# JUICING UP THE INVENTORY



## NorthernWinos (Jul 20, 2008)

Seems it is time to rotate the stock in the freezers.....make room for this years crops....

Much to my surprise there was still 60# of Chokecherries out in the freezer in the garage....out of sight/out of mind....




Plus the neighbor wants to clean out his freezer and offered his Chokecherries from last year.....

So, I brought in 20# and will juice it up for another batch of our favorite Chokecherry Wine...Probably will do 2 batches as it is not only our favorite but the favorite of the whole neighborhood....






Will probably make up more Chokecherry Pancake Syrup too.....that goes down good. 

Looks like a pretty good crop hanging on the bushes, tho the clusters don't look as large as last year....


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## NorthernWinos (Jul 25, 2008)

So, it's been a bit of a marathon....
I juiced up our 62# of fruit..... then a neighbor brought over his 44#.....I finished juicing them yesterday...

So, I have this wine thing going....






Have juice preserved in mason jars for the 'Wine Effort'...at least 2 more batches....






Today I did the pancake syrup thing.....






Washed everything, put all my 'toys' away...and want to play a new game....

Haven't had any Chemo pills since Tuesday and won't have treatment till next Tuesday...so this is as good as I am going to feel .....

Headed to a car show/swap meet/antique market in the early dawn....It's one of the biggest swaps in MN....acres of good stuff to see and buy....it is an annual event for us and am so great full I feel good enough to go...[I hope]

Life is Good!!!!


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## Wade E (Jul 25, 2008)

I bet that syrup is like liquid heaven!!!


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## smokegrub (Jul 25, 2008)

Hey, guys, are chokecherries synonymous with wild cherries? Our "wild cherries" mature in the early fall and the foilage is toxic to livestock.


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## JWMINNESOTA (Jul 25, 2008)

May be one and the same, I believe the leaves are toxic, especially after a frost, or broken, releasing cyanide. Heres a link that describes them a bit.


http://www.rook.org/earl/bwca/nature/shrubs/prunusvir.html


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## smokegrub (Jul 26, 2008)

Thanks, JW. I will check these out carefully.


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## Cracked Cork (Jul 26, 2008)

HI Northerwino, I got the steamer and steamed a bunch of elderberry and blackberries, still in the carboys waiting until fall. We want to make some elderberry and blackberry syrup with our steamer, can you give us some recipies and hints?

Thanks,

Crackedcork


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## NorthernWinos (Jul 26, 2008)

