Vigo County Historical Society

Historical Treasure Article

Historic Treasure of the Week - November 2, 1986
By Deborah Curtis Drummy
Vigo County Historical Society

In falls gone by, cider press was common device

Autumn was a bit slow in coming to the Wabash Valley this year, but it seems to have arrived, at last, and in full color, bonfires, fall festivals . . . and apple cider, cold or hot, sweet or hard.

The mid-19th century saw the peak of cider making in America, and rightly so, given the fact that 75 percent of Americans lived on farms and that apples were considered a staple crop.

Because it was easy and inexpensive to make, cider became the natural, widespread country drink.

In its fresh state, it was called sweet cider and was consumed by every member of the family.

If allowed to ferment for a short time, the sweet cider turned into "hard cider," with an alcohol content between 6 percent and 12 percent.

If hard cider was aged in barrels for about three years, it eventually acetified and became apple cider vinegar, an essential ingredient in the pickling method of food preservation.

This versatility explains why, when a farm was offered for sale, the owner took pains to mention that among the assets were an apple orchard and a cider mill.

The steps in making cider are simple. The first step is to select two or more varieties of firm, ripe apples, preferably mixing sweet and tart varieties. The next step is to mash or grind the apples into a pulp called pomace.

Pomace resembles applesauce, except it is uncooked and contains the skins, cores and seeds. (Some purists insist on coring the apples contending that the seeds, if crushed, could impart a bitter flavor.) The pomace then is allowed to stand 12 to 24 hours to allow oxidation to lend a warm, darker color to the pulp. The last step is to run the pomace through a press to extract the cider.

The typical farm cider press was a simple, hand-made machine with one or two screws operated either by hand or by horse. Pressure was exerted on layers of pomace from the top by a thick wood platform lowered inch by inch, squeezing out the juice. The juice ran out a trough in the bottom of the press and into a tub. The layers were removed, the pomace stirred and then pressed again. This leftover pomace was fed to the hogs, so nothing was wasted.

The liquid resulting from this process is fresh, sweet cider--untreated, no additives, and containing all the suspended solids rendering it nearly opaque. To the connoisseur, this is cider. Pasteurizing, vacuum bottling or the addition of ascorbic acid all turn the produce into apple "juice," a less flavorful beverage.

The historical treasure is a combination apple grinder and cider press.

The grinder section has a wooden hopper which leads the apples to an iron-bladed cylinder which turns by means of a handle and gears to grind the apples.

The press section has a threaded screw which is turned to apply pressure on the pomace to squeeze out the cider. The press very closely resembles a device patented in 1872 by the Ames Plow Co., and likely dates from that period.

The cider-making machine was donated to the Vigo County Historical Society in memory of Preston H. Price. The machine is located in the tool room in the basement in the Historical Museum.

The Historical Museum of the Wabash Valley, 1411 S. Sixth St., is open from 1 to 4 p.m. Sunday through Friday.