Cider; Juicing apples without a press

RebelButtMunch

Hi,
Any recommended ways to get the juice from apples without a press?
Options I've seen so far;
Freeze the apples, defrost, mash, strain
Blend the apples in a food processer, strain
Boil the apples, strain.

Thanks in advance

b.t.w I'm also planning on using a mixture of cooking/sweet apples if anyone has any advice on that too...

sharingan

RebelButtMunch wrote: »

Hi,
Any recommended ways to get the juice from apples without a press?
Options I've seen so far;
Freeze the apples, defrost, mash, strain
Blend the apples in a food processer, strain
Boil the apples, strain.

Thanks in advance

b.t.w I'm also planning on using a mixture of cooking/sweet apples if anyone has any advice on that too...

Don’t boil them.

Food processors and juicers will work for small batches, but you risk burning them out for a large batch of cider.

You could attach a blade to a drill.

Effects

I got sick of using my press halfway through last year and used the juicer for the rest.
I made sure to rest it a good bit, but it's a pain to have to keep emptying/clearing it.

SoupyNorman

Effects wrote: »

I got sick of using my press halfway through last year and used the juicer for the rest.
I made sure to rest it a good bit, but it's a pain to have to keep emptying/clearing it.

I've be interested to know how much loss there may be with a juicer? I was using on then when I finally got my press it seemed like I was getting way more juice.

What capacity press did you have? I have an 18L which I dont find too bad.



OP, the methods you state sound like ALOT of hardship. Invest in a press or a juicer.

Effects

SoupyNorman wrote: »

What capacity press did you have? I have an 18L which I dont find.

Not sure what size it is in terms of litres.
It’s medium sized and well used when I got it.

I might try and adjust the press to make it easier this year.

I made about 40 litres last year.
Hoping for more this year.

RebelButtMunch

I did a little experiment yesterday with a frozen and defrosted apple and the results weren't great. I'm thinking that I'm only gonna make one demijohn worth of cider so I might just chicken out and buy a ready made syrup from the homebrew store. It's a pity but making or buying a press just for that seems like a lot. I'm still half tempted to make one with a car jack.

loyatemu

you can get decent results with cloudy apple juice from Lidl or Aldi - add some strong tea to the mix for tannins.

SoupyNorman

loyatemu wrote: »

you can get decent results with cloudy apple juice from Lidl or Aldi - add some strong tea to the mix for tannins.

I’m doing this right now, am about 1.5 weeks into fermentation.

I never added in any tannins, is it save enough to do that now?

loyatemu

SoupyNorman wrote: »

I’m doing this right now, am about 1.5 weeks into fermentation.

I never added in any tannins, is it save enough to do that now?

yeah, you could add it when bottling too.

RebelButtMunch

Great info here, thanks folks. I'm going for the shop bought apple juice solution. With Malic and tannins added.