# pressing cherries



## sheffield251 (Jun 18, 2011)

Ok, so I purchased a nice ratchet style press, i canjuice about25 pounds of fruit at one time. I hand picked cherries and I was wondering, do I need to pit the cherries, or can I press the fruit with the pits?


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## Cracked Cork (Jun 18, 2011)

press away, but is there anyway you can run them t hru a grape crusher first and let them set a little while on some pectinase before you squeeze them, this will help get a LOT more juice out than just squeezing them. good luck crackedcork


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## sheffield251 (Jun 18, 2011)

Thanks for the quick reply. I did not mention, but when I purchased my press, I also purchased a crusher and I did crush the cherries. I was just not sure that I needed to get rid of all the pits. I will crush away and squeeze every ounce of juice that I can. Thanks again!


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## Wade E (Jun 19, 2011)

I think you would want to get rid of those seeds or they might give off way too much tannins especially since they were crushed.


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## Waldo (Jun 19, 2011)

I would have frozen them for a couple of weeks first too. Makes the whole process much easier and you get a lot more juice


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## grapeman (Jun 19, 2011)

I'm surprised the pits went through the crusher without breaking something or plugging up. It may have also opened a bunch of them up, releasing way too many tannins. 


Are these sweet or sour cherries?


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## Cracked Cork (Jun 19, 2011)

Our crusher is adjustable, we set it real tight for blackberries and elderberries, if my cherry trees every gave me enough cherries I would just open up the gap a little for them. After you crush your cherries are you going to ferment on the pulp? I think a better way would be to crush your cherries with the gap open, add pectinase and ferment a few days and then press them, you will get more juice and the skin contact will give you some nice color. Crackedcork


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## Rocky (Jun 19, 2011)

I have made a cherry wine from sour cherries and I crushed everything by hand to avoid fracturing the stones. If you have a way to use a crusher without cracking the stones, it could be okay, but is it work the risk?


I like Waldo's idea of freezing them first. This breaks up the cellwalls and allows a freer flow of juice.


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## sheffield251 (Jun 19, 2011)

Thanks for all the posts. I went ahead and pitted them after i sent them through the crusher, they were small enough that they did not break open. I will also freeze them before I press the juice. They are sour Montmorency cherries; plan on making a 5 gallon batch.


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## Wade E (Jun 19, 2011)

You dont need to freeze them at this point. It helps if you have small quantities to freeze them and thaw before the crush as that process helps the cell structure break down but not so much needed when you have the crusher to do that work. Probably may help a little though. If you didnt have a crusher the freezing process would help immensely!


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