Grinding Apples for Cider

Nothing tastes better than fresh apple cider—and with the proper equipment, extracting this delicious nectar is easy and fun!

After picking and washing your apples, there are two main steps to extracting the juice. The first of these is grinding (aka “crushing”) the apples. Pressing apples whole would produce an extremely low juice yield, so you’d be wasting most of your crop. Running your apples through a grinder turns them into small bits that will release their juice to the force of the apple press. Our manually operated Maximizer® apple grinder/crusher features heavy duty construction with a powder coated cast iron body and stainless steel teeth set in a large hardwood rotor. Its large comfortable handle turns a massive flywheel for smooth operation. The Maximizer grinder can be mounted to the support of your choice, and our Maximizer line of apple cider presses include an optional swing-out mount for the apple grinder.

Our Electric Apple Grinder offers effortless high speed operation, grinding apples as quickly as you can pour them down its chute. And with its stainless construction and quick disassembly, it’s easy to clean after use.  This grinder’s tall, heavy gauge chute keeps hands at a safe distance from moving parts, and a safety lockout switch allows operation only with the chute in place. If you have a lot of apples to press, you’ll be delighted with the speed at which our electric powered apple grinder spits out pulped apples!

Pressing into Cider

Once your apples are ground, they’re ready for pressing. Cider presses are available in a variety of styles and a wide range of sizes, from the compact 1.25 gallon tabletop fruit press all the way up to our 80 liter (21 gallon) stainless steel hydropress.

Speaking of the Stainless Steel Hydropress apple press: What a machine! This impressive apple press replaces muscle power with water pressure. You might not think your garden hose could develop such force, but the first 80 liter batch of pulped apples will put to rest any doubts as you stand back and watch gallons of sweet apple juice pour down the sides of the stainless steel pressing basket. The hydropress consists of two basic parts: a stainless steel basket and an expandable rubber bladder. When the pressure of your standard water supply is applied, the bladder expands. Fruit pulp is forced against the perforated stainless steel walls of the basket, pressing the juice out the basket holes, while keeping the pulp inside. Built to deliver years of service, the hydropress is a high-volume, low-effort fruit pressing option!

Our popular Maximizer® apple cider presses are built like the proverbial tank. Available in 5.3 and 9.5 gallon capacity, their super-duty steel frames and large diameter Acme forcing screws let you easily apply tremendous pressure to a big load of apples. With tip-off yokes, solid oak pressing baskets and stainless steel juice trays, Maximizer apple cider presses are a real joy to use. With powder coated construction that includes a 3/16” rectangular steel tubing frames, these are heirloom quality machines that will still be pressing apple cider for generations to come. Choose from the standard model in either capacity, or the GSAM-equipped (Grinder Swing Arm Mount) model that lets you mount our Maximizer apple grinder right on your press. 

MacIntosh apple presses come in four and five gallon sizes. Like our larger presses, they feature heavy duty powder coated steel construction and tip-off yokes for fast, easy loading and unloading. Easy turning, large diameter Acme forcing screws produce big juice yields from these high quality, mid-sized apple presses. The T-design handle can be operated by one person, or double up and share the credit!

The Harvest Bounty apple press is a workhorse in the orchard. Its simple and stout design includes a horizontally pivoting top beam and heavy duty stainless steel juice tray. Available in four or five gallon pulp capacity, this cider press has a low, wide stance for excellent stability and its Acme forcing screw provides a lot of pressure on your apple pulp for good juice yield.

In the market for a traditional hardwood-framed apple cider press? Our Maple Creek Hardwood Fruit Press is a handsome and sturdy press built of birch hardwood and featuring a massively heavy cross beam and 1-1/2” diameter Acme forcing screw. The Maple Creek press is the very image of the classic wood apple or wine press, and with a generous seven gallon capacity this iconic press is as functional as it is eye-catching. 

Small quantities & nut milk

Not to be forgotten, our fine little 1.25 gallon Tabletop Fruit Press (and almond milk press) features stainless steel basket and pressing plate. It includes an anti-rotation plate that screws to your table or mounting board, and an ultra-fine mesh liner bag that allows you to press pulped apples as well as many other types of fruit. Ground and soaked almonds can also be pressed efficiently for delicious almond milk!

Orchard Tools

Be sure to check out our selection of quality Wells & Wade fruit picking bags, and our fruit picking poles will ensure that none of your apples, pears, peaches or other fruit escape your reach.

Homemade Cider

Making fresh apple cider is fun and easy. There’s no better activity for your family or organization on a crisp autumn day! Let Pleasant Hill Grain help you get started making memories and enjoying the delicious taste of homemade cider and juice today! If you have any questions, please give us a call. We’re apple press users ourselves, and we’d love to help you select the perfect equipment for your needs!