Every autumn Amish farms smell of apples. The press runs for weeks.
Press
Wooden frame, steel screw. Apples washed, cut (rot — discard). Crushed in grinder (hand-cranked). Pomace into cheesecloth, into press. Turn screw — juice flows. One press: 20-40 liters juice per hour.
Products
Fresh cider: unpasteurized, cloudy, incredibly delicious. Keeps 1-2 weeks cold. Apple cider vinegar: let cider ferment 4-6 weeks → vinegar. Universal: cooking, canning, cleaner, medicine. Apple butter: cook cider down 8-12 hours to thick paste. With cinnamon. On bread.
Scale
One tree: 200-500 kg apples → 100-250 liters juice. Family with 10 trees: 1,000-2,500 liters → enough for a year (cider + vinegar + apple butter + sales).
Social
Cider pressing is a family event. Everyone helps: children wash apples, father turns press, mother bottles. Neighbors come with their apples — press together, share.