Freeze - Squeeze Juicing Method

An easy way to make apple or pear juice.

This juicing method is revolutionary! No longer do you need and expensive cider press or apple grinder. All you need is mesh bag, a bucket, and your home freezer. The creator of this juice making method calls it "The Carondelet Method" after the neighborhood in St Louis where it started, but we think that "The Freeze Squeeze Method" is more catchy and memorable.

Here are the basic steps:

Collect fruit, clean it, put it in your freezer.
Later thaw the fruit in a clean closed container.
Squeeze the fruit by hand in a mesh juicing bag.

One other nice feature of this method is that you do not need to have all you apples picked at once. As they ripen, you can pick a few at a time and drop them into the freezer. If you are using fallen fruit, you should wash off any dirt or grass. If the fruit has rotten spots, you should cut those out before freezing. Softs spots are OK and can be left.

The mesh bags are typically used for beer and wine making. There is a nice assortment of bags available from Northern Brewer. For the bucket, be sure to use plastic or stainless steel. Evidently aluminum, iron, or galvanized buckets or pots will discolor the juice and make it taste funny.

Update: Improved video available here

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Also see our other "apple" articles:
Fallen Apple Gathering Machines
and Apple Peeler Reviews

The inventor of this juicing method is Mark Brown. Mark is an organic farmer with a degree in viticulture and enology, the study of all aspects of wine and winemaking. He is a member of Gateway Garlic Urban Farm - a teaching farm in St Louis with a mission of bringing sustainability to the city while educating local residents in the art of growing food to feed themselves and others. Many of their DIY techniques are highlighted at the St Louis Garlic Festival held in mid June every year.