Apple scratters online are outrageously priced. So I googled DIY apple scratters and presses to build my own. I discovered many different varieties of machines people have put together. One guy bolted together a scratter with pieces of old wood he had lying around. He created a frame, crank handle and attached a wooden wheel to it. In the wheel he drilled screws in halfway that would dig into the apples and slowly pull them apart as he cranked the wheel. It was a simple contraption but would take some time and I didn't have the tools as well. Soon after I came across a YouTube video of a guy who had bolted a new garbage disposal to an old table and attached a large bowl with the bottom cut out to the top to it. He would feed the apples into the bowl, which would fall into the disposal and it would mash them up and spit them out of the side pipe into a bucket. It was simple and quite inexpensive compared to buying a new scratter online. I purchased my new disposal at lowes for $90 and a 2 gallon food grade bucket (also from lowes). I cut a hole in the bottom of the bucket and bolted the disposal to the bucket. It was pretty awesome.
As for the press I had managed to find a small fruit press online for around $65. It came with a small base, wood cage, and a handful of small wooden blocks to help press the fruit.
Once I got everyone together, I decided to test everything out! I grabbed some store bought granny smith apples chopped them up to remove the core and seeds. As I tossed the slices into the disposal, it quickly diced the apples up and spit out the pulp.
After I grounded up all my apples, I placed my mesh bag into my pressed and began pouring the apple pulp into the press. I wrapped the bag up to close it, placed the wooden pieces over top of it, and began cranking on the press. My first issue I discovered, at least with using so few number of apples, is that the crank screws down into the wood cage and you cant use the handle to get any leverage on the crank. I had to hand screw the press down. It still worked, however, I knew I would be leaving a little bit of juice behind in the pulp. I will have to get some bigger wooden blocks to help press every little bit of juice out of the apples.
As I cranked, the juice began to seep out from the wood cage and drain into my bucket. The juice was clear and tan as it dripped. When I was done, I poured into a wine glass and enjoyed a fresh glass of fresh cider. The clearness had dissapated to cloudy and the color had darkened.
From what I understand, the brown cloudiness in fresh cider is the particles oxidizing, much like when you cut an apple and leave it out on the counter or something.
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