| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Oct 13 2004 : 12:19:27 AM
I borrow a friend's steam juicer and now I am just going to have to be the owner of one...have any of you gals used one? I borrowed it to make tomato juice originally and did that and then made apple juice too...and was able to run the apples left after juicing through my victorio strainer (another gadget I LOVE) and made the best applesauce. I added NOTHING to it..and it is so good!! I had a cup of hot applejuice tonight with a little cinnamon..yummmy! I canned up the tomato juice in quart jars and we are just using the apple juice fresh, and I canned the applesauce..well, most of it..we used a big bowl with supper tonight and the kids all want some in their lunchboxes tomorrow. I was so happy to find a new, simple gadget that I can use. It is just like 3 pans that fit together, one on the bottom holds water then the middle one has a funnel shape thing with holes in it that points up in the middle fo the bottom and a clear silicone hose out one side at the bottom edge and then the top one has little holes all in it like a strainer. You just fill the bottom with water, fill the strainer one with sliced fresh apples (I cored mine but left the peels) and hook the little hose thing up at the top and put the lid on and boil 30 min and then you can pour off the juice that collects around the funnel thing in the middle pan. It is just magical. Since I left the peels on my apples it has a pretty pink tint. I am hooked! Now to find one of these and put it on my Christmas wish list!!
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
| 14 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Idahospud |
Posted - Oct 20 2004 : 4:02:11 PM
The town where I live used to have 31 fruit packing plants. The last one has just closed. The entire valley was once ringed with orchards (just 15 years ago when I married DH), now they are being cut down to raise subdivisions as we become a bedroom community of Boise and prices of Asian fruit compete Emmett growers out of business. My own property was once part of an orchard. One day when I was driving past one of the few remaining orchards, I noticed that among the various offerings posted on their sign was "Fruit Wood." I thought, "Now there is an essay in the making." Perhaps I'll do a writeup on this situation some day and submit it to Mary Jane.
Anyway, what got me on that tangent was the subject of cider presses. Because fruit was such a huge crop here, many families still have cider presses and often invite folks over during pressing time to share in the abundance. Many of the subdivided lots kept a few trees on the lots, so there is still a proliferation this time of year as folks try to figure out ways to use up the apples. It does feel like a community project, like Eileen described. And yes, you just have to forget about worms and rot! The fresh-pressed cider tastes so autumnal and heavenly, you do tend to overlook those inevitabilities! |
| Eileen |
Posted - Oct 20 2004 : 10:31:29 AM
Hi Jenny,
I have made cider. A few of my women friends and I have gone out this time of year with a large pickup truck and knocked on doors where the apple trees are dumping their load on the ground. We have asked for these apples and if we can pick the remaining ones. Usually the owners are happy to have the apples picked up and the rest removed so they don't have to deal with them. We rent a hand cranking apple press because there is no electricity at my friends barn where we process the apples. We fill two huge sinks with water and rinse the apples a box full at a time and remove any obvious rotting ones and then just pour these into the hopper, grind them into the tub and press away. The juice is wonderful and I usually have frozen the gallon jars to keep it from fermenting. Makes wonderful fresh apple jelly, you know the kind where you add only sugar and cook it to the jelly stage. I used to worry about the possibility of worms in the apples and other things but my friend just said you ignore those things. We usually procure the assistance of any of our teenaged children for the pressing and grinding process as this will quickly wear out your upper body. It seems we get about 15 gallons of cider each by the end of the week of processing. Think when we have our apples producing well that we will invest in an elictric cider press just because My upper body strength is not what it used to be and I get so sore. Even with all of the work I do around here. Uses muscles differently.
I have had pork loin braised in cider and agree it is wonderful. So is pork loin slow cooked in a quart of saurkraut. You'd never know it was saurkraut.
Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
| MeadowLark |
Posted - Oct 20 2004 : 07:20:32 AM
I've heard that folk tale too Cecelia! Has any farmgirl ever made fresh or hard cider? We have a "u-pick" orchard in our area and a friend has a wooden apple press and we would love to try making cider!I have tried some hard ciders and they are not "appley" and taste more like a beer. I have an old German recipie for pork loin braised in cider that is out of this world.
Time Flies |
| cecelia |
Posted - Oct 20 2004 : 06:05:53 AM
My mother used to tell me, when I was little, that when she peeled apples for pies, if you could peel the apple in one long strip, then toss it over your shoulder, the shape it made would tell you the first letter of the name of the man you would marry. An old folk tale - didn't work for me though!!!
Cecelia
ce's farm
"Curiosity is one of the forms of feminine bravery" Victor Hugo |
| Aunt Jenny |
Posted - Oct 19 2004 : 10:35:09 PM
those long skinny peels are one of my chicken's favorite treats!
