Ripened Pears
My big box of pears were finally ripe this weekend, which meant it was time to start juicing. The pears had all turned from light green to a light yellow, and had gone from being hard as rocks to soft and melting. I can't tell you how delicious some of these pears are. They are very very juicy, with an almost grape-like or wine-like quality to the flavor. Its a real shame they're so small. Needless to say, I am now a huge fan of real pears, and will never look at those hard d'Anjou supermarket pears the same way again.
I set up the Squeezo, and with the help of the beautiful Dr. Wife and Boy #1, began pulverizing the pears. The soft pears were much easier to send through than the rock hard ones, and it didn't take long to make a grand mess. I was struck by how quickly the crushed fruit and juice oxidized and turned brown. We cranked and cranked, and once the plastic bin was almost full of pear pomace, I prepared to load it into the press.
Here's where I made a mistake. I didn't want to pay the $30 for the special cider press bags, so I just asked Dr. Wife to pick up some cheesecloth from the grocery store. First of all, the cheesecloth wasn't wide enough, so it didn't contain the pomace very well. Secondly, it wasn't nearly strong enough. With every couple turns of the press handle, a piece of the cheesecloth would rupture, splurting juice and crushed pear out on the deck. So after making an even larger mess, I just got a metal strainer from the kitchen, and used that to separate the juice from the pear pomace. Probably not the most efficient method, but it much cleaner.
After going through five to six gallons of pears I wound up with one gallon of brown, super-sweet pear juice. I poured the juice into a one-gallon glass apple-juice jug to begin making cider. Juicing pears is a lot of work, and unless the cider turns out to be truly remarkable I probably won't be doing this again. The pears themselves are delicious enough already.
I set up the Squeezo, and with the help of the beautiful Dr. Wife and Boy #1, began pulverizing the pears. The soft pears were much easier to send through than the rock hard ones, and it didn't take long to make a grand mess. I was struck by how quickly the crushed fruit and juice oxidized and turned brown. We cranked and cranked, and once the plastic bin was almost full of pear pomace, I prepared to load it into the press.
Here's where I made a mistake. I didn't want to pay the $30 for the special cider press bags, so I just asked Dr. Wife to pick up some cheesecloth from the grocery store. First of all, the cheesecloth wasn't wide enough, so it didn't contain the pomace very well. Secondly, it wasn't nearly strong enough. With every couple turns of the press handle, a piece of the cheesecloth would rupture, splurting juice and crushed pear out on the deck. So after making an even larger mess, I just got a metal strainer from the kitchen, and used that to separate the juice from the pear pomace. Probably not the most efficient method, but it much cleaner.
After going through five to six gallons of pears I wound up with one gallon of brown, super-sweet pear juice. I poured the juice into a one-gallon glass apple-juice jug to begin making cider. Juicing pears is a lot of work, and unless the cider turns out to be truly remarkable I probably won't be doing this again. The pears themselves are delicious enough already.
Into Squeezo
Dr. Wife and Boy #1
Pulverized Pears
Pears in the Press
Drinking fresh pear juice.
Full gallon jug, to be turned into pear cider.
