How to Make Apple Cider on a Budget With Everyday Items

On a walk a few years ago, I found two apple trees on an abandoned property that were completely laden with apples; but, there was no one there to enjoy them (beside the insects and animals I guess)! There were so many apples, some of which were on the far side of ripe, that there was no way for me to eat or give away the apples fast enough. This prompted me to look into how to make apple cider, in order to preserve my unexpected bounty. After a quick search, I found that the tools required were fairly "rudimentary" in their action, but still way too expensive to justify maybe only one year of use. I looked around the house to find materials for a workaround, and this was my solution

Supplies

3 - 5 gallon buckets: https://amzn.to/2Qkxeup ... You can get buckets way cheaper at Lowes/Home Depot/Menards, but these are food grade if you're interested

1- 5 gallon bucket lid: https://amzn.to/2EcTCn6 ... cheaper at hardware stores

Bottle Jack: https://amzn.to/3l9EWpo ... I purchased mine from Harbor Freight with a coupon for about $6 less than this one, but this should work.

Mesh laundry bag: https://amzn.to/3laQd9k

2x4 cheapest you can find that's not warped: You'll use this to make your box frame ~17 inches x 20 inches (interior dimensions)

Scrap wood piece(s): that is roughly the size of the diameter of your bucket. You will place the bottle jack on top of this, and the bigger the piece of wood, the more surface area their will be pushing down to make the cider.

Paint Roller Tray (preferably aluminum): https://amzn.to/3hhA7rS ... you can get these way cheaper at a local hardware stores

Paint Stirrer: https://amzn.to/2FBTH47 ... you can find these way cheaper at a local hardware stores

Hammer Drill: https://amzn.to/2FGdXS9 ... wait for a coupon and get it from Harbor Freight, or just use a regular drill if you have one.

Step 1: Prepping the Press Drainage Bucket

In ONE of your three buckets, drill ~3/8" holes around the circumference of the bucket, about 1/2" from the bottom. Make sure the drill bit does not puncture the bottom of the actual bucket, however.

Step 2: Prep the Grinding Bucket

In the bucket lid, drill a ~1" hole to accommodate the paint stirrer shaft. Run the paint stirrer through the hole and into your drill chuck. Fill up a bucket (one with no holes at the bottom) about a half to 3/4 full of apples. Press the lid/drill combo into place at the top of the bucket and start grinding! You should chop/mash the apples up as best as you can to increase the cider yield. Just a heads up, this is the most time consuming part of the process so be patient in order to get smaller chunks of apple, and ultimately more cider. Or even better, come up with your own budget mashing solution that doesn't take as long. This is just what I had on hand. (The mash should be roughly the consistency of EXTRA chunky apple sauce)

Step 3: Prepping the Press Frame

Build the press frame out of 2x4's. The interior dimensions should be ~17"x20" or big enough for your bucket to fit inside stood up. I advise putting at least 3 screws at each joint. You will be putting a lot of force against this frame shortly.

Step 4: Prepping the Press Drainage Tray

Drill 3-4 holes in the deepest well portion of the paint rolling tray. This is where the cider will ultimately seep into the catch bucket below.

Step 5: Put the Mash Into the Press Bucket/bag

Take your clean laundry bag and drape it into your drainage bucket with the holes at the bottom, like you're putting a trash bag into a trash can. Pour the mash apple mix into the bag in the bucket. The weight of apples themselves will already start producing a bit of cider, so make sure you have the bucket placed on your drainage tray, or in another bucket temporarily during the pour. Cinch up the laundry bag and place a piece of scrap wood on top of the bag and mash.

Step 6: Start Pressing!

Alright, this step is admittedly going to take a bit of coordination, or perhaps a partner. Place your wooden frame on a chair or somewhere else high enough to accommodate a catch bucket (with no holes) underneath. On the base of the frame, place the drainage tray so that the drainage holes hang out and over the catch bucket with no holes. Place the bucket with the apple mash on top of the tray, and then place the bottom of the bottle jack on top the scrap wood inside of the mash bucket. The top of the bottle jack should be in line with the top of the wood frame, so that when it extends, it pushes up on the frame and down on the scrap wood/mash. This is definitely a step that will make more sense if you look at the picture above, and watch the video before you start. Now crank the bottle jack until you apply pressure to the top of the wood frame and down into the mash. Crank slowly and lean the tray forward if necessary to get the cider to flow into the bucket below.

Step 7: Release the Jack, Pull Out and Shake the Mash, and Re-press

After you've cranked enough that the bottle jack maxes out, or the flow of cider slows to a trickle; release the bottle jack and pull out the mash bag. Give the bag a big jostle to spread out the mash again. Then set up the press process and press again. You can probably repeat this and still get meaningful yield 2-3 more times, depending on how well you ground up your apples.

Step 8: Enjoy Your Cider

At this point you'll probably have about a gallon of cider from one bucket of apples. I risked it a bit, and drank it immediately, but the smarter thing would have been to boil it to pasteurize it and increase the shelf life. If you're adventurous you can also use this as feedstock for a hard cider to extend the shelf life even longer.