Signs of Fall: Preserving Apples

Two events this past weekend highlighted one symbol of the season: Apples.  

At an event hosted by Cornell's New World Agriculture and Ecology Group, participants learned how to make and preserve applesauce and apple butter and invited to buy the finished product for $2 per pint.  Last year, the group made more than 60 pints of applesauce.

At another event, hosted by IthaCan*, apples transformed into cider, with the help of a hand-powered press. An informal assembly line of participants washed apples, dropped them into the press, turned a crank to grind up the apples, turned the press to squeeze the juice from the apples, strained the soilds from the liquid, and filled containers.  Over the course of the morning, about 7 bushels of organic apples from West Haven Farm and other sources became about 14 gallons of fresh cider.  Some people planned to drink their cider fresh, while others planned to freeze or pasteurize and can theirs for longer storage.

*yours truly is a member of the IthaCan admin team.