Those who braved the wind and rain to attend Ferryport Fruitfest on Saturday 15th October will have seen PLANT’s brand new Apple Mill and Press in action in the Burgh Chambers Garden.  During the course of the day, we pressed nearly 150 kg of apples and produced 80 litres of apple juice.  All of the juice we produced on the day was given to members of the public (the juice was free but donations were gratefully accepted) and, judging from the immediate feedback, everyone really liked the taste!

The challenge…

Although the Fruitfest was a great success (many thanks are due to all those who volunteered their time, resources and talents to make everything work so well), the apples we processed on the day represent only a small proportion of the crop that could potentially be harvested from the gardens of Tayport.  In previous years, many (perhaps most?) of these apples have gone to waste, which is a real shame.  However, now that we have our own juicing equipment, we should be able to make better use of this wonderful local resource to supply delicious home-produced apple juice to the community.

So what have we done so far…

Larger scale production of fresh juice would be nice but it isn’t really practicable since, even when refrigerated, fresh juice has to be consumed within three days.  We have therefore set up a small-scale pilot project to produce pasteurised apple juice.  The pasteurisation process involves dispensing freshly pressed apple juice into 3 litre beverage pouches (a bit like a wine box without a box!) and immersing the pouches in water at 75oC for 30 minutes.  A small amount of vitamin C is added to the juice before pasteurisation to limit oxidation.   This helps preserve the ‘fresh’ apple flavour.  Heat treatment kills the microorganisms that would otherwise spoil the juice, which allows it to be stored for up to 6 months at room temperature.  Once opened, the juice should be refrigerated and consumed within two weeks.  The tap on the beverage pouch is cleverly designed to let juice out without allowing air in, thus keeping the juice fresher for longer.

What we would like you to do…

Having processed, pressed and pasteurised 96 litres of apple juice (all on one frantic day in the week after the Fruitfest!), we would now like to try out our product on some willing consumers.  If you would like to be one of the privileged few to sample Tayport Apple Juice in its inaugural year, you can do so for the modest outlay of £4.50 for a 3 litre pouch.  To register your interest, please complete the online order form here.

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