Breville Juicer for Cider: Do they work and do you need to peel/core?

Hi all,

Like most of you reading this, I love cider. And cyser. And apfelwein. And all sorts of other tasty fermented apple beverages. However, I recently moved states and in my new location, good apple juice is incredibly expensive (~$12 / gallon, vs. $6 where I used to live). Accordingly, I'd like to get into juicing my own apples, both for the quality of the juice and the price, since I believe I can acquire whole apples much less expensively.

I've read of people using Breville juicers to make their own cider, but there isn't a whole lot out there on it. Specifically I was wondering if anyone uses the 850-watt model (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B003R28HWQ/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20) to make their own apple juice for cider. I wouldn't be making more than probably 10 liters in a single batch.

I was also wondering, if you've used this juicer (or others), do you find it necessary to peel/core the apples first to avoid off flavors from the seeds/skin? I am more concerned with this than the actual ability of the juicer to process the apples, since it would really take prohibitively long to peel/core/juice enough apples for a batch if they can't just be tossed in.

Any input on juicers/presses/sources of apple juice is appreciated.

~Sirius

 

I have a Waring Juicer Pro, and I have made cider with it before. I did not peel or seed the apples first, and it was a little time consuming, but the cider was very tasty. As a precaution, I washed all the apples first, and then dipped them in Iodophor before juicing. I added sufficient yeast and had a normal fermentation, and produced a batch of very flavorful hard cider.

 

I have used a Jack LaLane (hey, it works) centrifuge-style juicer to make fresh pressed cider. Whole apples float in k-meta solution, slice in halves/quarters by batches, dropped in Vitamin C water, and then processed. I have also used my steam juicer.

Just remember cider operations do not peel or destem or remove cores...the whole apple is processed.

 

I've used one of those to process 5-10 gallons of juice at a time. Having control of your base blend is key to great cider.

It's produces about 75%-80% yield by weight, around 5+ gallons an hour, which I'm pretty happy with. Does make a mess though. I've found that it's really not more economical though, since a 5 gallon batch takes close to 5 pecks/1.25 bushels unless it's U-pick. Though I'm not paying $12/gallon.

I'll put a peck in a water bath, slice as needed to fit into juicer, juice, and pass juice through a coarse straining bag to get the last of the solids, pour into carboy, then add K-meta to the juice along with pectic enzyme 24hrs before pitching.

Peeling and coring is totally unnecessary.

 

Thanks for the input, everyone. I know cider operations don't stem/core/etc., but with a press you're leaving the seeds/skin relatively intact, unlike with one of these juicers. I probably wouldn't consider it if juice weren't so expensive, but it is truly ridiculous here...