Hobby Farm Apple Cider and Wine Harvesting Presses and Supplies

Find  some of the best apple cider and wine presses and how to books on the market.  

This online back to basics general store carries all sizes of presses for the weekend hobbyist to the small commercial growers and in between.  

Along with the presses  you will find other processing equipment from picking bags, to the press bags at Cottage Craft Works. com

For a small backyard orchard to make a few gallons of cider or wine, consider a Table Model Fruit & Wine Press.

The table top press will require apples to be chopped, and works fine with soft fruits like grapes. (Tub size is 9" x 11" high and overall press size is 11" x 20") 

Making homemade cider and wine can be fun and rewarding for the entire family.  With the right equipment and knowledge you can look forward to the fall harvest each year. 

Top the cool fresh air with a cold glass of apple cider or an evening glass of home brewed wine.

For a larger orchard with several trees  consider starting with The Pioneer Junior Budget Cider Press. The Pioneer Junior comes complete with an apple grinder.

The Pioneer Junior is a perfect, less expensive cider presses for the homeowner.  It will press a half bushel of whole apples at a time. It does not require  the apples to be peeled or cut up. The grinder will turn the apples into pulp that can be pressed into the pressing bags.  Simply dump the remaining skins, and stems out for the next batch.

For a larger hobby orchard,  The "Homesteader” a  single-tub cider or wine press will be the same type of  basic press that has been used for years.  The Homesteader utilizes the same frame and press screw assembly as our double-tub model.

The Homesteader is capable of grinding and efficiently squeezing apples, grapes and other fruits and vegetables.

The "Apple Eater" grinding attachment (included) is mounted on the back of the press - allowing the "pulped" fruit to fall directly into the tub for squeezing.  The Apple Eater can also be  mounted independently of the press on a saw horse in order to speed up production.

Unlike the old wooden drums, the apple grinder utilizes a poly drum studded with eight rows of stainless steel teeth mounted on a steel crankshaft inside the hopper.

The Apple Eater feature a large cast-iron flywheel with hardwood handle to easily rotate the drum for  smooth and easy grinding.

A Large steel-banded pressing tub will hold up to one bushel of pulp.   Press frames and tubs are made from solid maple hardwood.

The optional Wooden Hopper holds 35 pounds of apples and makes grinding easier and faster.

 All of our metal press parts can be ordered in a hardware kit form, without the wood to build your own press.

For the large scale to commercial orchard the old fashioned Double-Tub Cider Mill & Wine Press will fit the bill.

The American Harvester mill design that allows simultaneous grinding and squeezing at the same time.

Two people working at a comfortable pace can easily grind and squeeze 50 gallons of cider in an afternoon.

The American Harvester Cider Mill and Wine Press was developed with all the best features discovered over the years from the 1900s when double tub presses became so popular.  Heavy duty  4-leg hardwood construction with sturdy cast iron hardware is the choice for larger farms and orchard growers.

You can also motorize either the American Harvester or the Homesteader Grinder Motor Kit. The motor kit attaches easily to a new or an existing grinder.

Cottage Craft Works also carries other orchard equipment and supplies including sprayers and several instructional and recipe books on how to make apple cider.  You can also fine several books on wine making and building grape arbors.

See all the apple cider and wine making equipment and products at http://www.cottagecraftworks.com/gardenorchardfarming-orchardvineyard-supply-c-64_123_193_153.html

One Gallon Stainless Butter Churn-Food Mixer

One Gallon Stainless Butter Churn that can also be used to mix dry and wet food mixes.

Purchase the optional meat bar and triple the use with mixing meat and sausage blends.

A commercial grade combination butter churn and food mixer. 

No glass or pottery to break!

Amish built tub type churn made from heavy Stainless Steel with a lid. 

Designed to churn one gallon of cream into butter.   Also perfect to mix all types of other mixes that just will not mix well in a mixer.  Mixes such as dry cereals and moist mixtures that would have to be done in a large bowl by hand.

