Discover Giles County Historical Society article from the Virginian Leader, November 4, 2009
Apple and pumpkin are ingredients in many of the comfort foods of fall. Apple pie, pumpkin bread, apple streusel, pumpkin pie, apple sauce, pumpkin butter, and apple butter are all fall flavors that most of us look forward to.
Apple cider is another distinctly fall flavor - not the apple cider found in today’s grocery stores that has been pasteurized to within an inch of its life, but the good, old fashioned apple cider that retains the flavors of the apples, the outdoors, and the cider mill itself.
At the Historical Society, there is an old-fashioned cider mill on display that once belonged to C. A. Lucas’ father, James C. Lucas, and was donated by Mr. and Mrs. Frank Winston. To make cider with the mill, apples were placed whole or cored into the wooden hopper at the top of the mill. The mill’s crank was turned by hand to grind the apples. Apple pulp including the skin and seeds, dropped from the bottom of the mill into a slatted, bottomless tub. When the tub was full, it was moved to the other side of the mill where a disk fitted with a large screw mechanism was placed on the tub. As the screw was turned by a crank, the disk pressed the juice out of the apple pulp. The resulting cider escaped through a hole in the bottom of the mill into jugs or other containers. Two people could work the mill at once with one making the apple pulp and the other squeezing the juice from the pulp.
The flavor of the cider varied depending on the type of apples used and the length of time that the cider aged after milling. Unfortunately, today there are concerns about bacteria in apple cider so it is pasteurized to make it safe for general consumption and inhibit fermentation caused by bacteria growth which removes some of the intensity of the apple flavoring. Apple cider is filtered to make apple juice, removing any of the remaining pulp and creating a sweeter, and further reducing the intensity of the apple flavoring.
Apple and pumpkin are ingredients in many of the comfort foods of fall. Apple pie, pumpkin bread, apple streusel, pumpkin pie, apple sauce, pumpkin butter, and apple butter are all fall flavors that most of us look forward to.
Apple cider is another distinctly fall flavor - not the apple cider found in today’s grocery stores that has been pasteurized to within an inch of its life, but the good, old fashioned apple cider that retains the flavors of the apples, the outdoors, and the cider mill itself.At the Historical Society, there is an old-fashioned cider mill on display that once belonged to C. A. Lucas’ father, James C. Lucas, and was donated by Mr. and Mrs. Frank Winston. To make cider with the mill, apples were placed whole or cored into the wooden hopper at the top of the mill. The mill’s crank was turned by hand to grind the apples. Apple pulp including the skin and seeds, dropped from the bottom of the mill into a slatted, bottomless tub. When the tub was full, it was moved to the other side of the mill where a disk fitted with a large screw mechanism was placed on the tub. As the screw was turned by a crank, the disk pressed the juice out of the apple pulp. The resulting cider escaped through a hole in the bottom of the mill into jugs or other containers. Two people could work the mill at once with one making the apple pulp and the other squeezing the juice from the pulp.
The flavor of the cider varied depending on the type of apples used and the length of time that the cider aged after milling. Unfortunately, today there are concerns about bacteria in apple cider so it is pasteurized to make it safe for general consumption and inhibit fermentation caused by bacteria growth which removes some of the intensity of the apple flavoring. Apple cider is filtered to make apple juice, removing any of the remaining pulp and creating a sweeter, and further reducing the intensity of the apple flavoring.
