My Maine takes: apple cider

Maine (WABI) – When you get apple cider from a farm or store, do you think about everything that goes into making it? We went to two companies to see how it worked.

Debbi Stephens is the owner of Pressed for Cider.

She said it’s all about balance when it comes to which apples you add to your cider.

“If you add different apples to a blend, you get a nice cider,” Stephens said. “We like to put at least 3 to 5 different apple varieties in our blend and make it interesting.”

Conant Orchards in Etna makes everything from apple cider to apple slushies.

Hannah Hegarty is the manager there.

She said Warren Shaw is the magic behind the orchard’s cider production.

“He’s our favorite apple picker,” Hegarty said. “He presses all our cider and is proud of it. He loves the whole process.”

Warren and Hannah showed us how Conant makes cider.

“We only use hand-picked fresh apples,” says Hegarty. “We dump about a couple hundred pounds into our hopper. And then it gets tired of our slicing blade system, where it cuts the apples into pieces and gets to a porridge-like consistency. Then the pulpy consistency is layered with cider cloths. Like five layers. It is then transferred to our hydraulic press table.”

She said it weighs about 2,600 pounds.

“Then that fresh cider is pressed into our refrigerator refrigerator and remains at a temperature of about 40 degrees,” Hegarty said. “We get the cider from that. And we put them in gallon, half gallon and 12 ounce jugs.

One man’s trash is one donkey’s treasure. They give the leftovers to their animals and nearby farms.

“All animals love apple pie,” Hegarty said. “So we like to give it to all the local farms in the area.”

For more information about Pressed for Cider, visit their website.

Click here to go to Conant Orchard’s Facebook page.