Apple Cider

Beth and Tyler wanted to make apple cider at Grandpa Shoaf's house like we used to when the kids were little.  Joel and I and our kids got to go help.  Diane (Beth's mom) and Beth picked apple and we used up all the apples Grandpa Shoaf had.  We knew it had been a dry year, but we didn't know how dry until we started pressing.  We started with about 5 1/2 bushels of apple and only got 5 1/2 gallons of juice.  Paul said he had never seen so much pulp and so little cider before.  The apples were really 'dry'.  We weren't discouraged though, we plan to make a day of it again next year.



We had to remove a few unwanted guests.



Grandma Shoaf purchased this press when they were first married for $17, it was old then.



 Cranking the press was the hardest part, harder than it looked.  Everyone took turns to get the job done!



Look at our treasure, liquid gold!