Editing Apple cider (section)

==Commercial production==
[[Image:Juicing2.jpg|thumb|right|Cidering in a contemporary rural area mill. Custom batches pressed directly to bulk containers on demand.]]

Modern cider making has come a long way from early forms of production that involved a man- or horse-powered crusher. These consisted of a stone or wood trough with a heavy circulating wheel to crush the fruit, and a large manual [[screw press]] to express the juice from the pulp. Straw was commonly used to contain the pulp during pressing, later replaced by coarse cloth. The Palmer Bros. Company, of Cos Cob, CT, made the most popular "modern" rack and cloth press from the mid-1800s to the mid-1900s, when production shifted to OESCO in Massachusetts. As technology advanced, rotary drum "scratters"{{clarify|date=June 2015}} came into use. Today, nearly all small pressing operations use electric-hydraulic equipment with press cloths and plastic racks in what is commonly called a "rack and cloth press", and electric [[hammermill]] "breakers".

Depending on the varieties of apples and using the optimal extraction methods, it takes about one third of a bushel (10 liters) to make a gallon (3.78 liters) of cider.<ref name=mass/> Apples are washed, cut, and ground into a mash that has the consistency of coarse applesauce. Layers of this mash are then either wrapped in cloth and placed upon wooden or plastic racks where a [[hydraulic press]] then squeezes the layers together, or the mash is distributed onto a continuous [[Belt filter|belt filter press]],<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.core-equip.com/catalogue/category/1465|title=Core Equipment Belt Presses for the apple Juice, cider and winemaking industries.|publisher=Core-equip.com|access-date=5 March 2014|archive-date=16 July 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716065407/http://www.core-equip.com/catalogue/category/1465|url-status=live}}</ref> which squeezes the pulp between two permeable belts fed between a succession of rollers that press the juice out of the pulp in a continuous, highly efficient operation. The resulting juice is then stored in refrigerated tanks, pasteurized to kill bacteria and extend shelf life, and bottled and sold as apple cider. The juice may also be fermented to produce [[cider|hard cider]], which then may be further treated by exposure to [[acetobacter]] to produce apple cider vinegar, or distilled to produce apple brandy. The waste left after pressing, known as [[pomace]], is sold for cattle feed.