• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Contact Me

Beyond The Chicken Coop logo

menu icon
go to homepage
  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Contact Me
search icon
Homepage link
  • Recipe Index
  • About
  • Contact Me
×
Home » Homesteading

Published: Oct 12, 2016 · Modified: Nov 8, 2020 by Kathy

Apple Cider Making Time

It's Apple Cider Making Time - An Annual Trip to a local Apple Cider Press 

Placing a lid on a jug of fresh pressed cider.

Visiting an old apple press

An old wagon filled with pumpkins.

We have a few apple trees that produce a handful of apples every year. My in-laws, on the other hand, have several apple trees that produce tons of apples.

Do you remember our apple pruning in the spring? All that hard work paid off with a bumper crop of apples.

After making apple pie filling  and apple butter and drying apples and eating apples, we load up the remaining boxes of apples and head north to a small farm to make apple cider. 

This old apple press has been around for ages. We've been taking our apples here for years, and it's worth the trip every year and I have to wonder if another press like this exists anywhere else.

They produce apple cider one batch at a time for each family's own apples. The size of the batch depends on the amount of apples.

A ladder moving apples into the press.

First you back up your truck to the outside of the building and dump your apples on this old conveyor belt lift. The apples are sprayed off and washed with water in a drum.

Apples in a large drum and then falling onto a conveyor belt.

Then up another conveyor lift to a massive chopper. The apples are chopped and all the pulp falls down onto a thick cotton blanket.

Each folded blanket below is filled with crushed apples.

Crushed apples falling onto a pallet with a brown sheet.
Apples cut into small bits on a large wooden frame.

Once all the apples are crushed, the pressing time begins with a massive hydraulic press. 

An old hydraulic green press.

The apples are pressed and a waterfall of apple juice cascades down the sides. This juice is gathered in the base and then flows through a tube and is pumped up into a huge holding tank.

Squeezing the apple pulp with a hydraulic press and juice pouring down the sides.
A large container hold 50 gallons of apple cider.
Filling the gallon sized jugs with plastic tubes.

The owner runs the press, but we unload the apples and fill all the jugs. This year we had 83 gallons! That's a lot of apple cider, but we just never seem to do things small around here.

We store the cider in the freezer and pull it out whenever we need some juice. It's a lot of juice, but between four families we use it up every year....Plus my mother-in-law makes a killer hard cider!

Cider in gallon jugs stacked in boxes.

All the pulp gets dumped out the back door into a tractor. It is then dumped for the cows to eat. When the cows hear the tractor start up they come running....they know what's coming!

Pulp left from pressing apples in a tractor.

If you make this recipe, I’d love to hear about it! Leave a comment below and snap a picture and tag me on Instagram @beyondthechickencoop

Be certain to check out all my articles on homesteading!

  • Morel mushrooms on a dehydrator rack.
    Drying Morel Mushrooms
  • Canning jars filled with chili with beans.
    How to Can Chili
  • A pressure canner on a stovetop.
    How to Use a Pressure Canner
  • Canning jars filled with chicken stock.
    Canning Chicken Stock

More Homesteading

  • Small canning jars filled with chunks of fish.
    Canning Fish
  • A bowl of green relish in front of several canning jars.
    Green Tomato Relish
  • Canning jars filled with tomato sauce.
    Homemade Tomato Sauce
  • Slices of homemade pastrami on butcher paper.
    Venison Pastrami

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Fred G says

    November 05, 2018 at 5:44 am

    Great apple cider

    Reply
  2. annie@ciaochowbambina says

    October 14, 2016 at 12:28 pm

    I love that press(!) and your thorough photo account of the process! Love everything about this - I can taste it now! A super autumn post, my friend!

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      October 16, 2016 at 6:59 am

      I think I love all things fall. Apple cider making is one of my favorite events.

      Reply
  3. allie @ Through Her Looking Glass says

    October 14, 2016 at 11:58 am

    Amazing Kathy - I love this post. I have seen an apple press like this once in Stonington, CT. It is quite an amazing thing to see and I'm so happy you get to use this press. YAY!!! 83 gallons??? Incredible. I would love to try your M-I-L's hard cider. Cheers to a wonderful weekend ahead my friend!

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      October 16, 2016 at 7:04 am

      I'm glad there are other old presses still around. They are quite amazing!

      Reply
  4. Anu - My Ginger Garlic Kitchen says

    October 14, 2016 at 10:28 am

    What a wonderful post. I have never seen an old press before — looks so cool. Your beautiful pictures are showing all the insights. Thanks, for this great share, Kathy.

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      October 16, 2016 at 7:04 am

      Thanks, Anu! It was quite a fun day finished with delicious cider to drink!

      Reply
  5. Laura ~ Raise Your Garden says

    October 14, 2016 at 4:35 am

    I can't believe it's possible to take your apples to a farm to make cider! So interesting. I think we eat ours and they don't go as far as we'd like from our 2 trees. Wonderful and insightful pictures!!! Wish I could take my girls to a place like that to learn.