Use to mix and tumble dried cereals, party mixes, seasoning mixes, mixing flour and dry ingredients for bulk baking and pancake mixes.

Blend nuts, powders, and cereals to make homemade granolas, health food energy bars or mixing vegan ingredients for meatless patties. 

Works best for dry and moist light products; it is not designed to make bread dough, cookie dough or other heavy and sticky mixes.

It will also mix other non-food items such as potpourri mixes.

Only available at Cottage Craft Works .com.  Not available anywhere else online

Cottage Craft Works specializes in going deep into the Amish communities and finding heavy duty wares and goods for the general public. 

The Little Butter Maid Master Mixer is USA Amish made using American made heavy 18ga and 22ga Stainless Steel.

It will churn butter in about 10 minutes cranking at two turns per second. It is light weight at only 12lbs making it easy to lift and pour both liquid and dry mixes.

It is small and easy to clean in a standard kitchen sink, yet heavy enough to stay in place when hand cranking.

Optional paddle insert provides extra spacing for those who will be mixing and making large batches of meats and sausages, such as making meat patties, sausage, or using meat substitutes to make vegan burgers.

Bushings are made out of a food grade poly material that never requires grease, and the auger easily lifts up and out to quickly reach the product after the mixing is completed.

A very compact machine measures 9” W X 8-1/2” D X 10-1/2” Tall, much smaller than it looks in the pictures. The hand crank makes the overall width 16” wide.

The inside tub measures 9” X 7” so it won’t do extremely large batches but enough to fill a gallon size jar, more than could be mixed in a large mixing bowl or even a food processor.

The Little Butter Maid Master Mixer can be purchased at Cottage Craft Works .com

The unit is also available in an 8 gal electric version for small large dairy farms and small commercial operations.

Cheap Deer and Game Feeders | dispense grain only when deer licks them

Now you don’t have to worry about your feeders being damaged or stolen.  

These USA feeders are cheap enough to lose but durable enough to use season after season.

THE MOST AFFORDABLE FEEDER OUT ON THE MARKET!

Conserves feed, when the deer approaches the feeder they will lick the opening at the bottom.  As the deer continues to lick the opening the corn will come out, after the deer is done licking at the opening the corn will stop falling out.

Holds 15 Pounds of corn and feeds on demand. 

Chiquito Feeder is made of 100% high density polyethylene, will not break, or rust.

• No Assembly Required
• Works with any type of feed
• Hangs on tree of fence post that will support 15lbs.
• Chiquito Feeder will accommodate corn, milo, alfalfa and mineral pellets.
• Tight fitting lid to keep other critters from getting into the top.
• Special hour glass design sheds rainwater from running down and washing out the grains.
• Measures 2' tall times 6-1/4 diameter at the largest section

After the Chiquito Feeder is loaded with corn, find a good tree to hang it on, or if you’re hunting near a fence line hang it on the fence post.

http://www.cottagecraftworks.com/food-plot-feeders-chiquito-hanging-deer-and-game-feeder-p-1235.html

New ideas and recipes for a fall apple harvest | Dutch Oven and Grill Recipes

Amish Outdoor Cookbook

Amish Cookbook- Cooking with the Horse and Buggy People II

Healthy Choices Cookbook from the readers of Keepers at Home Magazine

Also make Dutch Apple Bread and Apple Butter Spread!

If you are looking for something different recipe ideas to try with apples this year, consider these easy recipes for outdoor and indoor cooking. Recipes come from Amish and Mennonite cookbooks courtesy of Cottage Craft Works .com

Baked Apples on the Grill

4 med. Tart apples cord

1/3 c. raisins

¼ c. coconut

¼ c. walnuts

½ c. packed brown sugar

Place each apple on a 12” square piece of heavy-duty foil. Combine all of the remaining ingredients; spoon into the center of the apples. Fold the foil over the apples and seal tightly. Grill, covered, over medium heat for 20-25 minutes or until the apples are tender. Yield: 4 servings

Recipe from: Outdoor Cookbook

Dutch Oven Apples

½ c. butter

¾ c. brown sugar

½ tsp. salt

¾ c. apple juice

1 Tbsp. vinegar

3 c. apple slices

4 Tbsp. cornstarch

1/3 c. apple juice

Melt butter in an 8” Dutch oven. Add the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt; stir until smooth. Mix in the ¾ cup apple juice, vinegar and apple slices. Cook until the apples are soft. Thicken with cornstarch dissolved in 1/3 cup apple juice. Serve warm. Apples are also good with pancakes. Top with whip cream.

