Press apple cider

Pressing cider is a half-day at an orchard, and it is one of the most sensory things on the list: sticky, loud and sweet. The cost is usually under $20, because many orchards charge a small fee for participating or for the jug you take home. The idea is simple. Apples go in one end, you turn a crank, and juice comes out the other.

Find a pressing day

Not every orchard does this. Some run pressing days or demonstrations on certain weekends in autumn, and some only sell cider they made themselves. Check an orchard’s page for the word “press” or ask by phone. Pressing days often fill up, so book ahead if you can.

Ask a few things when you call:

• Is it hands-on, or a demonstration?
• Do you provide the apples, or should you bring your own?
• Is there a charge, and do you need to bring jars?
• Is the cider pasteurised?

How the press works

Cider presses come in a few styles, but the principle is the same:

1. Apples are washed and sorted. Bruised ones go aside.
2. They are ground or chopped into a coarse pulp.
3. The pulp is wrapped in cloth or loaded into a basket.
4. A screw or hydraulic press squeezes it, and the juice runs out into a bucket.
5. What is left behind is dry pulp, which goes to compost or animals.

Hand-cranked presses are slow and satisfying. Expect to take turns, because the crank gets harder as the pulp compacts.

Which apples

Fresh cider tastes best from a mix. Sweet apples give sugar, tart ones give brightness, and firmer, more aromatic varieties give depth. A single type works, but it is usually flatter. Most orchards will have decided on a blend, and some are happy to tell you what is in it.

What to wear and bring beyond the list

You have the sticky-clothes warning already. Add:

• An apron or an old coat, because juice and pulp spatter.
• Closed shoes, as the ground by a press gets wet.
• A cool bag or a cooler, to keep the cider cold on the way home.
• Clean, sealed jars or a jug with a tight lid.
• Wipes, and a change of top if you are very messy.

Keep fingers, hair and loose sleeves well away from the press, and listen to whoever is running it. Moving parts and crushing force are the main hazards, and children should be kept at a safe distance.

Food safety

Fresh, raw cider is not heated, and bacteria from the fruit can survive in it. Wash the apples well, and choose pasteurised cider if you are pregnant, or if you are giving it to young children, older people or anyone with a weakened immune system. Another option is to heat it gently on the stove until it steams, which also makes it a better drink.

Taking it home

Keep your cider cold. It starts to change within days, and it will turn fizzy and sour as it ferments. That fermented cider is on its way to becoming an alcoholic drink, and in the US that is for people aged 21 and over. If you are not drinking it within a week, freeze some in a container with space at the top, since liquid expands as it freezes.

If it fizzes, smells sharp or looks odd, do not drink it.

Warm it with a cinnamon stick and an orange slice and you have the hot cider from the list.

What goes wrong

• You underestimate the work. Cranking a press is harder than it looks. Take turns.
• You get covered in juice. That is the nature of cider.
• It tastes different from the shop kind. It should. It is cloudier and more apple-like, and usually less sweet.
• You made too much. Share it, or freeze it.

Make it a fall evening

Go in the afternoon, press a jug, and stop for a cider donut on the way out. Back home, heat a mug of what you pressed, and drink it while it is still cloudy and a little bit warm.