By Lauren Wanko
Correspondent
Hundreds of glistening apples roll down a conveyor; the shiny red fruits are about to become cider.
“It’s pretty much apples everything right now,” said owner of Battleview Orchards Scott Applegate.
At Battleview Orchards in Freehold, the apples are picked from the trees and refrigerated. In the cider mill 60 to 80 bushels are then poured into a dump tank.
“We like to mix our varieties. You just don’t use one blend of apples, one variety,” he said. “[It’s] for better flavor. You want a few different types of apples.”
From the dump tank the fruit heads to the pick out table where apples are sorted and picked out for the best quality. Then, the chosen apples make their way to the washer.
“It’s a chlorine wash. Chlorine first and then fresh water rinses the apples, and that’s a dry brush at the end at that brushes and washes the apples, also,” Applegate said.
After that the apples go for a ride up a stainless steel elevator of sorts to the grinder where six to eight are chopped every few seconds. The next stop is the press. Apple pomace is pumped through a tube onto pieces of cloth that are stacked on racks. The pomace is poured onto the cloth and then it’s folded.
“The whole point of stacking it, rack and cloth like that, is to squeeze it. Then the cider, the juices, come out of the cloth. The apples stay inside the cloth, the pomace, and all your juices is collected at the bottom of the tank,” Applegate said.
The pulp is thrown out and the cloth is re-used again. The cider is pumped into a refrigerated tank. Battleview uses ultraviolet light as a form of pasteurization. After that it’s bottled into gallon, half-gallon and quart-size jugs.
Battleview Orchards typically produces between 18 to 20,000 gallons of apple cider a year from September through May. This is their busiest time. In October they usually sell 1,800 to 2,000 gallons of cider a week.
“It’s just the flavor for me. I love it,” said Nancy Marotta.
At Battleview the cider’s also added to doughnut mix to make apple cider doughnuts. The desserts are coated with cinnamon or powdered sugar.
Their popularity? Applegate says they’re, “probably one of the biggest parts of the business in the fall.”
In the orchard there are nearly 20 different varieties of apples that dangle from trees. The fruit is up for grabs at this pick-your-own.
“It’s such a beautiful day out. The kids love the apples,” said Eric Vurckio.
Whether you bite into one, or prefer to drink the cider, at this time of year there are plenty of apples to go around.