Recipe from: Outdoor Cookbook

Apple Dumplings

4 c. pastry flour

½ c. white sugar

1 c. Crisco

1 egg

Milk

½ t. salt

Cinnamon Mixture:

1 c white sugar + 2 t. Cinnamon

Mix first 3 ingredients like pie dough, put egg in 1 c. and fill with milk. Beat slightly and pour most of this into flour mixture, till right consistency. Roll dough out into 3/8” thick and cut in squares. Place half of an apple in center of dough. Fill apple center with 1 t. sugar cinnamon mixture. Moisten edges of dough and pinch shut. Place in cake pans. Pour caramel sauce over top and bake at 400°, till tender.

Carmel Sauce:

1 c. water, 1 c. brown sugar, ¼ t. cinnamon, and 2 T. butter. Bring to a boil and simmer 10 minutes (The last procedure in the recipe)

Dutch Apple Bread

½ cup butter + 1 cup raw honey + 2 eggs + 1 tsp. vanilla: cream together

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour + 1 tsp. baking soda: stir together adding in ½ cup buttermilk

Fold in: 1 cup chopped, peeled apples and ¼ cup chopped nuts

Spread into a greased bread pan.

Topping:

½ cup whole wheat pastry flour + 2 Tbsp. honey + 2 Tbsp sucanat (sweetener) + ½ tsp. cinnamon + 2-1/2 Tbsp. butter

Crumble together on top of loaf and bake 350° until browned and springy, test with toothpick done.

Recipe from: The Keepers at Home Healthy Choices Cookbook

Apple Butter

This will make a large batch, Downsize recipe as needed

3 gal of apples cut up

1 gal light Karo Syrup

8 lbs sugar

Cook together for 3 hours, convered. Do not take lid off while cooking. Put through sieve. Add cinnamon to taste. Put into jars and seal.

Recipe From: Cooking with the Horse and Buggy People II

More-ish Apples

4 apples + ¼ cup peanut butter + ¼ cup honey

Mix honey and peanut butter. Spread in core (holes) in apple halves. Enjoy!

Recipe from: The Keepers at Home Healthy Choices Cookbook

Best Man Gift | Groomsmen Gifts | Personalized Hunting Calls

Tried of the old traditional groomsmen gifts? These beautiful Amish handcrafted personalized hunting calls are becoming very popular best man and groomsmen wedding gifts.

Unique wedding party gifts for a group of die-hard hunters.  They will love them for years to come.

These old fashioned wooden hunting calls will be a home run.  Best of all they will fit right in with a frugal budget.

Hunting calls are available for all types of hunters and can be personalized for each person.

Cottage Craft Works .com with their subsidiary CCW Hunting and Game Calls has one of the largest selection of  turkey calls on the Internet.

The Lil Champ 6” dugout box call is one of the most popular items ordered for wedding parties.  It features an engraving of a strutting turkey coming through a barbed wire fence toward a group of turkeys underneath a large oak tree.  The groomsman name can be engraved in the top of the hunting scene.

Other popular groomsmen gifts have included deer grunts, and duck calls.

 Leather duck straps have also been personalized for waterfowl hunters.

For an over the top best man gift the complete gear belts for all types of hunts are patterned after old fashioned hunting gear.

For the bride who loves to bake personalized pottery wedding  and batter bowls are also available for wedding gifts.

Cottage Craft Works .com http://www.cottagecraftworks.com is a full line general store featuring the old fashioned products from the 1900s.

