John-Paul was just a baby when we moved to Claret Farm, but one thing he loved about our new home was THE APPLES! Though they had odd marks, were misshapen, and many grew far too high for us to harvest, due to the orchard trees not having been pruned in a number of years, they still tasted good--and John-Paul ate them whole. This year's harvest is already under way. The southwest tree ripens earlier than the others--its apples are not that great for eating, being somewhat mealy ("foamy" my daughter says), but our theory is that perhaps it is a cider tree. So we are going to test that theory this weekend. |
Last fall we borrowed a cider press from a friend. It was fast and worked very well. But this weekend we are going to try to make cider without a press. In case you want to try too, here is a set of instructions we found. Happy cider-making! |