Hey, in today’s video we will be learning the easy steps to making apple juice in a
press. You will need 2 jugs, a funnel, sieve, apples and 2 buckets, one for the good parts
and the other for the bad parts. You will also need a knife and chopping board and finally
a clean sterilized bottle. Here is the 20 liter apple press we’ll be using today.
Firstly begin by chopping apples! Cut small ones in half, medium ones into quarters and
finally large ones into sixths. This makes them easier to bash later on. And get your
family to join in to help prepare your juice pressing. Juice making is an ideal way to
use damaged fruit. Here we have a cracked apple so remove the bad part and cut up the
rest for pressing. Give every apple a light rinse beforehand. In this second apple we
have bitter-pit. Cut and remove that and again use the rest of the apple. Don’t press rotten
apple and remove any badly bruised parts. If there are blemishes don’t worry about
removing them, they’re still fine to use. Keep on chopping to quarter fill a fermentation
bucket or half of a normal bucket. When selecting apples for juice choose freshly picked apples
preferably picked that day however with cider they need to be 4 weeks or older. This device
here is our basher. To make one drill a hole into a fence post and fix in a strong dowel
which will act as a handle. Always keep the top clean! Now we are at the stage to bash
the apples. Personally this is my favourite part. It should take just under 2 minutes
to bash the 6kg or so of apples, might take a bit less or a bit longer but here is a great
time to do some competition for the competitive people here! Who can bash the fastest? My
family are quite competitive so that usually happens every time. What you’re looking
for can be best described as an even mush; I agree how it may not look the most appealing
however it is important you bash it to soften the apples which will result in a greater
volume of juice when you press them. You may need two people for this part, but if it is
just you, hold the bucket in one hand and carefully scoop out the mashed apples. You’ll
need to scrape rest as it sticks to the sides easily. Then with a spatula level out the
mixture, and you might want to place a jug down as drips will begin to happen automatically.
You just want to continue repeating the past processes, and should be around 2 ½ bashes
until the press will be full. As you can see the weight of the apples will naturally start
to press out juice before you have put any additional force onto it. We have come to
the stage of assembly. Begin by folding in the muslin fabric so none of the apple mixture
can be seen. After that place down the 2 semi-circles with the flat side pointing down. Stack up
at least 2 levels of wooden rectangles depending on how full the press is. Here I will use
3 as they will go down when the apples are being pressed and it saves me having to unwind
the handle and adding another level. Finally after that add the large metal circle, then
the plastic washer over that and then screw on the handle and we will come to the time
to make juice. It is time to make juice! It is easy to turn the handle at first and in
seconds you will observe a lot of juice coming out from the mash. The faster you press the
greater he volume of juice comes out. Within seconds you will need to change your jugs!
Now use any fine sieve or strainer placed over a funnel and pour the juice into your
desired container. A plastic bottle in a fridge will keep the juice fresh for 2 days to drink.
We are using a demi-John however, as this juice will be used for making cider. In a
20 liter apple press expect to get around a gallon of juice which is 4.5 liters. The
sieve will get rid of any residue from the mashed apples. Remember to frequently turn
the press every hour or so and let it drip overnight, otherwise you could waste over
a litre of juice! If you’re interested in turning your juice into cider I strongly recommend
you visit my friend’s channel at ‘Alberta Urban Garden’ or click on this link. His
video is a very detailed, fool-proof and easy guide to how you can make your own delicious
cider at home. Be sure to tell him I sent you! I thank you all very much for watching
my video and please like, share, comment and subscribe! I’ll see you again soon, goodbye.