Here is the recipe I used...

~~~~~~~~~~CHOKECHERRY PANCAKE SYRUP~~~~~~~~~~~

5 CUPS JUICE
½ tsp BUTTER [prevents foaming]
1 PK POWDERED PECTIN
1 CUP WHITE CORN SYRUP
1 tsp ALMOND FLAVOR [Chokecherries have kind of an almond flavor]

BOIL 1 MIN

ADD:
2 CUPS SUGAR 

BOIL 1 MIN...
POUR INTO HOT STERILIZED JARS....
FILL TO 1/8 INCH FROM TOP...
WIPE RIM...
TOP WITH HOT STERILIZED LIDS...

If using liquid pectin...Add the sugar in the beginning, boil, add the pectin, boil [as per manufacturers instructions in process]

If you boil it too long you get jelly.

ENJOY!!!


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## Bert (Jul 26, 2008)

Have you tried other juices with this recipe???? I'm thinking crabapple, june berry or others??? This sounds like it could be interesting and fun...


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## NorthernWinos (Jul 26, 2008)

I have made blueberry and blackberry in the past...all with steam extracted juice...

Going to try some wine pancake syrup for Christmas gifts.

Have fun...enjoy!!!


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## rgecaprock (Jul 26, 2008)

Everything is so neat and lined up. You have the most organized operation going there!!! Mine would be all over the place!!!...Great Presentation!!!


Ramona


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## Waldo (Jul 27, 2008)

Northern Winos said:


> I have made blueberry and blackberry in the past...all with steam extracted juice...
> 
> Going to try some wine pancake syrup for Christmas gifts.
> 
> Have fun...enjoy!!!




Hmmmm, wonder what fellow has to do to get on that list !!!






It all looks wonderful NW.


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## Jack on Rainy (Jul 27, 2008)

I'm not doing fruit wines yet but this is sure an interesting thread. Good stuff! Thanks.


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## NorthernWinos (Jul 30, 2008)

After juicing up the last of the freezer Chokecherries last week I wanted to make 2 batches so we would have plenty of our favorite wine on hand.

I mixed up another batch of Chokecherry Wine this morning....same recipe..hopefully same wonderful wine.






I took inventory of our wine juice supply stored in our Spare Bedroom/juice/wine aging room.....It appears there is 60 quarts of chokecherry juice [6 batches]..... 40 quarts of apple juice [2 batches of sparling apple wine]...... 10 quarts Sandcherry .....10 quarts crabapple juice...11 quarts raspberry juice and some strawberry juice...enough for a batch of each....
*So...I ask myself....?????? What are you thinking????? *
When is enough..enough???

I am picking raspberries everyday...because that is one of our favorite wines.....I want to pick blueberries....because we like that too.....I am watching the Chokecherries and am beginning to realize.....

*I need some help!!!!* 
Is there a support group to help us control ourselves????
But...then there is always the possibility there will be no fruit next year....
So...we continue to hoard our fruits and berries and juices...

Guess it's not really a bad-thing.


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## Wade E (Jul 30, 2008)

Too much is always better then not enough when its a good thing.


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## smokegrub (Jul 30, 2008)

Want my mailing address? I'll be happy to relieve you of some of this horrid pressure! : )


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## NorthernWinos (Jul 31, 2008)

Smoke



....are you picking fruit too in your area.....It's really interesting to see what fruits people are picking in different areas of the country.


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## poppysue (Aug 1, 2008)

Northern winos, You have inspired me to try my luck with the chokecherry. I have a nice Canadian Red Chokecherry tree in my yard and the berries arepretty muchripe now. I figure I should get my butt out there tomorrow if I want to get some before the birds eat them all. Can you give me a guestimate of how many berries you use per gallon to get your reccommended amount of juice? I don't have a juicer so I'll either have to do the strainer bag method or I thought I might me able to run them through my Roma tomato strainer to get the pits out and pulp them up into a juice.


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## NorthernWinos (Aug 1, 2008)

I usually use 20-22# for a 6 gallon batch...that is using the steamer.

I think 3-4# per gallon would be good....You can get this wine too strong...I found that out with a batch once....used a couple extra quarts of juice.


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## poppysue (Aug 2, 2008)

How about ripeness of the cherries? I went out this morningwith my bucketbut now I'm thinking maybe I should wait a couplemore days. Some of the clusters lookblack-redbut others are more red-red. I know the more ripe they are the better... but will it hurt the wine if some of them are under ripe? I'm afraid if I wait too long there won't be anything left.


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## NorthernWinos (Aug 2, 2008)

We like to let them get pretty ripe, but then there are always some red ones inside the clusters....

It's a tough choice....trying to beat the birds is important.

I don't know that if you picked them a little red if they would ripen in a pan on the cupboard....

Is the tree too large to throw a net or pin a sheet over it for a few days???

*Edited by: Northern Winos *


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## smokegrub (Aug 2, 2008)

Yes, I picked 65 pounds of blackberries, sacrificing lots of blood and picking up major thorns that my wife "dug out". I finished steam-juicing these yesterday and got 31 1/2 quarts juice.

A neighbor also gave me a pile of pears which I steam-juiced and got 13 quarts.

I will have apples this fall and hope to get some elderberries.

On another note, in the mountainous portion of the state we have what are known locally as "wild cherries" that ripen in the fall. The foilage is toxic. Do you know if these are, in reality, chokecherries?

