IT’S APPLE Picking, cleaning, pressing, cider and wine sipping time

(Above) Sue Keefe operates her home-built apple press in the garage of her Clear Lake home.

by Marianne Gasaway

Sue Keefe has hardly met a hobby she didn’t like, but even she didn’t think picking a few apples would lead to an entire product line.

A plan to press some grapes has given way to grinding apples, pressing them and bottling apple cider by the gallon.  Hard cider, apple wine and apple cider vinegar soon followed.   A little education started her on the path to experimenting with apples and rhubarb, apples and cranberries, apples and pears and more.  The concoctions are only limited by her imagination; and that’s something Keefe has plenty of.

“It really is a blast,” Keefe says standing amid stacks of containers filled with apples.

This time of year the Keefe garage is turned into an apple processing center, as bushels of apples are cleaned, run through a homemade masher and then loaded into an apple press which Sue constructed herself.  Gallons of apple juice run out of the press on any given day.

Sue actually built the press with the idea that she would press grapes and make wine.  She had planted grape vines in honor of her

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mother and intended to pursue winemaking.  Sue said she was disappointed when her grapevines didn’t produce much of a crop, but at the encouragement of her daughter, Megan, she signed up for a winemaking class which the two took together.

In the meantime, it dawned on Sue that the press she had built for grapes could just as easily press apples.  She assembled a “Whiz Bang Apple Grinder,” which is basically a garbage disposal for apples.  The garbage disposal has been removed and replaced with a half-horse motor.  Cleaned apples are dumped into her stand and pushed through the grinder.  The system empties the ground apple mash into a bucket.  From there, scoops of the mash are loaded into “cakes,” which are round three-inch deep forms lined with drapery material which Keefe says is more durable than cheesecloth.  A lid is placed on top and as many as six cakes are stacked into the press.  A car jack at the top of the press applies pressure to the apple cakes and the juice starts flowing into a bucket on the ground.  Some of the juice is poured into cleaned milk cartons and shared with friends, some is placed in the freezer for a fall treat on a cold winter day.

Approximately three to four buckets of apples yields about five gallons of juice from Keefe’s press.

The apple mash, which is relatively dry after having the juice pressed out, is emptied into buckets and given to another local producer who feeds it to their pigs raised using organic practices.

“I started by just stopping at houses where I saw an apple tree and let them know what I do and that I would be happy to give them some cider in exchange for letting me pick,” explained Sue.  “Now I’ve got a list on my phone of about 50 people with trees— mostly apple, but a few pears— who let me pick some of their crop.  Some might make a pie or some cobbler, but most never use the majority of their apples.”

Sue said she is not particular about choosing apple varieties for her raw apple cider and she isn’t sure which ones she is actually using.

“I just take a bite of an apple and if I like it — if it’s crisp and has good flavor, I use it.  Those that are mushy, too big, or taste woody, I don’t.  I use at least two varieties of apples and prefer three.”

In just her second season pressing apples, Sue has turned out gallons of apple cider, much to the delight of her suppliers and friends, several of whom volunteer to help process the apples and are also “paid” in the finished product.  The cider is good for about two weeks, but can always be frozen to enjoy later.

“Apples are always my base, but I can make several things from the juice.  These days I am making quite a bit of apple cider vinegar, which has gained a lot of popularity in the natural health community.”

Apple cider vinegar requires fermenting the juice two to three weeks with yeast or bacteria added to process the vinegar. Proponents of the vinegar say it can help with weight loss, reduced cholesterol, lower blood sugar levels and improved symptoms of diabetes.  It is also an ancient folk recipe, and has been used for various household and cooking purposes.

Last year Sue bought herself a kegerator, which now gives her the ability to add carbon dioxide and serve sparkling cider.

Although her grape-growing attempt wasn’t fruitful, Sue is also practicing wine-making with her apples.  She has joined the North Iowa Wine Club, where she gratefully accepts advice from those who have been making wine for years.  The club meets monthly and members typically bring their brews to share.

“I still am learning so much, but it has been great fun.  Roger Walston has been my mentor and has answered all kinds of questions for me.  I also like his advice— that if it tastes good to me, that’s all that matters,” she laughs.

In addition to using her apples, Sue said she likes to experiment with kit wines and purchase juice from vendors selling grapes, either whole or already pressed into juice.  The basement laundry room looks more like a science lab than a wash room and Sue’s husband, Mike, has built shelves to accommodate the glass carboys which contain wines.  Each bottle is labeled with dates to track the fermenting and blending process, which includes adding sugar, which turns to alcohol.  A hydrometer measures the alcohol level.  Six gallons of wine equates to about 30 bottles.

“I bought most of my (wine-making) supplies on Craig’s list at pretty affordable prices. Friends give me wine bottles to use and milk cartons for the apple cider.”

A small room in the basement has become Keefe’s wine cellar, complete with racks of aging wine, and boxes filled with Sue’s creations.  Each carries the “Cruiser” label, which Megan designed, featuring her father’s first classic car and the family dog, Barney, peering out its window.

Among her favorite wines is her “Strazy Rhubarb,” featuring a mix of strawberry, raspberry and rhubarb.   On the hard cider side, “Cruiser’s Crazy Apple Cider” is popular.

“It’s all fun,” says Sue.  “And I’ve started my sister and some others in making cider and wine.   Sometimes it doesn’t work out like I think it will, but it’s no big deal.  I just pick some more apples and start all over again.”

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