Cider Pressing

On Columbus Day, Nathan and Clara joined Marta and me and we spent a couple of hours picking apples for the cider pressing. With so many available, we were able to pick and choose a mix of Medaille d'Or and Kingston Black (apple varieties grown particularly for cider), plus Primas (dead ripe), Dutchess of Oldenburg, Liberty, and Rhode Island Greening. After we picked, Fred and Allison came over and we spent the next few hours pressing cider, altogether filling two five-gallon carboys and one six. The cider was sweeter than usual; 1.05 specific gravity was what I measured from the carboy the next day, and I added just under 2 pounds of sugar to each of the two carboys that remained here, happily starting to ferment, with the fermentation locks secure, all on their way to becoming cider wine. To celebrate, we drank some of the 2006 cider wine (bitter) and 2007, which I just bottled (fresh, slightly sweet, and promising). After the pressing, we played music on fiddles and banjos for an hour or so and then our friends departed, taking the six-gallon carboy and leaving us tired from the day's work but happy to have gotten it done.

Apple Report 2

The apple crop promised a better than average year in the spring, and despite the three-week drought in the summer, they have sized up and the crop is much better than average. The old trees that bear well are, and the younger trees that I've planted over the past 25 years are bearing more than usual. The earliest ones have gone by. The full sized Baldwin that I planted about fifteen years ago finally is having a productive year although it is not yet ripe. The Prima has been ripe for three weeks and are getting soft. The Liberty is ripe and tasty, bearing fairly well. The Dutchess or Shiawassee is ripe and bearing well. The old Milding has more eating apples than usual. It's an excellent year for russets; the Golden Russet has more than ever, and some of the older russets are bearing well. The one down the road to the Scotts may be a Roxbury Russet. The Rhode Island Greening behind the house, on its biennial cycle, is loaded. Within the next week or so we'll pick many and press for cider. In all, the best year for yield since 1997 here.