Game Board | Vintage Reproduction | Aggravation | Checkers | Chess | Carrom

Bring back family togetherness and build new family traditions with these vintage reproduction board games.

Do you miss the more simpler life when growing up was all about family and having fun together at home?

Pull the plug on electronics for at least  one night per week to have quality time teaching your children, develop new family traditions, and be with them to detect early on crisis issues.

Some say that television, computers, and electronic games have deteriorated the family connection.

While these old fashioned board games are now available in an electronic format, the one on one solitude of just sitting down in a quiet corner next to a blazing warm fire is an excellent way to discuss lifelong development and values with children.

There’s just nothing like an old fashioned game board to provide some quality family time away from modern electronics.

Some board games like Aggravation and Carrom can be played with multiple family members while chess and checkers challenge the mind and coordination to visually watch a child’s or teen one on one interactions.

If you should become snowed in this winter without power these vintage board games will also help beat cabin fever.

Reproduction board games are made and used in the Amish self sustaining communities who still use these old fashioned entertainment boards in lieu of modern electronics.

Aggravation board games are available for four and up to six players.  It’s a game using marbles and dice with the winner who ends up capturing their opponents marbles.

Carrom Game Board is  a multipurpose double sided game board providing 100 different game options.  Your family can play everything from Ring Carrom®, Crokinole, Billiards, Bowling, King of the Castle, Backgammon, Blockade and 93 other exciting games.

The Carrom game board was originally introduced in the late 1800s and was one of the main entertainment game boards used up into the mid 1900s before television began to change the family entertainment culture.

Vintage game boards are also popular home decorating items.

You will find quality vintage reproduction game boards at Cottage Craft Works .com 

Vintage Wooden Boxes | History | Uses | Decor

See our recent article on vintage wooden boxes

http://lizstevens.hubpages.com/_1u9mpimfdt8jz/hub/Vintage-Wooden-Boxes-Crates-Cases-Toolboxes

Visit our site for all types of vintage reproduction products that were also built in the 1800s and early 1900s

http://www.cottagecraftworks.com

Garden Equipment | Carts and Wagons | USA Made the old fashioned way

See how the Amish are still making these heavy duty garden and lawn carts as they were American made in the 1950s and 1960s.  They are available online as well as all types of Amish built wagons for kids and garden decor at http://www.cottagecraftworks.com/back-basics-farm-garden-wagons-barrows-c-64_123_87.html

Click on the link below to go to the article.
http://lizstevens.hubpages.com/_1u9mpimfdt8jz/hub/Lawn-and-Garden-Carts-Wheelbarrow-Gardening-Equipment

Motorized Wheelbarrow

EZ Motorized Wheelbarrow moves up to 10 cubic feet of wet or dry material over uneven terrain with little effort.  One of the only motorized wheelbarrows on the market using  a heavy duty fiberglass tub.

Powered by a 4 cycled Honda engine capable of being ran upside, this motorized wheelbarrow uses very few moving parts.

Whether you’re into farming, gardening,  own a landscape or small construction business this 10 cubic foot motorized wheelbarrow will make your hard labor efforts go more productive with less worker fatigue.

Heavy duty fiberglass tub holds up better than metal or thin poly tubs when even throwing rocks into it!

38” wide wheelbarrow is a perfect solution to move up to 10 cubic feet of heavy manure, muck, landscape materials, gravel, sand and concrete out of tight barns, stables and through narrow gates.

Loading height is at 29” for hand shoveling of material.

Double front wheels stabilize the wheelbarrow during lifting and dumping. Rear trolley wheels allows easy  steering.

USA Amish manufactured in Ohio, only available online at http://www.cottagecraftworks.com/american-garden-tools-motorized-wheel-wheelbarrow-cubic-p-1829.html

Roller Egg Nesting Boxes | Chicken Nest box

Roller egg nesting boxes are changing the way people are raising chickens for fresh eggs from commercial poultry operations to a flock of backyard chickens.

