Just imagine for a second you’re an apple.
You’ve spent all spring and summer preparing for this moment. Dealing with the hot days and cool nights to grow big and strong. Now that it’s finally fall, you’ve got this unbelievably shiny red coat and it’s time to figure out what the future holds. Are you going to be picked by a nice family and made into a delicious pie or crisp? Will a young child take you on an adventure to school before making you a mid-morning snack? Or will you be placed in a bin at the farm and stored away for the time honored New England tradition of making cider?
For the purpose of this exercise, we’re going to go with the latter, since this is a look at the art and science of making apple cider, after all.
So whether you picture yourself as a mac, gala, empire, honey crisp, golden delicious or macoun, it doesn’t make a whole lot of difference, because in these parts all those varieties are what make a delicious glass of cider. In Concord, Carter Hill Orchard and Apple Hill Farm are well known for creating the tasty apple concoction – and both have their own ways of doing it.
At Carter Hill, it’s a pretty big operation. During the fall months, when just about everyone wants some fresh apple cider, New Hampshire Cider Works is putting in the hours. It’s a twice-a-week operation and the team of four will make upward of 1,500 gallons at the height of the season, but it drops off after Thanksgiving.
“That’s enough for a day,” said Todd Larocque, whose family has owned the orchard for more than a decade.
Since they UV treat the cider at Carter Hill, they are able to distribute to local stores in addition to selling it at their farm stand, which greatly increases the need to produce thousands of gallons a week.
At Apple Hill, owner Chuck Souther is something we like to call a one-man operation. Since the cider made at Apple Hill is not pasteurized, Souther cannot ship it to stores, so all the cider is sold at their farm stand and through private purchases between September, when the apples are ready, and Thanksgiving, when the stand closes down.
“We chose not to pasteurize, so we’re limited due to federal regulations,” Souther said.
Carter Hill
A couple years ago, the decision was made to invest in a state of the art accordion press to make the cider process a lot easier – and has it ever. The double-sided press will produce about 50 to 60 gallons of cider each time it’s smashed together, all by pushing a trusty button.
A lot of the process is automated, but having a human on hand ensures the proper steps are taken to make the best possible product, although it never tastes the same.
“It changes every week,” said Rick Duane, part owner of the cider company. “The flavor is different every time we make it.”
Right now, N.H. Cider Works will use 25 to 30, 15-bushel bins in a day. Just think about how many pies that could make. We could have a serious eating contest.
The kinds of apples vary, depending on what is in excess, but usually anywhere from four to six varieties are used. Having a mixture of sweet and tart apples will help balance out the flavor.
“Every batch is a little different,” Larocque said. “As you get later in the season, the varieties get a little better and you can put in whatever you want. It all depends on what’s out there for extra apples.”
The apples are brought before Eric Goudreau on a conveyer belt where he makes sure no sticks and leaves get through and any bad apples are eliminated. The apples lucky enough to make the cut are sent along to be washed and up to the masher.
“Four varieties of apples really gives you a good blend of sweet and tart,” Duane said.
The apple puree is sent through a hose to where Duane spreads it into the press. Cloth lines each section of the accordion and helps keep the apple chunks from mixing with the pressed cider. The cider collects down below – while the juice-less apple mush is discarded – and is pumped to the holding tanks where it is UV treated and strained. But nothing is added to the cider.
“It’s whatever the apple has is what’s in there,” Larocque said.
Then its off to the bottling area, where empty jugs are waiting to be filled. With a nine spigot system, they can bottle up to 500 gallons in an hour. The caps are even put on automatically.
Boxes are filled and sent off for you to enjoy. But make sure to grab it while it’s fresh, because the shelf life is about 20 days – although it doesn’t typically stick around that long.
“It’s as close to as fresh as possible. That’s what people want,” Larocque said. “And this time of year, whatever we make we sell.”
Apple Hill
While the process is quite similar, Souther does it on a much smaller scale, which is why he can get away with doing it by himself – just the way he likes it. He makes about 600 gallons a week at the height of the season, but on average about 250.
Souther will also use a variety of apples to help balance the flavor, and all the apples are hand picked by his staff, just like the ones they sell at the farm stand.
“We want to have that balance of sweet and tart,” Souther said. “So we set stuff aside for cider. We do try to produce a consistent product, but the actual recipe is a secret.”
But at the end of the season there’s one apple – the golden russet – that can make delicious cider without being combined with any other apple varieties.
“Mid October through Thanksgiving is the best,” Souther said. “You have the best varieties.”
They go into the grinder one large bin and one variety at a time. They go up the small conveyer belt to be mashed and sent through the hose to where Souther sprays it into the accordion looking press that is along the same lines as Carter Hill’s, just smaller.
The cider drains into a pan along the bottom and is transferred to the holding tank. The cider is strained twice before bottling, which is done at the very end to ensure all the flavors have mixed together. And that’s when the one-man band gets a little help from the farm stand workers, who enjoy pouring the cider because there’s no automated filler here. Just a spout and a couple of hands that also put on the caps.
“You want time for it to mix,” Souther said. “It helps if you wait. And we always take a taste before we bottle it. It’s like how the weatherman looks out the window.”
What Souther also does is sell his cider to places like Flag Hill Winery in Lee for, you guessed it, wine making purposes. He also fills up carboys for some local hard cider makers.
So with time ticking away on fall, you don’t want to wait too long and miss out on the cidery goodness.