By the way, I enjoy your posts and photos.


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## poppysue (Aug 2, 2008)

Smoke,
I'd be willing to bet your wild cherries arealso choke cherries. All Cherry species have poisonous foliage, bark and seeds. Icopied this off the interenet....


"Cherry and its relatives can be easily identified by examining the base of the leaves. There are one or two small bumps (glands) on the leaf stalk next to the green blade." I'll look at mine outside and see if I can see these glands.


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## NorthernWinos (Aug 2, 2008)

Smokegrub said:


> Yes, I picked 65 pounds of blackberries, sacrificing lots of blood and picking up major thorns that my wife "dug out". I finished steam-juicing these yesterday and got 31 1/2 quarts juice.
> 
> 
> 
> ...



They could be Chokecherries....can you Post photos of the foilage and berries...or Google Chokecherries and compare.

They make awesome wine.


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## smokegrub (Aug 2, 2008)

I will Google chokecherries since I have no photos available. Thanks.


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## NorthernWinos (Aug 2, 2008)

Here is the latest Chokecherry Wine doing it's magic...

This morning it was foamed way up the bucket...this PM it's just a fizzing away.....


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## Waldo (Aug 2, 2008)

Awesome looking NW !!


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## NorthernWinos (Aug 4, 2008)

Don't know where all these Raspberries keep coming from.....

I keep thinking that the next picking will be smaller, I did miss a day and much to my surprise got a nice bunch of berries again today........Think I will pick every other day till they are done....

They are so late this year....but everything started late.






Going to have to juice up some Raspberries real soon...freezer is getting full of them....Will put the juice in mason jars and be ready to make wine later.

Now the broccoli and beans need processing...As well there is a bumper crop of red beets to make some pickles....

No rest this time of the year.....


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## NorthernWinos (Aug 7, 2008)

Freezer was just too full...Time to juice up some of the Raspberries and make some room....






Did about 21-22#...Not much left to them once they are steamed...






Got 10+ quarts of juice to make some Raspberry Wine at a later date...






The plants have given much fruit considering how dry it is...The old canes are starting to dry but still have a few berries to harvest....Will pick more....

*Edited by: Northern Winos *


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## Wade E (Aug 7, 2008)

Looks like some of those raspberries still have some life left in them.


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## smokegrub (Aug 7, 2008)

Great looking juice.


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## NorthernWinos (Aug 12, 2008)

I finished juicing up the raspberries that were in the freezer....must have been about 75-80#....I got 38 quarts of beautiful dark red juice.






I see there are still 14 quarts left from last year.....That will give many batches of various Raspberry Wines.....

I think I can safely remove one row of Raspberries this fall and replant next year....then in a couple years will have production again.

I think this hobby/obsession is getting out of hand.

Meanwhile...there is some room in the freezer....Maybe ...make and freeze up a bunch of Zucchini Bread????


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## Wade E (Aug 12, 2008)

Now all that just sounds great too! Thats it, Im coming over. That color looks great NW. Did you get that rain for Jims B-Day?


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## smokegrub (Aug 12, 2008)

Great work! Your juice yield was almost identical to mine for the blackberries. How many quarts will you use per 5 gallons wine?


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## rgecaprock (Aug 12, 2008)

All I know is that you have pretty juice and the perfect way to preserve it for wine making. You have the ultimate way to extend SUMMER!!!!


Ramona


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## NorthernWinos (Aug 12, 2008)

Smokegrub said:


> Great work! Your juice yield was almost identical to mine for the blackberries. How many quarts will you use per 5 gallons wine?



I like to use 20-22# of fruit for a batch of wine [3 + pounds per gallon]...so...with the raspberry juice it works out to about 10 quarts per 5 or 6 gallon batch...use grape juice or apple juice with some of the recipes.

Lately I started using more grape juice...the last batch was a Merlot/Red Grape/Raspberry Wine...I only used 4 quarts of raspberry juice and it made an awesome wine, still had plenty of raspberry flavor....That one is on the 'Reserve' rack.


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## NorthernWinos (Aug 12, 2008)

wade said:


> Now all that just sounds great too! Thats it, Im coming over. That color looks great NW. Did you get that rain for Jims B-Day?



We got 1.28" last night...a perfect slow rain....


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## Waldo (Aug 13, 2008)

Great looking juices NW...Isn't it fun though "being out of hand"


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## NorthernWinos (Aug 14, 2008)

I juiced up 20# of those precious wild Blueberries....figured enough for a 6 gallon batch.






The house smelled like Blueberry pie baking....[I wish]
The juice had plenty of body, almost syrupy.
The utensils were kind of sticky, either from natural sugar or pectin...[?]
Everything got stained from the dark delicious juice.

There was nothing left to the pulp, tho I considered freezing it to add to the must....it's in the compost now...






Got much more juice than I thought...20# yielded 10 quarts.






Will add these jars to the stash...tho I think this will be one of the next batches to be made.

