Apple Juicing Workshops 2024

Do you have a glut of apples or lots of recent windfalls that you can’t use up quickly? The good news is that the Foxlowe will be running apple juicing workshops this October.

Weather permitting it will be on the patio, or inside if it’s wet, on Sunday 13th October, when the building will otherwise be closed. These sessions need to be pre-booked.

The charge will be £15 per registered participant per session and we will run three sessions:

10:00am-11:30am

11:30am-13:00pm

13:00pm-14:30pm

Please read the details below before booking a place.

To book your place, email Alison McCrea at alison_mcc@btinternet.com and specify your preferred start time.  Please also provide contact details, ideally your mobile number, so that we can contact you at short notice where necessary.

Essential Information

We invite participants to register for a 90 minute time slot and aim for the numbers of apples they bring being processed to the bottling stage within that period.  For this reason we ask participants to restrict themselves to a maximum of 24 kg each[1].  If the slot runs over, there will be seating provided either in the garden or the Function Room (Bromfield), where the next group of participants can wait.  The cost will be £15 per booking per session.

To facilitate the process, we aim to limit numbers to 4 registered participants per timeslot, starting at 10.00am. However, registered participants are welcome to bring family/friends to help out. We plan to run three 90 minute slots each day, officially finishing at 2:30pm but with capacity to carry on till 4pm if slots overrun. We will ask participants for contact information when they book their places, so they can be alerted to any significant delay.

The following are the key work areas.

1. Registration and weighing table. Registration will include leaving contact details to arrange collection of pasteurised bottles. Weighing allows us to distribute bottles relative to the weight of apples brought.  The minimum recommended weight is 16kg (giving 8 bottles) and the maximum 24kg (giving 12 bottles).  The press and mill usually yield 1 bottle of juice per 2kg apples.
2. A table where contaminated (simple bruising is OK) areas can be cut from apples prior to milling. We can provide knives and boards for this but would recommend that participants bring their own and also that they pre-wash their apples.
3. The electric mill, which we’ll show you how to use. It’s important not to overload this, so apples are best thrown in in handfuls, NOT tipped from a basin or bucket.
4. The press and accessories which we’ll also show you how to use.
5. Bottling table. A large container with a tap is filled via a funnel from above and the tap then used to fill bottles that are removed in crates.  Please bring your own pre-washed screw-top 75cl bottles.  Wine bottles are ideal for this. We will have some spares but not enough for all the juice. Alternatively, you can bring your own large containers if you plan to make cider or apple ale.
6. Pasteurisers that heat the bottles and their contents to 80°C and hold that temperature for 20 minutes. The bottles are routinely removed on to a wooden board while still hot, so will have to be handled with insulating gloves.  They’re then left to cool and packed into bags, boxes or crates for subsequent collection, which will be by arrangement during the week after the session.

[1] For larger quantities, participants who have attended workshops and are comfortable with the procedure are welcome to hire the equipment for a fee of £25 plus a £50 returnable deposit.  Instruction guidelines will be provided. Alternatively, you can book an additional timeslot at the workshops.