The traditional nest box resembles a regular bird nest lined with nesting material.

The chickens  come in lays their eggs and then leaves the eggs open in the nest.

One nest maybe used by several chickens so the fragile eggs are exposed to stepping on them or pecking at them. The general rule of thumb is to provide one nest box to handle up to 5-6 hens.

Chickens that get a taste of the inside of an egg will likely become egg eaters and will need to be removed from the flock to keep them from destroying eggs before they can be harvested.

Roller egg nesting boxes are designed with a front collection tray.  The bottom of the nest box is covered in a plastic coated wire mesh to protect the eggs as they drop.

As soon as the eggs drop they roll forward into a covered compartment out of the reach of the chickens until they can be harvested.

Roller egg nesting boxes have many other benefits as well;

• They do not require nesting material.  As strange as that sounds the chickens actually become easily trained to lay their eggs in the nest compartment.

• Each roller egg box comes with a training egg.  Chickens that are accustomed to nesting materials can be started off in their new roller egg nesting boxes filled with the traditional nest material and then gradually removed to wean them down to no material at all.

• Without nesting material to harbor mites and lice keeping your chickens can enjoy more of a pest free life and likely become more productive.

• The roller egg boxes come with two hanging wall cleats.  The entire box can be lifted off and taken outside for washing and disinfecting. 

The roller egg nesting boxes known as the Roll-a-way nest box are Amish made from 26 and 16 gauge galvanized metal.

This is a more substantial nest box using thicker metal than the others on the market using  thinner gauge metals and plastic parts.

The Amish Roll-a-way nest boxes are only available from Cottage Craft Works .com  in two, four and eight  nest compartment models.  

Compartments measure 8” tall 11-1/4” wide and 11-1/2” deep.  The four and eight compartment nest boxes both measure 49” wide and 17” deep, while the two compartment is only 24-1/2” wide.  

Cottage Craft Works is a unique online country store featuring many heavy duty Amish made products for the home, garden farm and ranch.

History of vintage lighting before electricity

A history of vintage lighting before electricity from candles to oil, kerosene and gas lighting.

http://lizstevens.hubpages.com/_1u9mpimfdt8jz/hub/Vintage-Lighting-Oil-Lamps-Candles-Kerosene-Lanterns-Gas-Lights

Purchase reproduction oil and gas lights at http://www.cottagecraftworks.com/home-goods-self-sufficient-living-c-42_125.html

Pie Maker | Pies | Pie Crust | Easy Pies | Meat Pies | Fry Pie Machine

An economical commercial grade mini pie maker priced for the home or small commercial kitchen.

While most commercial grade pie makers will set you back nearly a $1000 or more the Little Pie Maker from Cottage Craft Works http://www.cottagecraftworks.com is priced at half the cost.

This is no light weight either,  made of heavy cast aluminum powder coated base and food grade aluminum dies this little pie machine stays in place on the counter top as you set load and crank uniformed cut and crimped 3-1/2” X 5” dough pies.

The Little Pie Maker was replicated from an antique model and then developed and made in the Amish communities.

The Amish make things to last for their own use, but do so without a lot of commercial and corporate overhead.   The cost of their products compared to the quality is simply amazing.

Unlike other pie makers on the market there’s no support bars to get in the way.  Wide open work area is easy to pass through and clean.

Large food pocket can be filled with different cultural meat mixes or fruits.  Pies can be fried or baked and then glazed or served unglazed.

The Little Pie Maker is perfect for large families to make up and freeze different meant and fruit pies for quick microwave meal.

The Little Pie Maker is in use in pizzerias, bakeries, catering shops and restaurants. 

View more about The Littler Pie Maker and watch a video at http://www.cottagecraftworks.com/food-processor-pie-maker-pie-dough-pie-crust-turnover-machine-p-1447.html

Cottage Craft Works is a unique on line store filled with all types of high quality products for the home, farm, garden and kitchen.

The Little Pie Maker is just one of the many unique products that you will find that is Amish USA made.