Would this grape crusher work well with apples?

[hereistay]

I'm gonna made my first cider by using a grape crusher and a wine torque used to make grape wine.
The grape crusher is similar to an apple crusher but did not has the "knives".
Mine is just like the one in the pic.
Would it work well?
I'm gonna cut the apples before, naturally.

 

[Yooper]

Apples are alot harder than grapes, and I don't think that crusher will do much, except spin around. You could cut the apples really fine, but I don't even know if that will help much.

Before I had a scratter, I would freeze my apples and then let them thaw and I would smash them up by hand with a big strainer/wood tool. They would then go into the press. It wasn't fun, but not bad for small batches. For bigger batches, I finally found a large cider press on Craigslist for $100 and I love it.

 

[Freki]

Sadly I doubt it would work unless your apples are very over ripe. Those plastic "paddles" would probably jam/break if you have more than one slide of apple in the hopper at a time. What is designed for grapes rarely will work for apples (with the exception of presses) due to the hardness differences, skins, etc. You MIGHT be able to make it work if you run all the apples through an apple spiral cutter, let them sit at room temp for a bit to soften.

 

[hereistay]

Wait...
This is a pic from the web, mine is 100% made of iron/stainless steel.
I found identical crushers sold as apple crushers except for sort of knives welded on the paddle.
By the way these instruments are generally called "fruit crusher" , so it is not only for grapes.

 

[Jaybird]

The OP picture looks like a crusher de-steamer the last picture looks like a fruit crusher. 2 different tools. a fruit crusher can be adjusted (normally) kind of like a grain crusher. At least that's what I am seeing. OP post no that will not work for apples.

Cheers
Jay

 

[Freki]

Wait...
This is a pic from the web, mine is 100% made of iron/stainless steel.
I found identical crushers sold as apple crushers except for sort of knives welded on the paddle.
By the way these instruments are generally called "fruit crusher" , so it is not only for grapes.
View attachment 590541 View attachment 590542

The one in the original posting would not work, the ones in this may work. Ones made for apples are often stronger and more than likely metal or dense plastic. Many things I have seen labeled for use with fruit often are only good for already soft fruit.

 

[hereistay]

These crushers are all made of metal don't know where you see plastic in those pics.
Btw mine is like the crushers in the last two pics but the paddle has not those two little knives.
Just heard another Italian guy who uses the same crusher with success.
He firstly cuts the apples in slices uses this crusher and a wine torque with a bag made with teresia (ikea) curtain.
About 50% of juice.
I'm gonna make the same process with the same instruments.
Hope gonna have the same success.

 

[Freki]

These crushers are all made of metal don't know where you see plastic in those pics.
Btw mine is like the crushers in the last two pics but the paddle has not those two little knives.
Just heard another Italian guy who uses the same crusher with success.
He firstly cuts the apples in slices uses this crusher and a wine torque with a bag made with teresia (ikea) curtain.
About 50% of juice.
I'm gonna make the same process with the same instruments.
Hope gonna have the same success.

The picture appears to be plastic, it may be coated metal. I have seen some made with plastic that are designed specifically for grapes and berries. If it's metal, give it a try and see how it works for you.

 

[BILTIT]

Best answer, no it wont work. If you freeze and thaw and crush it might work ok otherwise apples are too hard.

Look at the pics of this one (i have one) and you will see the metal knives it uses. I think this would be a minimum design for any amount of apples (i crush about 200 lbs a year so far).

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B01HI6RAD8/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20

 

[hereistay]

It is a physical obviousness, apples are softer than two metal rolls.
Obviously I'm gonna cut apples in slices. At this point my only doubt is related to the distance between the rollers.

 

[BILTIT]

So why even ask?

If you have to slice apples I hope you only plan on doing a handful otherwise you will be at it forever. I crush whole apples and it still takes a lot of time.

 

[hereistay]

I'm gonna make about 50kg, it's my first time doing cider.
I asked because I saw those crusher quite similar.
Btw I'm gonna measure the distance between the metal rolls and report.

 

[BILTIT]

Let us know how it goes.

 

[hereistay]

A question.
Do you cut away the cores and seeds?
I read that according to someone seeds give a bitter aftertaste and they are poisonous.

 

[BILTIT]

I grind whole, seeds and core pieces are filtered out with cheesecloth during pressing.

 

[hereistay]

I did it!
It was not simple and I had a low yield.
The main problem is that the rolls of my crusher are too distant.
I obtained about 24 liters from about 50kg a 48% yield.

I have a question.
I measured the sugar content with a densimeter which showed 13.1°Babo/1.063 SG and with a refractometer which showed 13.2°Brix/1.053 SG...so two non equal values.
I read that refractometer measurements did not measure all the kinds of sugars in apple sugars but...what's the truth?
Ps: I used these tools with grape wine and they gave equal values.

 

[BILTIT]

I would say the refractometer is more accurate.

