stir vigorously in order to avoid oxidizing the mix. Immediately bottle and cap your brew, and leave 1-2 months to condition. If you brew in early October you should have delicious hard cider for the holidays.
A word to the wise, the sacarometer reading suggests the final ABV of this brew to be in the 10-12% range, so enjoy responsibly as one or two bottles should be plenty to warm up a cold winter evening.
So, the tree in question is an apple tree located on the property of a local circle K gas station. Somehow I don't think the sign posted by the sidewalk underneath advertising fresh fruit was in reference to the tree. Anyway, a gallon of gas for the lawn mower, and a quick chat with the manager of the gas station assured me that all the fruit I wanted was free for the taking. A quick job of picking (about 45 minutes and a few scratches) later I had over three bushels of apples. Yes you read that correctly, three bushels, had I bought these at the grocery store I would have paid over $100. Now comes the part where my dear wife begins to curse me roundly, the canning of these apples........
........About three days later we had a final result of 30+ pints of apples sauce, and about 60 8oz jelly jars of apple butter. Kelly had decided to make the apple butter after reading a post on Etsy by a woman who was selling a similar product for $6 per 8oz jar, and so she decided to try her hand. I ended up with about 3 1/2 gallons of apple cider, which is now on it's way to being hard cider.
After doing some experimenting with the apples we decided the easiest way to process them was to use an apple corer/slicer, and then slow bake the apples. This took us about three evenings of processing (but only about one hour of actual work per night) to fill all the roasting pans we could fit in the oven. These were filled with extra water around the apples, slow roasted at 250F for four hours, and then left to steep/cool overnight. Once completed the apples were drained, the juice set aside for hard cider, and the apples were processed with the Victorio food strainer. This made short work of the apples, and rapidly turned them into apple sauce. The addition of some sugar to set the natural pectin in the apples, and some spices completed the apple butter. Some of the sauce was also canned unsweetened (it is naturally sweet) for our growing boys who do like applesauce, or for use in baking.
The cider was turned into hard apple cider as follows:
cider plus about 2 lbs white sugar, 2 lbs brown sugar, and 1 lb honey. Add sugar and honey and heat to dissolve the sugar and the honey, then re-add to the other cider. The result is 4 gallons plus or minus of must/wort (I'm not sure what to call it, is this wine or beer I'm making?) which when you add a package of champagne yeast begins the transformation to hard cider. The juice should be at roughly 75F after it is mixed before adding the yeast, if it is too warm cool water can be added, or just wait for it to cool. This should be primary fermented at room temperature until the escaping CO2 slows to a bubble every 5 minutes, this should take 1-2 weeks. Siphon off the mix into a second container with a bottling spigot at the bottom, be careful not to pick up the dead yeast which has settled to the bottom of the primary fermenter as this will cloud your cider, and may add a bad taste as well. If you want the cider to remain fairly flat you can skip the second container, and go straight to your bottles. Add between 1/2 and one cup of brown sugar to the second container and stir slowly to dissolve the sugar. Do not stir vigorously in order to avoid oxidizing the mix. Immediately bottle and cap your brew, and leave 1-2 months to condition. If you brew in early October you should have delicious hard cider for the holidays.
A word to the wise, the sacarometer reading suggests the final ABV of this brew to be in the 10-12% range, so enjoy responsibly as one or two bottles should be plenty to warm up a cold winter evening.
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