200+ lbs of pears and apples and no press to be found

[Varonec]

So Live out in central Massachusetts. We recently bought a home and it came with 2 fruit trees out back, a pear tree and an apple tree, and to our surprise the pear tree grew a ton of pears our first fall. So I figured I would put some time into helping the fruit trees out and it's paid out in some decent apples and an even greator harvest of healthier looking pears. over 200lbs and we still haven't picked them all.

This leads to my predicament, Last time we canned a bunch of sauce but that was only about 50lbs and wow was that a lot of work! Well I have all the equipment for fermenting beer from my tinkering with beer brewing so if I can just get my hands on a mill and a press I could ferment a large amount of the pears and take a load off canning that many.

<---If you don't want any back story here's the point of this Post--->
​

Does any one know of where I could either buy or rent or even borrow a Mill and Press for pears and apples that within 2 hours of central mass?

Thanks in advance for any help you can offer I need to find one within 2 weeks. Yes, I know, very poor planning.

 

[RufusBrewer]

It can be done fairly quick and mostly cheap.

I made an apple grinder mill out of a garbage disposal with stainless steel cutting blades. worked great. Only challenge is mounting it. An old table can work well.

A press can be simple as well. a couple boards that sandwich a bag with crushed apple stuff. I used an El cheapo bottle jack from Harbor Freight. You have to see what you can come up with to push the jack against to get the pressing power.

 

[ncguire]

Call around, your local homebrew/wine making supply shops may have rentals.

If you can't find one to rent, borrow or buy, you can try the freeze/thaw method if you have enough freezer space. Freeze the fruit for a couple days and let it thaw completely. It gets really soft and you can squeeze the juice out relatively easily. Put some thawed fruit in a cheesecloth bag, put the bag in a bucket and use something heavy to smash/squeeze the liquid out.

 

[Varonec]

A press can be simple as well. a couple boards that sandwich a bag with crushed apple stuff. I used an El cheapo bottle jack from Harbor Freight. You have to see what you can come up with to push the jack against to get the pressing power.

I probably won't be doing anything like that with a garbage disposal but your idea for a DIY press seems doable within a week, I can process the apples with my food processor but it'll definitely be a chore for 200lbs of pears though

 

[RufusBrewer]

I tired the food processor route. It did not take me long before threw in the towel. It would take a long long time to get through the apples I had on hand.

The press can be easy. The tricky part is creating something sturdy and strong enough that bottle jack can press against. Other wise, all you need is a some strainer bags (look for paint straining bags at Home Depot) and a couple hunks of plywood to acts as the press.

 

[Deadalus]

Sometimes local orchards will let you bring your fruit and they will press for you. I did this once a long time ago, there was probably a small fee. My friend and I were able to get some apples pressed after they had finished their day's run.

 

[Varonec]

Here's a question: Would renting a wood chipper be a bad idea in terms of processing the pears?

 

[khannon]

In Amherst MA.. I have a press that was given to me, I keep meaning to clean, re-paint etc.. Probably usable with a good wirebrush cleaning.. Happy to lend it if it helps..

 

[Cogswell]

Totally spitballing here but how about a little electric mulcher / wood chipper like this?

Home Depot sells a bunch of them from around $125-200.

 

[Varonec]

Totally spitballing here but how about a little electric mulcher / wood chipper like this?

Home Depot sells a bunch of them from around $125-200.

yeah I'm curious if this is an option too.

 

[Cogswell]

yeah I'm curious if this is an option too.

Buy one and give it a shot. Home Depot has a liberal return policy.

 

[jtratcliff]

"Build an Apple Scratter - Brew Your Own" Build an Apple Scratter - Brew Your Own

 

[Uncle Bob]

I'm a tad outside your travel distance, and frankly still mashing and pressing my own apples, 25 gals of cider pressed as of Sunday and maybe another 25 to go. Here's the deal, if you can make beer, you can make a cider press. May wish to make improvements and upgrade with time but a basic press won't take but a few hours. DIY plans all over the web. As noted above, an inexpensive bottle jack from HD or Harbor Freight will provide all the compressing pressure you will need. In fact, although I enjoy making such pieces myself, I've seen a photo of a slightly, and easily, altered drill press stand from Harbor Freight converted into a very suitable cider press. Do a quick on line search and I am sure you will view something well within your price range, ability to construct, incorporate pieces already in your garage, etc. Worse case, a muck bucket, and some clean feet can get you through your 2021 harvest.

 

[Varonec]

these are all Awesome suggestion. As for sterilization, I want to use something. I haven't really played around with many products for killing any existing bugs in wort or juice. I just want to play it safe. Do any of you have recommendations of a product? I was thinking campden tablets.

 

[Varonec]

In Amherst MA.. I have a press that was given to me, I keep meaning to clean, re-paint etc.. Probably usable with a good wirebrush cleaning.. Happy to lend it if it helps..

Thanks for the offer, I just located a press on Craig's list to buy and keep.

 

[Cogswell]

In Amherst MA.. I have a press that was given to me, I keep meaning to clean, re-paint etc.. Probably usable with a good wirebrush cleaning.. Happy to lend it if it helps..

That's a beauty!

these are all Awesome suggestion. As for sterilization, I want to use something. I haven't really played around with many products for killing any existing bugs in wort or juice. I just want to play it safe. Do any of you have recommendations of a product? I was thinking campden tablets.

Campden tablets are the standard for cider. Some people add a fixed number per gallon. Some people add varying amounts based on the PH of the raw cider.