 

[hereistay]

So, after about a week the fermentation seems to have stopped.
According to my babo densimeter I should have about 1°Babo/1.004 gravity.
According to refractometer and a online tool I should have 0.998-1.001 gravity.
So I should have been finished.
Now, should I wait or should I siphon it and put inside a full demijohn to prevent oxidation and infections?
I should wait 4-6 weeks to bottle and make a priming.

 

[MarkKF]

A question.
Do you cut away the cores and seeds?
I read that according to someone seeds give a bitter aftertaste and they are poisonous.

I’ve been told not to core the apples. Not sure why or what they bring to the party.

Has anyone seen, bought or used one of these scratters?

 

[BILTIT]

Yes mark i use one like that.

 

[ten80]

I’ve been told not to core the apples. Not sure why or what they bring to the party.

Because coring more than about 10 lbs of apples is a chore and as others have mentioned, the seeds and cores are filtered out anyways. I press about 400 lbs of apples a year so I'd never finish if I cored them, especially the crabapples!

Seeds are only bitter if you break them open and they contain trace amounts of a cyanide-containing compound, but not enough to be considered "poisonous," which should be obvious because nobody dies from apple poisoning.

There may be a minor flavor addition from cores and seeds if you macerate your pomace for any extended period of time, but even that seems doubtful. I have noticed no off-flavors from seeds and cores when macerating for a couple of days.

 

[z-bob]

I think you would want a little bitterness from the seeds.

You can die from apple poisoning, but you'd have to save up a bunch of seeds and eat them all at once. If you're not doing that, I wouldn't worry about it, and I'm a worrier.

A kitchen garbage disposer should make a great apple shredder. I'm pretty sure the hammers, knives, and chambers, &c are all made of stainless steel. Just not sure if it will eject the pomace okay without water running thru it. Also might overheat if you run it continuously with no water. I bet someone has done it before, might wanna search on it...

ETA: (I knew I hadn't thought of that myself)

 

[Yooper]

So, after about a week the fermentation seems to have stopped.
According to my babo densimeter I should have about 1°Babo/1.004 gravity.
According to refractometer and a online tool I should have 0.998-1.001 gravity.
So I should have been finished.
Now, should I wait or should I siphon it and put inside a full demijohn to prevent oxidation and infections?
I should wait 4-6 weeks to bottle and make a priming.

If the gravity is not changing, it's finished fermenting. But it should be racked (siphoned) into a demijohn now to protect it. It will clear in the demijohn.

 

[Grad]

I freeze my apples, then take them out of the freezer and dump them into sanitized buckets and let them thaw for about 24-30 hours or until fully thawed. I then press them whole. It works very well and clean up of the press is a breeze. One thing I've found with pressing whole after freezing is that the juice is extremely clear. All the juice I've pressed has been pretty much as clear as store bought filtered apple juice.

 

[Chalkyt]

Hi MarkKF

Yes, I have one the same as the scratter in the picture except mine just has a handle without the flywheel. It works O.K., however...

- It will do whole apples but works better if they are quartered. I quarter mine anyway because we get coddling moth and I chop the really yukky bits out. This suits me O.K. as I tend to do a gallon at a time so quartering 120 or so apples isn't such a big deal.

- The pommace from this type of scratter is quite coarse (around 1/4" -1/2") so the pressing yield isn't great from my small screw basket press (might be better with a hydraulic setup). Only about 35% or so yield unless I mash it in a bucket with a pick handle before pressing which ups the yield to around 40%-45% and of course adds more work.

- The mechanism is quite robust but the gap between the rollers is too big, hence the coarse pommace. I have tried a couple of modifications such as fitting some rods between the rollers to narrow the gap but without success. Changing the gap is a problem because it is set by the gearing diameter, not the position of the bearings (which would be easy to change). Grinding down the teeth on the gearing might allow the rollers to be mounted closer together but the risk is that if it doesn't work, the whole thing is trashed. These days we are too used to the "undo" button on the computer!

- Jollicoeur suggests that you can get 50%-60% yield with a "sloppy" fine pommace of about 1/8" with a grinder type scatter along the lines of his design. That is potentially twice as much juice for the same amount of work, hence I am looking to build something like that for next Fall.

My scatter cost about $120AUD (probably about $100USD) from ebay here in Oz so it was worth a try.

 

[z-bob]

There are articles and maybe plans on the Internet for DIY scratters using a glued-up white oak drum with flathead stainless steel wood screws for the teeth. It runs on a stainless steel or oak shaft with oiled oak bearings (the rest of the frame etc can be built of cheaper wood, like pine) and can quickly process a lot of apples into mush that yields a lot of juice. If you're handy, you might want to look it up.

 

[hereistay]

Morning!
A question about clarification.
I'm going to put my siphoned cider inside a fridge where I'll put the temperature very low for about a month to let it clarify and avoid infections, before bottling.
According to you should I have to use also bentonite to let it clarify better?
I'll let it cool at about 2°C (36°F).
Or low temperature is sufficient?

 

[hereistay]

If I use jars like these made of PET plastic, just to let it cool in the fridge for 2-4 weeks, would it be a problem?
These jars are used to store grape wine.