(DIY) How to Build a Cider Press
Do you love apple cider? Why not build your own cider press and make your own homemade cider this fall?
Mmmm….nothing says fall like the fresh, crisp, sweet-tart flavor of apple cider! The kind you find in the supermarket is usually bland and watery, compared to the real stuff you can make, yourself, using a cider press. However, they can be pretty pricey if you’re looking to buy a new one, so why not build your own?
It will require a few items (listed below), but is fairly easy to put together, and MUCH cheaper than buying one! It should only cost you a couple hundred bucks to build (instead of a couple thousand if you bought one), and if you use quality materials, it should last for a long, long time, and provide your family with many gallons of apple cider to enjoy.
Whether you are going the sweet cider route, or making your own hard cider, having a cider press around is sure to come in handy when the apple crop is bountiful!
Here are some tips for building your own cider press:
What You Will Need
- a basic, but very solid, rectangular frame that can support the pressing process.
- an apple & fruit crusher
to mount at the side of it (available from Amazon.com
- an oak slatted barrel held together with stainless steel (this has to be very strong),
- a mesh bag to keep the apple pulp tidy inside the barrel and easy to clean out.
- a long piece of threaded rebar to act as a screw within the press and threaded through a large nut in the frame of the press.
- a thick and round wood piece that fits snug in the oak barrel that does the job of pressing,
- a clean base for it to drain into (which was a large new plastic basin with a funnel end pressed through)
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Learn more here: http://www.simplebites.net/how-to-build-a-cider-press-and-harvest-apple-juice/
Don’t have a cider press, or the skills or money to build one? Try this method of making apple cider without a press.
Note: We will be taking a “Blogging Break” next week, but be sure to check out our archives for lots of helpful tips on sustainable living! We will be back shortly with more great content on how to live a more sustainable, self-sufficient, and ecologically conscious lifestyle.
