If you
want a piece of early machinery that really defined the way people lived for
centuries, take a look at this one. The cider press has had a special place in
American history from the first day that Europeans settled here all the way
into the 20th century and even today. Pictured here is the cider
press at the Farm House Museum. This particular press was manufactured by the
Whitman Americus Agricultural Company, patented in July 1874. How could you not
want to buy a heavy duty piece of machinery from a company with “Americus” in
their name? If that doesn’t sell it for you, look at the materials it’s made
from. Oak is a very durable type of wood so you know they mean business using it
here. Then there’s the dark and tough cast iron that makes up the moving parts.
The cider press sort of reminds me of the early Americans: they focused on
function and hard work…and alcohol.
Before I
get into the history, let’s talk about how it actually works. Apples go into
the opening at the top while someone is constantly turning the crank. The crank
turns a wheel that has teeth and edges cast into it so it mashes up the apples
into chunks smaller than a golf ball. This process continues until the mash
fills up the cloth-lined barrel underneath it. At that point, the barrel is
slid over, underneath the corkscrewed press. A top is placed on the
apples and the wheel is turned, like tightening a screw, to slowly crush all of the juice out of the
apples. The juice seeps out through the cloth, onto the bottom tray and then it
pours out and people collect it in whatever container they’re using. That cider
is then loaded into barrels to ferment. Here’s the link to a YouTube video of
someone doing it! CLICK
HERE They took the easy way out and used a motor to turn the crank.
Since I
mentioned alcohol before, I should give it the attention that is due. The cider made
with a press like this in the 19th century and earlier was not meant
to just be apple cider. Hard cider (alcoholic) was the main drink for Americans
since they settled here in the 16th century. The grains and barley
used for beer could not easily grow in the tough climate and soil of the east coast
and the distillation process for liquor was too much work to be doing in what
was considered the frontier. Apple trees were the perfect candidate and so it
was common to see orchards on everyone’s farms and apple cider in every meal.
(The picture to the left is from an 1880 issue of the magazine “American
Agriculturist”) The average person in 1750’s Massachusetts drank over 35
gallons of cider per year, even the kids! As I’m sure you know, it’s not
because people were bad alcoholics back then but water could not be trusted.
The likelihood of there being some disease or bacteria in water was extremely
high. Apparently, John Adams (second president) drank a tankard of cider with
his breakfast every day!
The
sharp decline of popularity for cider came in the 20th century for
two main reasons. Many German and Eastern European immigrants flooded into the
country and they preferred beer. That, combined with better refrigeration technology,
allowed beer and liquor to become the choice drinks. On top of that, cider did not recover as
well as beer and liquor after Prohibition ended in 1933. Any orchards that
survived the sudden drop in demand began cultivating sweeter apples for cooking
and snacking and sweeter, non-alcoholic cider. In a way, we can thank
Prohibition for the mass popularity of sweet apples, apple pie that actually
tastes good, and good old apple cider.
Hard cider
took a tumble in popularity in the first 30 years of the 20th
century: will it ever make a comeback? Yes, arguably it’s happening right now.
Think of the commercials you see and how many new ciders there are popping up.
It’s really strange how fads will come and go and then come back without people
even intending it. It makes me think of that phrase that no one can quite figure
out who said it: history doesn’t repeat itself, but it sure does rhyme.