Jenny in Utah
Bloom where you are planted! |
| Eileen |
Posted - Oct 19 2004 : 12:43:39 PM
Actually Nikki, I have tried drying it to maybe weave it or braid it for a wreath but I found it broke to easily. Maybe I let it dry to well before I tried it. I was looking at again last night and wondering if maybe I should try again. Funny how great minds work in the same way huh?
Eileen
songbird; singing joy to the earth |
| Idahospud |
Posted - Oct 19 2004 : 12:31:43 PM
Hey Eileen!
Do you ever do anything with the apple peels? I compost of course but I have to admit that the peeler contraption makes the long, skinny, continuous apple peel seem wonderful somehow. It makes me sad to throw it away (after the kids and I have eaten all we can handle!).
Maybe a silly question but if anyone would know the answer, it'd be the farmgirls here! |
| Eileen |
Posted - Oct 19 2004 : 11:38:41 AM
I have one of those wonderful apple pealers too. Today I did up the last of 20 pounds of apples in my food dehydrator. I decided against the apple pie mix in the freezer this year. I am tooooo fond of apple pie and eat way too much of it if it is readily available. I think it is better than chocolate!
Eileen
By the way Nikki, My husbands sister is named Nikki also. They grew up in Rosalia but have lots of family in the Moscow area.
songbird |
| Idahospud |
Posted - Oct 19 2004 : 08:02:28 AM
I've been juicing all week--my neighbor let me have the grapes she didn't want; I ended up with 90 quarts of grape juice! She had three different varieties: Concord, White, and Cinnamon. I just mixed them all together. It was cool because every batch was a little different color and a little different taste, but all were delicious!
Then my other neighbor let me pick 50 gallons of apples from her trees (seven acres of apple trees! Overwhelming!), and I'm starting on those today. I have a peeler/corer/slicer contraption (those are SOOOO cool!), and set a bunch in the dehydrator. Then I'm going to do what Aunt Jenny did and juice some and sauce the leftover pulp. One year I made 24 quarts of apple pie filling, and had two apple pies a month! Also great gifts at Christmas time. THis year I think I might just peel/core/slice and can them that way, without the spices, then I can make other dishes, like apple crisp, besides the pie.
I love canning season! (and I hate canning season, too! Seems I'm always pregnant and this year is no exception! heh heh heh Also, the sheer volume of the work can be overwhelming but my friend is coming to help which will be fun) |
| MeadowLark |
Posted - Oct 13 2004 : 7:33:35 PM
Sounds so delicious Aunt Jenny! I popped some popcorn yesterday and craved fresh apple juice to go with it on these chilly Fall nights.
Time Flies |
| jpbluesky |
Posted - Oct 13 2004 : 7:21:02 PM
Jenny - you will have to have a glass of apple juice on October 17th instead of tea! I can almost taste you home-made juice, and there is nothing like fresh apple juice or fresh applesauce.....unless it is fresh corn on the cob, or garned fresh sugar snap peas, or....I must be hungry.
Thanks for sharing the process you used. Made me realize again what a real bunch of farmgirls are on this site.
jpbluesky
Love those big blue skies and wide open spaces. |
| Eileen |
Posted - Oct 13 2004 : 5:55:47 PM
Jenny,
We bought one of those juicers in 1978 when we realised that we would have to make all of our own juice if we did not want added stuff in it for our 6 year old diabetic son. What a wonderful investment! I still use it every summer and even sometimes in the winter if I can get fruit to juice at the market. We started with grapejuice. We went to pick 3oo pounds of juice on stretch islan on grape day and did not know how else to get them all processed in a reasonable time. It was so fun to pick the grapes that we ended up with 300 pounds before we knew it! They were only something like 15 cents a pound u-pick so we didn't go broke. A friend at the time had a juicer and lent us hers but one was not enough so we went for our own and have since aquired another one so we have two. I agree with you. It is so simple and not nearlly so messy as bagging and squeezing.
We made friut leather from the leftover pulp after I seived out the seeds with my foley food mill. The kids loved it.
Eileen
songbird |
| Kim |
Posted - Oct 13 2004 : 3:27:46 PM
Sounds yummy! When I was little, 4-5, my 'nana' and I used to make grape juice, we have a small grape vine in our yard. I miss those days!
farmgirl@heart
Be at peace with yourself and the rest will follow |
| Clare |
Posted - Oct 13 2004 : 06:19:52 AM
Wow! Jenny, sounds like a cool deal! I'd wondered where you'd been, now I know... =;) have fun with juicing...When you find a source, let us know!
****Gardener, Stitcher, Spiritual Explorer and Appreciator of all Things Natural****
"Begin to weave and God will give the thread." - German Proverb |
