Snouts in the Trough

We've been pressing Perry Pears again, this time a mixed bag of Green Horse, Red Longdon, and an assortment of unknown pears from the Worcestershire orchard. Four pressings filled two of our 120 litre fermenters, leaving seven sacks of spent pomace to dispose of.

Most of the cider apples we press give good juice extraction, and leave pomace behind which is pretty dry, but even with the full force of our hydraulic press it's often possible to squeeze a little bit of juice from the spent pomace between thumb and finger. The pomace left behind from pressing perry pears tends to be very dry indeed, almost cardboard like, and therefore the juice extraction is perhaps even better, one reason we love pressing perry pears. No matter what the state of the pomace following pressing, it's guaranteed a great reception in the piggery at Keythorpe Rare Breeds.

Once again Adam & Serena are helping us out with our small but unavoidable pomace problem, a happy situation for all concerned. The pigs love the pomace, Adam & Serena appreciate the slightly reduced feed bill at this time of year, and we get to avoid the headache of disposing of upwards of a ton of high quality apple and pear pulp. High quality! Well since all of our apples and pears come from unsprayed old orchards, the pomace can rightly be considered to be Organic in all but name.