The sun., 1896-09-20
MODERN CIDER MAKING.
TIE oJD-TIME MILLS AND THE
NEW CoNTRASTED.
This IL = Great Apple Year In the wsst
and the cider Mills VIII ne Busy Other
FrVducts from the FrnIt OF the Orchard.


Prom the Chicdoo Record
GRAND RAPips. Mich, Sept. l0.-Tho appl
crop this year is Unprecedented. The trees ar
weighted down with fruit as they never hav
| been before, and with tremendous surplus o
apples on hand thousands OF bushels are bclnl
converted into cider. In some parts OF Michi
gan nearly every village and township has IL
public mill. whore the cider is made on com
mission or whore the apples are purchased out
right and the proprietor does the rest Thcs
mills are of every size and capacity. some thor
oughly up to date and others primitive in thei
makeup and hard to operate, but nevertheless
efficient In extracting the golden juice.
The old style mill-the cider mill which the
men of to-day remember as their boyish de
lght-was q crude thing and much OF II wai
made by hand and most OF the work was done
with the farmers brewny arm as tho motor
power. or possibly with a horse working in a
trehdmill performing tho heavy work. In the
early mills the apples were fed into tho grinder
with a shovel, and the grinder was not the
scientific affair that II is to-day. either 1t was
constructed something like coffee mill. II
hand made. as 1t often wns in the pioneer days,
the apples were fed into a box ana descended
| upon wooden roller studded with nails. Tho
| roller was turned by hand by means OF n crank,
as the apples were fed through they were
ground into pumlce and dropped into box be-
1
was shovelled into the pres. aud the Juice was
extracted by applied BY means % OF m hapd bi.
helpers working the screw.
| The press, like the mill, was ofton hand made
and would not be thought much OF in these
| timber. with a smooth board floor on top, the
| door crossed with little cutters leading 70 the
was tilted o lttel toward one corner. and as tho
cider flowed from the press 1t was caught in the
placed TO catch it. When the apples had been
ground and were ready for the press side pieces
then a lay er Of clean straw was laid In with the
ends extended upward The pumice was then
hsn the dss WsTe S3 swoSs
four-inch timbers cut for the purpose on the
,same principle as a log house is built, another
was put in, and more pumice was thrown In.
:. This was repeated until the press was filled to
place and the hand screw was applied aud tho
cider gushed through, the opening between
into the cutters and down into the tub placed
for 1t. The press would be screwed down as
flowed out the pressure ' % would be Increased By
few more turns Of the lever; this would be
S ucS a.d to se Gu
screw would be released and the top pieces
Into The top and would be pressed down again.
Be- Se
dry pumice with its layers OF straw would be
other load. 1t was a primitive mil. but 1t was
efficient In its way. and cider thus produced was
drunk by the farmer aud city man during the
following winter. furnishing the nucleus for
many a nights social gathering, with nuts and
fried cakes and blazing wood hre.
The modern cider mill Is constructed with tho
same ideas OF economy In labor and strength |
that enter into other epartments of the worlds
rarely that the horse treadmili will be found as
the motor power. steam from an engine which |
threshtng machine or u small farm sawmlll |
furnishes the power and practically all that the
cider maker has to do is to boss the job.
In the larger mills the apples are thrown by |
the wagon load into a big box outside and are |
carried to the floor above by means OF an end-
less belt which dumps them into the grinder, |
the belt and grinder both worked by steam.
From the grinder the pumice, ground much
hner than IN the old way. drops into the press.
The press is built on the same general princi-
pies as 1t wasin the olden times, but on differ
ent lines. There is long platform with the
tank for the cider underneath. on the platform
is heavy truck on wheels. travelling along steel
covered with cider cloth, a heavy quality of cot
ton goods. The pumice drops down from tho
a slated cover Ia put on with an
other cider cloth and more pumc is deposited.
This is repeated until the pile has grown four
cloth, and pumice The truck 10 showed over to
the press proper the top pieces are put in place.
anu the steam Is turned on tho screws for the
fnR, pressure. The screws work slowly so that
the juice will be gradually extracted instead OF
out In torrents. uevertheless and IL flows into
the cutters around tho platform aud into the
covering cloth. When the cider is TO be put
into barrels. the engine is again set in motion.
pump TO show the quantity passing through. 4
Eood-si cider mill OF modern construction
der day, and with less labor than nth the old, time
cidermaker produced his single barrel.
The cider is often made on commission or for
apples ana paying 10 have them made up. Tho |
charge Is usually about 80 cents a barrel Large
quantities are made up. however. by the cider
man for his own trade, he buying the apples
outright and assuming all risks. Cider sells for
are abundant, but N years of apple scarcity the
prices will run up to two or three times those | J
must have their barrel OF cider in the cellar FOR
winter consumption. and cider 10 often shipped
south for men who formerly lived in the apple
'eglons and who have not forgotten their fond ;
ness for the golden fluid.
beverage. Barrels and barrels OF 1t are made
into yIsg1r The process Of making vinegar
1arrel in warm spot and allowed to ierment.
FIRST Il becomes hard cider, and with time it
harpest kind. The vinegar making process is !
. few spoonfuls OF mother" " from barrel that
9 I, already vinegar. but the mother" will form
ometimes added to the fresh cider to hasten
he fermentation. but yeast does no good and
hoes hoe npoG mot expedite matters 4 j. s added late
,urrying. but nature works fast enough in ]
most cases and produce = better article Like |
rine, vinegar improves with age--improves in q
he sense that IL becomes more acid :
~ the larger cider mills cider Is not the only G
roduct. Evaporated apples. taking the place I
/ !, the uried apples OF our grandmothers, are an
Important Item In production. and so are apple | I
ely, boiled cider, and apple butter.
fnr oyaporated apples the better quality OF i
pples are chosen, and they are pared and sliced
machinery. In pairing the apples are stuck Il
revolving fork, and eccentrlcs carry them d
gainst the knife blades: the peel is removed in /
long strip. beginning with the stem and ending n
'lth the flower END. The core is removed at the | 4
lme time. and the pared and cored apples pass | n
m %o girls. who trim up the ends and remove any d
~ OF SKIN that may remain. The pairing ma 4
hine Is worked by hand in some mills bur bv a
cam In tho larger institutions n
Icing machine IL is fed into a box IiIe lie a.
'p or coffee mill. with numerous other pared D
ppies aud Is carried by grooved roller axalnnt a
ie knives. which are arranged one above tho | Z,
iher, and Just far enough apart to give the q
Ices the proper thickness. The sliced apples | IL
% Then sent To the evaporating room which | 4,