BM-Uneatler Farming, Saturday, October SfKNft'
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Case’s Mansfield Cider Mill is considered a local landmark in the area. The three
generation business is run from September through the end of October.
Cider Flows
Cider Mill
CAROLYN N. MOYER
Tioga Co. Correspondent
MANSFIELD (Tioga Co.)
Ah! You can almost taste the fresh
cider as you walk in Case’s Man
sfield Cider Mill run by David and
Dixie Case.
First the smell tantalizes your
senses with that familiar sweet
apple aroma. Next the sight of the
cascading stream of fresh cider
flawing from the century old press
leaves you in awe as the layers of
chopped apples are squeezed to get
the last drop of tempting reddish
brown liquid. And finally, the
taste...sweet, yet tart...just the right
blend to make your tastebuds
tingle.
The age-old ritual of pressing
cider has been tackled by the Case
family for 50 years.
“It’s like anything else,” said a
weary David after he finished
pressing the morning’s supply of
cider. “You get to doing it, like
David and Chris Case smooth the chopped apples onto
the cheeses In preparation of pressing the apples.
From Mansfield
For 50 Years
these guys that make maple syrup,
and you don’t know enough to
quit.”
Just like maple syrup season
which is highlighted by a few short
spring weeks of intense labor, sev
eral short weeks in the fall are the
prime time for apple harvest and
cider pressing, an equally inten
sive process.
First bushels of apples are
picked from nearby orchards.
Then they are hauled to the mill
and a conveyer moves them to the
upper story of the building where
the apples are washed and
chopped.
When the apples are properly
ground, they are spread out on
trays covered with “cheeses,” or
cloths that hold the mashed apples
together. The cheeses are then
folded over the apples and another
layer is stacked on top. The tower
of apples is then placed on the
press where 144 pounds of pres
sure per square inch squeezes out
every last drop of juice.
The cider is collected in a tank
and then put through three filters to
clarify the liquid. Finally it is
pumped to die jugging station
where each gallon container is
filled to the brim with the fresh
brown juice.
Then the pressed apples, called
pumice, is dumped out of the
cheeses and the process starts all
over.
“When you open the cloths, the
apples are almost dry,” Dixie said.
“Area people come and get it and
take it up on the mountain to feed
the wild animals, so there’s no
waste.”
Each year the family presses
about 20,000 to 30,000 gallons of
cider. They also take in custom
work and press cider for others.
Depending on the juice content of
the apples, you get about two to
three gallons of cider per bushel of
apples.
In a typical year, most of the
apples that ate pressed come from
area orchards; however, this year,
according to Dixie, the apples just
aren’t plentiful. In order to fill then
orders the Case’s have had to bring
in apples from upstate New York.
A few apples come from the
small orchard they maintain on
their property. This year they
planted SO new Red Gala trees, a
dwarf variety.
What makes the best tasting cid
er? Dixie loves cider made with the
Northern Spy, because it’s her
favorite apple, but she’s careful to
add that the best cider is made with
a mix of apples, some sweet, some
tart.
“We use the apples that are in
season. We’re careful to use the
right blend and always use at least
three different kinds,” Daisy
explained.
It’s a sticky job, but one that the
family loves, according to Dixie,
who married David in 1988 after
each lost their mates; Dixie’s hus
band in a logging accident, and
David’s wife to cancer.
This is a hobby of sorts for the
family. When not squeezed in the
eight-week cider making season,
David sells insurance.
Dixie, who woiked bank mark
eting for 32 years and is now
retired noted, “The last few years
while 1 was working, it was hard
not to be here making cider.”
Now shecan devote more of her
time to the shop and to managing
(Turn to Page BIS)
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