Wish we'd have picked twice as many berries...at least 20# for another batch of wine and 10# for some pancake syrup.....Guess it gives us something to eagerly wait for the next season.






*Edited by: Northern Winos *


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## Wade E (Aug 14, 2008)

That juice looks awesome NW!


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## Waldo (Aug 15, 2008)

I bet a Blueberry/Black Currant would make an awesome wine


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## Cracked Cork (Aug 18, 2008)

NW, how do you know when to stop trying to get more juice from the steamer? Do you just look at the berries or the amount of juice coming out? Thanks, Crackedcork


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## NorthernWinos (Aug 18, 2008)

Cracked Cork said:


> NW, how do you know when to stop trying to get more juice from the steamer? Do you just look at the berries or the amount of juice coming out? Thanks, Crackedcork



I put the fruit in the top basket and steam it for one hour...drain the juice....add another pot of water and watch it...when the juice slows down I dump the pulp in a large SS bowl. 
Then I do another batch the same way....when no more juice come out of that pulp I add the two batches of pulp together and steam it for awhile, turn off the heat and let it drip for a couple/few hours. 
I usually do two baskets full in one day...sometimes more, depending on the fruit.
If they are really precious berries/fruit I will let it drip overnight.....sometimes you get a few cups full of juice.

Most people just steam for an hour. I found I do get more juice if I steam a little extra and put the two batches of pulp together. Some fruits are more 'giving' than others.

I am a really 'thrifty' person and try not to waste my precious fruits.


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## smokegrub (Aug 18, 2008)

NW:

Do you have any concerns about picking up bitterness from the seeds of fruit such as blackberries with the longer steaming time?


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## NorthernWinos (Aug 18, 2008)

Unfortunately I have only done Blackberries once....
I do lots of Raspberries and haven't noticed any bitterness.


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## smokegrub (Aug 18, 2008)

Thanks for the feedback re: your experience with raspberries. I asked because I have had some issues of bitterness with blackberries and decided to steam-juice them this year in an attempt to avoid that issue. Mehu Liisa advises not to steam blackberries for more than about an hour or bitterness might arise. I steamed some longer than that before I saw that advice.


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## NorthernWinos (Aug 18, 2008)

That is real interesting what your manual said about Blackberries....

The manual with my Back to Basics steamer is from 1985...so am sure a lot of research has gone on since then.

I will keep that in mind when I do segmented berries in the future.


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## smokegrub (Aug 18, 2008)

NW:

I apologize to you and others who visit this board. I was incorrect in attributing a steaming period longer than 60 minutes and potential bitterness to Mehu Liisa recommendations. I rechecked that source and they actually recommend 60-80 minutes and do not make mention of bitterness. I don't know where I saw this, but I recall it vividly since I read it during the time-frame I was juicing my berries and, of course, it may be concerned that I might be dealing with a bitterness issue again. Again, I apologize for this error.*Edited by: Smokegrub *


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## NorthernWinos (Sep 2, 2008)

It's near 40* cooler outside than yesterday...plus kind of drizzling and muddy after last nights 2.37" of rain....

So...a good day to take care of some of the inventory out of the freezer....

Western Sandcherries on today's agenda...







They grow easily, produce profusely and make a nice mild wine...They are like a mild Chokecherry.


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## Aaronh (Sep 2, 2008)

Sand cherries, sounds interesting. Do they grow up here in MN or were they a gift of sorts? 
<DIV id=ms__id37>
<DIV id=ms__id38>Got my juicer a few days ago, just waiting on my electro PH tester before I start the choke cherry project.
<DIV id=ms__id39>
<DIV id=ms__id40>



*Edited by: Aaronh *


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## NorthernWinos (Sep 2, 2008)

Nice looking juicer...so shinny and bright. Which brand did you get???

The first Sandcherries we got came in a wildlife tree assortment sold through the county.....They were suppose to be for the birds to eat.

Since then they sprout up seedlings everywhere...plus I bought some to share with friends this spring...I needed some windbreak/snowfence hedges....so will have plenty around....They will probably take over the county and become invasive....


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## Aaronh (Sep 2, 2008)

It is a NORPRO 18/10 stainless
<DIV id=ms__id29>
<DIV id=ms__id30>


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## joeswine (Sep 3, 2008)

waldo,even though the mix sounds good i think the current with its deep flavors and power will overwhelm the softness of the



blueberry's,just my oppion....................


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## NorthernWinos (Sep 4, 2008)

Yesterday I juiced up the last of the Raspberries and Strawberries from out of the freezer.....Going to make some pancake syrup with those two....Never tried that before...want it to be like IHOP some Sunday breakfast. 






Today was sweetcorn freezing day....







I only needed half our sweetcorn patch for our needs...anyone ever made sweetcorn wine???


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## corn field (Sep 4, 2008)

yes I have and it has to age at the least 1 year before it is good. I will have to look up the recipe and post later it is some where in my wine logs.


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## corn field (Sep 5, 2008)

<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER></CENTER>
