Zurich Citizens News, 1976-11-03, Page 20Page 20 -Citizens News, November 3, 1976
Cider
There's something about sit-
ting around a roaring fire on
a cold winter night sipping hot
mulled cider or waking up in
the morning to a frosty glass of
fresh cider instead of your
regular morning juice that
makes you feel good.
If you have the ambition, and
you can find the apples, Stuart
Steckle has the means of mak-
ing you the best tasting cider
you've ever had.
He operates a cider press on
his farm at R.R. 2, Zurich,
which will transform apples into
cider in minutes.
Windfall apples (apples
which have fallen to the ground
and are not good enough to
keep for any length of time) are
excellent cider -making apples,
and they are usually very cheap.
If you go and pick them up from
under the trees yourself, you
can get them for anywhere from
$1 to $4 a bushel. Don't worry if
they are bruised, scabbed or
otherwise not nice to look at,
it only seems to make the cider
taste better.
The next step is to deliver
the apples as soon as possible
to the cider press. Years ago
there were probably quite a few
of these presses in action, but
today they are not so plenti-
ful but you can take your
apples to Stuart Steckle and
have your apples pressed into
that aromatic juice for only
25¢ a gallon.
"We start pressing in Octo-
ber usually," says Stuart,
"and keep right on until it
gets too cold in November,"
but usually we only do pressing
on Saturdays.
The cider press on the Steckle
farm has been in operation for
a good many years. As far back
as Stuart can remember his
father Menno ran the press and
it looks as if it's been around
for quite some time.
The apples are dumped into
one end of the press and are
processed through a shredder.
The shredded apples fall onto a
movable rack at the other end
of the press where it is leveled
out. Then the rack is pushed
back into the machine. A hydro-
lic press is started and presses
the shredded apple from the
bottom up. The juice goes into
a trough on the side of the
machine and from there it is
treat we can all afford
THE FINISHED PRODUCT—The freshly pressed cider is drain-
ed out of the trough into containers as Stuart Steckle is doing.
The press does the squeezing, but you must bring your own
apples and containers for the juice. Photo by McKinley
drained through a hose into
containers. The entire process
only takes minutes.
How many apples do you
need to supply your family with
cider for the winter? Quite a
few.
"I usually figure on getting
about two gallons of cider for
every bushel of apples," says
Stuart. However, this does vary
with the juiciness of the apples.
A combination of spies and
delicious apples gives a large
amount of sweet -tasting cider.
The cider is 100 percent pure
of course, and there is no need
to worry about chemical addi-
tives used in so many canned
juices.
Now once the cider is press-
ed, the cider will keep in a cool
place for about a week before
it starts to ferment. The best
idea is to take out what you
think you will drink in a week
and store it in your refriger-
ator. The rest should be pro-
cessed immediately.
The processing is not hard, it
just takes time and patience.
The cider must be heated just
to the boiling point but it must
be removed from the heat the
instant it begins to boil, in
other words it must be scalded.
Any impurities will float to the
surface forming a scum which
CIDER PRESS IN ACTION—Stuart Steckle uses a wide hoe to level the pile
it falls onto a moveable tray, part of his cider press. From here the tray is
machine and a hydrolic press squeezes the apples from the bottom up forcing
of shredded apples as
pushed back into the
the cider out.
Photo by McKinley
should be removed as the cider
heats, It should then be poured
into sterilized jars anc1- sealed.
Done properly, your cider will
now stay fresh and delicious all
winter long. If the cider boils,
it will turn a dark color and lose
much of its flavor.
Or, if you have room in your
freezer, just pour the fresh
cider into clean plastic or glass
containers making sure to leave
some room for expansion and
freeze. Cider freezes very well
and when thawed tastes exact-
ly like the freshly pressed juice.
Foster ar
re
The annual. Huron County
Children's Aid Society banquet
held at Clinton last week was told
that • foster parents and volun-
teers bring more joy than could
be measured.
Angela M. Armitt, director of
the department of summer
schools and extension at the
University of Western Ontario
regaled those attending as she
spoke on the topic of "Com-
municating with People."
Such communication, ac-
cording to Miss Armitt, is hest
conducted through humor. "If we
can laugh together, so much
tension would go out of life," she
said.
Miss Armitt told the gathering
that there was humor. all around
if they would listen for it. "The
only way to enjoy true humor,"
she said, "is to listen to what's
going on around you."
During the banquet the
Children's Aid Society honored a
number of its long term foster
parents and volunteers. Special
It may be a lot more bother
than walking into your grocery
store and picking a can of apple
juice off the shelf, but it is not
only cheaper, it tastes better
and is better for you. Besides,
the importance of the exer-
cise you get picking the apples
up in the first place should not
be underestimated. Perhaps
most important of all, you have
the satisfaction of leaning back
on a blustery winter night,
sipping your cider and feeling
the satisfaction that comes from
knowing you did a job well.
eA• . t s
joy
certificates recognizing 15 years
as foster parents went to Grant
and Jean Williams of
Mississauga. Certificates
recognizing 10 years service were
presented to Herman and Jannie
Van Wieren of Hensall; Howard
and Ann James of Egmondville;
and Cornelius and Anna Brand of
Clinton.
Five year certificates went to
John and Kathleen Siertsema of
Bayfield; William and Frances
Gross of Fordwich, George and
Patricia Gibson of Goderich,
Ralph and Sharon Barlow of
Wingham, John and Carol
Boneschansker of Ethel and
George and Eunice Lynn of
Ethel.
A 15 year certificate for service
as a volunteer was presented to
Audrey Tyreman of Goderich
while five year certificates as
volunteers went to Roxie Adams
of Goderich, Charles Adams of
Goderich and Vernice Stanbury
of Goderich.
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