Cider Press Party

We managed to gather enough apples from the Little Common in Southampton, the Lost Orchard of Hedge End and the churchyard of St. Mary’s in Swathling, to fill our apple store. Importantly, we had enough surplus to press out a few gallons of delicious Apple juice – or Cider as I like to call it.

I was looking forward to getting some action out of the new cider press, which we have been able to purchase with money from the Southampton Airport Community Fund. It had only been used once before by Dan, who is planning to open the Butcher’s Hook, micro pub in Bitterne Park Triangle, soon... I can’t wait for that either!

We asked some friends over, it’s a lot of hard graft and many hands make light work. Pressing a large amount of juice requires military style planning and the action goes something like this...

•          Wash the apples in a large bucket.
•          Chop the apples into quarters and remove any really bad bits.
•          Crush the apples into a pulp and fill the press using a fruit mill.
•          Press the juice out.
•          Collect the juice.
•          Compost the remains.
•          Repeat process until done.
•          Clean the equipment.

Fortunately, children really enjoy the majority of these fascinating processes and can be largely paid off with the best tasting apple juice available.

We added a few pears, kindly donated from our neighbours tree for extra sweetness; according to Dan (who is something of a brewing geek) the sugars are different and don’t fully ferment to dryness. We pressed the Red Devils from St Mary’s separately, just to see the red juice pour out. It was super sweet and we kept it apart for the children to drink as a reward.

I’m pleased to say that we did reach our five gallon target and the day was rounded off with a big barbecue for all involved. Everyone was fully tired by the end of the day, including the kids who were up late playing and, as I collapsed into bed, I slept the sleep of the deeply contented.

Red Devils at St. Mary’s

The first apples and pears of our 2013 harvest were picked in September from the mediaeval churchyard of St Mary’s in Swathling.

Naturally, we got permission from the parish guardians first; then we popped down to the delightful little church with our pickers.

The children were keen to get stuck into the job and first set about getting as many pears as they could. These were only small fruits but nicely ripe and many had already fallen to the ground so there was a risk of getting a soft one on the head!

Gary, the previous Vicar, called the apples Red Devils, because of the fruits colour. They have a dusky bloom when first picked but they polish up beautifully. Interestingly, the ruby colouring of the skin carries through to the flesh of these apples; this adds an interesting pink tint to the juice when they are pressed.

The Red Devils are lovely, sweet fruit but some had pitting and there was not a great many to pick. So, it was a fast, pre-dinner foray and we were soon home again with our fresh fruit. After eating, we were treated to the first Blackberry and apple crumble of the year.

The apples in Fleming Park leisure centre car park, are currently weighing down the tree branches, and they have a similar pinkish flesh. Maybe we will nip over there and pick a couple of buckets full to make some rosy pink cider…

Picknik # 3

St. Mary's Church -  Perfect Location For A Picknik

After the last Picknik's cut-down catastrophy, I was a little concerned that these enjoyable family events might lose some of their momentum but my doubts were unfounded.



Lots Of  Interesting Places



On our arrival we were promptly informed that the variety found here were named the Devils Apples, presumably due to their flame-red skin and flesh (well - let’s hope that’s the reason anyway).



And Here Is The Tree



St Mary’s church is the perfect location for weddings, praying or Apple Pickniks. It is a beautiful quiet, wooded spot out of the hubbub and traffic. My friend Diane had led us to this spot and we had the vicars blessing too; especially as naughty children had been abusing the lovely old church with fruit based projectiles.



Lovely Red Apples



We had a very good turn out with lots of small children running around the churchyard and hiding behind gravestones and bushes.

It's An Initiative Test

There was a nice cherry tree in the yard too and I even spotted a solitary pear on a small tree.

The Pear - I Picked It, Of Course

The buckets, bags and baskets gradually filled up amidst the friendly chatter and the crunching of apples being consumed; they were very sweet and quite ripe, so we must remember to come earlier next time.

This Might Just Work

Then, as we all trooped off down the lane to pick blackberries and check out the sloes we spotted some more apple trees, very much overgrown in the bushes.

That's A Cherry Tree Too

I decided to pop back for my picker and on my way spotted several more in the vicinity.

The Red Devil's at St. Mary's (ho ho!)

I picked a few samples from each tree and photographed them to document the evidence.
I do believe that we may have unearthed the Lost Orchard of Mansbridge and I will be reporting further on these findings in due course...