<CENTER>*CORN WINE 2*</CENTER>
<UL>
<LI>*4 to 6 ears of freshly picked corn *
<LI>*2-1/2 lbs granulated sugar *
<LI>*1/2 tsp pectic enzyme *
<LI>*1-1/2 tblsp acid blend *
<LI>*1/8 tsp tannin *
<LI>*1 tsp yeast nutrient *
<LI>*water to 1 gallon *
<LI>*Sherry wine yeast *</LI>[/list]


*Put a large pot containing half the water on to boil. Meanwhile, clean the corn and cut it from the cobs. Cut cobs into 2-inch sections and put the cobs and corn in the boiling water. Boil for 15 minutes. Strain into the primary and add 1-1/2 pounds sugar to it, stirring until dissolved. Add remaining water to make up a gallon less one cup. Cover primary and set aside to cool. When at room temperature, add pectic enzyme, acid blend, tannin, and yeast nutrient. Recover primary and set aside 12 hours. Add activated yeast and recover. Stir daily for 7 days. Boil one cup of water and dissolve one pound of sugar into it. Set sugar water aside to cool, covered. Rack wine into secondary and add sugar water. Fit airlock and set aside for 30 days. Rack, top up and refit airlock. After additional 60 days, rack, top up and again refit airlock. Set aside for 4 months, checking fluid in airlock from time to time. Wine should be clear. If not, treat as for **starchy haze**. Rack into bottles and set aside for 3 months. Will improve with further aging. [Adapted from Dorothy Alatorre's Home Wines of North America]

This is a recipe from Jack Kellers web site. My recipe was a small veration from this one but could not find it in my logs hope this helps*


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## NorthernWinos (Sep 5, 2008)

Thanks for Posting this recipe....

It is interesting....wonder why you put the cobs in there too?

So many wines...so few carboys!


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## corn field (Sep 7, 2008)

I am guessing they are in there for the flavor.


Sorry for being slow to answer you but my son has come back to the states. He has been in the Grand Camons for 2 years. Boy have we hit my inventory hard while he is here. He will be moving to Layfette IN. next week while his wife does her internship as a vet at Purdue. The list of wines we sampoled is too long to post.


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## NorthernWinos (Sep 13, 2008)

Rain today...a good day to do some juicing and other indoor chores....

Some of the apples had been falling from the winds.... the seeds were brown, so guess it was time to take care of the early varieties...

I juiced up the 'free-falls' that were on the ground and Jim went out in the rain and picked a few more....







Apples are about the least rewarding of the steam juicing process....Berries and grapes juice so fast...apples are slow.






I went out this morning before the rains and harvested a basket of bell peppers.... sliced and chopped them and froze for later use....Need something to do while tending the juicer...other than washing jars....

Tis the season to take care of the produce.....That is a good thing!!!


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## Wade E (Sep 13, 2008)

I bet when that juicer is steaming up all that goodness it makes you hunry for some pie as just looking at what you have going on in there is doing to me right now.


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## NorthernWinos (Sep 13, 2008)

It does smell pretty good in here...the only thing missing is the cinnamon smell...then it would be like a pie....

Ummmm...apple crisp tomorrow.


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## NorthernWinos (Sep 24, 2008)

It's that time of the year again....Everyone is trying to give each other apples.....

Friends brought over a couple buckets of Dolgo Crabapples....They were falling off the tree from the strong winds of late. They said their feet were rolling on fallen apples and they were getting pelted by flying Crabs like large red hailstones....

Pretty little fruit...







Took 40# to get 10 quarts of juice..






Not the most productive fruit to juice....but makes great wine...


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## Wade E (Sep 24, 2008)

Wow, the crab apples around here were gone quite a while ago.


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## NorthernWinos (Oct 2, 2008)

Yes....I do juice grapes....Probably send chills through the real grape winemaker's spines, but I make do with the tools I have and the quality of the grapes we can grow up North.

These white grapes are Louise Swenson and Edelweiss...they can make a decent wine...but my crop was pretty sparse. I will make wine with this juice. I kept some of the Edelweiss grapes for eating...they are great.






The purple grapes are Valiant, those I do wine make with the juice and it isn't too bad.






The juice from the 10.12# of white grapes and 21.5# of Valiant.






This is the pulp/seeds of the 30+# of grapes that was left in the steamer basket.






So, the steamer does do a good job of extracting the juice from grapes....don't know how it affects the flavor and integrity of the juice...it's all I have ever done.....





*Edited by: Northern Winos *


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## NorthernWinos (Oct 10, 2008)

Yesterday's juicing project.....

Some Wild Plum juice [for future wine....?].....Some Beta Juice from berries that were not quite ripe...[will add it to some sort of wine] And .....some very nice Beta juice from ripe black fruit....






Meanwhile...back in the Cannery/Kitchen....Today...T.O.P......Tomato/Onion/Pepper combo...Good in everything....


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## NorthernWinos (Oct 13, 2008)

Apples are the least rewarding of the steam juicing process.....But the end product is very good....we make wine with it as well as drink it for a breakfast beverage.















Takes time, but worth the effort.


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## Waldo (Oct 13, 2008)

I would have to use some of those and make some fried apple pies NW
Everything looks so good !!!!


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