Bievres Apple Pressing

People say I do a lot of photos, but I have a lot of opportunities. Here is the first of a short series of street events of the past month.

Bievres is a village near Paris which hosts not only the French photography museum but also an agricultural tools museum. This morning was the yearly apple pressing.

1. Square in front of the church
2. Build a pile of chopped up apples with straw to give it structure
3. Once the press is built, two strong men are needed to turn it (slowly)
4. Collect the juice and filter it
5. Packaging and marketing

I used my local-newspaper-reporter gear = D300 + 16-85 + SB800

Looks like they really know how to have fun.

Hi Charles
Curious as to the reason for the straw when pressing the fruit.How does it effect the structure in the press.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by hminx

Hi Charles
Curious as to the reason for the straw when pressing the fruit.How does it effect the structure in the press.

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Charles,

Hope you don't mind.

From what I vaguely know about pressing juice out of apples is the straw helps the juice flow to the outside while being pressed.

please correct me if mistaken.

Charles,

When #2 came up it looked as if the chap is turning the press with the straw :-)

This a lot more interesting than the modern presses.

Roger R.

I thought that the straw acted rather like the iron rods in reinforced concrete - the straw is rigid and stops the chopped apple from sliding and having the whole thing collapse.

The pile itself is built up layer by layer with a metal frame to hold the new layer in place. Each layer is slightly smaller than the one beneath so you wind up with a sort of pyramid which is quite stable.

I like Bievres. There are only 5000 inhabitants but there is more life than in neighbouring new towns 10 times bigger.

Late-breaking news: I've found an explanation here: http://permacultureinbrittany.blogsp...1_archive.html

Why the straw? Paul told me that it serves two services: it allows a space for the juice to run out to the edge (and so fall to the base of the press and into a container; and it provides friction, to maintain the integrity of the mound of apple pulp as it’s compressed, rather than splurging out the sides.