Fruit Press Advice

david p

Hey guys, I was looking into getting a fruit press as a gift but I just had a few questions before I order anything. The press is for my mum, who grows a bit of fruit and who has a good few apple trees, most of the apples from which usually go unused.

Is making juice using a press very labour-intensive? I heard from one or two places that actually grinding down the fruit into the pulp that goes in the press can take a good while. Does anyone have any experience pulping apples, and if so, is it very difficult?

Also, I thought a 12-litre model would probably be large enough and would suit my price range (100 - 200 euro), but should I be going for a spindle or a cross-beam model?

I've picked out a few, but I'm not really sure if there's anything in particular I should be looking out for. This might be a stupid question, but are all presses pretty much the same as regards build quality? Help is much appreciated!

http://www.homebrewwest.ie/bb-fruit-press-12-litre-spindle-model-2084-p.asp

http://www.clarkedistributors.ie/index.php?route=product/product&path=47_136&product_id=1376

http://www.wineworks.co.uk/product/11-litre-spindle-press/

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Quality-Fruit-Apple-Cider-Delivery/dp/B00A3AD5V8/ref=sr_1_116?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1365595685&sr=1-116&keywords=fruit+press

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Maxtra-American-Pressing-Basket-Manual/dp/B005EEPJO4/ref=sr_1_55?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1365595660&sr=1-55&keywords=fruit+press

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Selections-GF7537-Fruit-Press-Litre/dp/B004QLTGN6/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1365594174&sr=8-2&keywords=fruit+press

Khannie

12 litres is a goodly size alright. I have never used a press, but I've done a reasonable amount of research on them as I intend either buying or building.

It is a relatively labour intensive process and you need to bear in mind that it wont keep very long if you're not making cider with it or using some other method to preserve the juice.

I can't speak for build quality of those presses tbh. I haven't really seen reviews indicating that one was significantly better than another.

I know that's not terribly helpful, but it's all I have for now and it's slightly more than zero.

sharingan

I have a limited experience of pulping hard fruits for fermentation, but only in tiny batches (1 Kg).

I used a food processor to blend them into a smooth pulp, as I was straining the juices out.

You dont need a smooth pulp if you have a proper press, but I would try to make pieces out of the apples first.

A potato chipper could work really well.

On TV, I have seen cider houses use woodchip makers for the job.

joctcl

david p wrote: »

Hey guys, I was looking into getting a fruit press as a gift but I just had a few questions before I order anything. The press is for my mum, who grows a bit of fruit and who has a good few apple trees, most of the apples from which usually go unused.

Is making juice using a press very labour-intensive? I heard from one or two places that actually grinding down the fruit into the pulp that goes in the press can take a good while. Does anyone have any experience pulping apples, and if so, is it very difficult?

Also, I thought a 12-litre model would probably be large enough and would suit my price range (100 - 200 euro), but should I be going for a spindle or a cross-beam model?

I've picked out a few, but I'm not really sure if there's anything in particular I should be looking out for. This might be a stupid question, but are all presses pretty much the same as regards build quality? Help is much appreciated!

You have to base it around how many trees you apples you are trying to pulp, 2-5 don't bother, 10-20 consider one of the items you have above.
There is an apple shredder you can buy from the homebrew shops which is just a blade in a bucket.
The whole process is laborious and the time consuming but the product you make is great.
Dessert apples aren't great for cider and whatever juice you get, you will either need to drink it within 2 or 3 days or pasturise
Plenty of car jack presses on youtube if you were handy

david p

Gonna go ahead and get a 12-litre model, the capacity's probably slightly on the large side but I guess it's not a whole lot more expensive.

Thanks for the advice!

Zagato

Sorry for dragging up old thread but just thinking about getting one these too. Have about 15 trees and considering trying to make a bit of cider as apples are just ending up on the ground and unused.
Would love a bit of feedback on how it worked out for you?

david p

I went for one of these in the end, and it's worked out fine so far. We also ended up getting a fruit crusher, which I'd recommend buying if you're using some of the harder apple varieties like we were:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/7L-Fruit-Crusher-Pulper-Pulpmaster/dp/B007Q0HX0W/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1406750960&sr=8-4&keywords=apple+pulper

As the other posters mentioned, it's fairly labour-intensive, and we actually ended up cutting some of the apples into quarters by hand just to make them easier to pulp. The effort that goes into it makes the juice taste all the better though

CaptainAhab

Could someone explain the benefits to using a fruit press instead of a standard kitchen juicer please?

Reason I ask is I have a couple of apple trees and intended on putting the fruit through a veg juicer and making cider rather than investing in a fruit press, but it does not appear to be the done thing..

Khannie

I did that. Broke the juicer 17 litres in. I reckon you could achieve it on the lower speed settings so as not to burn out the motor like I did. It was slow going though. A fruit press would be faster. Also there was a lot of non-juice in with it that you wouldn't mind so much if you're just drinking it for juice, but doesn't work out so great with cider, so you lose quite a bit after it's all settled.

But yeah, it works.

Chimaera

I've been doing a little research on these as I'm planning to make my own press in the coming weeks.

I've a feeling the juice yield is going to be higher with a press than with a kitchen juicer. From what I can see, a kitchen juicer just pulps up everything and lets the liquid fall out of it, perhaps with a bit of help from centripetal force. The force applied by a press is going to be rather higher and improve the yield.

CaptainAhab

Thanks for the response guys.. I suppose come to think of it, a makeshift press could be made with a large fermenting bucket, some clean slabs of timber and a large vice.. time to google I think.

There are some decent looking presses available online, but unless you had a small orchard or a group buy I cannot justify the cost..

Khannie

Chimaera wrote: »

I've a feeling the juice yield is going to be higher with a press than with a kitchen juicer.

It is higher, but not significantly (I think yield for me was about 60% whereas a press typically gets 70% iirc).

Chimaera

Andrew Lea goes into some detail here on the relationship between pressure and yield in the press but basically it's diminishing returns: http://www.cider.org.uk/press.htm