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      October 16, 2016 at 8:15 am

      The kids love it! They get to help and see the whole process.

      Reply
  6. mira says

    October 13, 2016 at 8:40 pm

    Great post! And so much fun! Thanks for sharing Kathy!

    Reply
  7. Manali@CookWithManali says

    October 13, 2016 at 8:33 pm

    woah 83 gallons!! That sure is a lot! and what a wonderful post Kathy, loved reading it. I had no idea how apple cider was made so thanks for the pics and description! 🙂

    Reply
  8. Geraldine | Green Valley Kitchen says

    October 13, 2016 at 8:23 pm

    I love these kinds of posts, Kathy - so interesting and informative! I could only image how a press worked and now I know! When I was a naughty teenager, we used to drink hard cider - I'd forgotten about that!

    Reply
  9. David @ Spiced says

    October 13, 2016 at 4:53 am

    Fun!! I had no idea how apple cider was made. I mean I had a guess...but it's so interesting seeing those photos. And that sounds like a super unique mill. We're in the middle of apple country here in upstate New York, so I wonder if there's anywhere around here like that. Of course, our trees only produce a handful of apples...so that's a minor setback. Love this post, Kathy!

    Reply
  10. Dawn @ Girl Heart Food says

    October 13, 2016 at 4:42 am

    That is SO cool! 83 gallons? That's a lot! And talk about fresh! I'd love to hear more about your mom-in-laws hard apple cider 🙂

    Reply
  11. Rachelle @ Beer Girl Cooks says

    October 12, 2016 at 5:48 pm

    Girl, you either have all the right fruit trees or you know where to go! That sure looks like a fun time pressing all those apples. Good thing you don't have to do that by hand! P.S. I want some of your mother-in-law's hard cider!

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      October 12, 2016 at 5:50 pm

      You are right...I know the right people! 🙂 All our fruit trees are just 10 years old...not old enough to produce tons of fruit - yet! I'll save you some hard cider! 🙂

      Reply
  12. Cheyanne @ No Spoon Necessary says

    October 12, 2016 at 9:49 am

    Oh my gawsh, that old press is AWESOME!!! Love that they produce cider from your own apples! Seriously, this has to be the coolest post I've seen in a while! Makes me wish we had a ton of apple trees and lived near that press. I bet your cider tastes amazing! Cheers, Kathy!

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      October 12, 2016 at 5:41 pm

      The really awesome part is watching it in action! Simply amazing!

      Reply
  13. Marilyn says

    October 12, 2016 at 8:16 am

    This is the same process we saw on our leaf peepers trip in Vermont a few years ago. Brought back wonderful memories. ?

    Reply
    • Kathy says

      October 12, 2016 at 5:42 pm

      I'm so glad there are other old apple presses out there!

      Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




Primary Sidebar

The author holding a chicken.

I'm Kathy, and I love to create delicious recipes from scratch utilizing many ingredients that we grow and raise. I'm a recipe creator, food photographer, and cookbook author!

More about me →

Mother's Day Favorites

  • A baked egg in a puff pastry shell with the yolk running on the plate.
    Puff Pastry Baked Eggs

  • French toast with strawberries on a blue plate.
    Baked Strawberry French Toast

  • A stack of pancakes topped with fresh fruit and syrup.
    Quinoa Pancakes

  • Skewered shrimp on a plate.
    Honey Lime Shrimp

  • Puff pastry onion tart on a wooden board.
    Onion Tart

  • A glass parfait glass filled with raspberry mousse topped with fresh raspberries and whipped cream.
    Raspberry Mousse

  • A slice of lemon poke cake on a small white plate.
    Lemon Poke Cake

  • Oreo cupcakes topped with a swirl of frosting.
    Oreo Cupcakes

Popular Recipes

  • A single muffin topped with a crumbly topping on a plate.
    Banana Oatmeal Muffins

  • Breakfast sausage cooked in the oven.
    Breakfast Sausage in Oven

  • Crispy fish fillets topped with lemon wedges.
    Pan Fried Walleye

  • Gravy pouring over a pile of mashed potatoes.
    Homemade Brown Gravy

  • Crispy fish cakes on a white platter with lemon wedges.
    Fish Cakes

  • Pasta twirled around a fork and in a large white bowl.
    Garlic Butter Pasta

Cookbooks

Two cookbooks piled on a counter.

Featured In...

Beyond the Chicken Coop recipes have been featured in many different sites.

Footer

↑ back to top

Beyond the Chicken Coop recipes have been featured in many different sites.

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • Accessibility Statement
  • Disclosure Policy

Newsletter

  • Sign Up! for emails and updates

Contact

  • Contact

Copyright © 2025 Beyond the Chicken Coop LLC ®