Cider pressing

Nothing says fall like fresh-pressed apple cider. Since we have some apple and pear trees on our property, and have plans for many more in Longhaul's future, we couldn't live life without our very own cider press.

Our used hand-cranked grinder

We knew we wanted to build our own. Most of the press can be put together with scrap wood - but the most costly and complicated piece of a press is the grinder. On a recent visit up to Kingston we stopped at our favorite junk shop to test our luck. Stan, the man, was about to close for the day, but when we told him what we were looking for he led us all the way to the back of his operation, pulled out a beauty (in this first picture), and sold it to us for only 20 bucks.

Finished product

With a bit of image-browsing on the internet, digging up an old car jack, and a few hours of sketching, measuring and cutting pieces to size, we put together our very first cider press with tender loving care. Next weekend we'll make a run to an orchard and press some freshness during our upcoming October-fiesta with family and friends.