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A few weeks back I had shared a few helpful hints
from Julia Child’s show, The French Chef, and truthfully, there’s
nothing I relish more than learning about innovative or better ways to handle life’s
somewhat routine tasks.
And in keeping with National
Apple Month, more recently we were peeling and cutting apples, some perfect
honey crisps. My son, who also enjoys
quirky-but-helpful videos, shared one of his favorites from the Crazy Russian Hacker on YouTube. In the clip, the Hacker uses a novel approach
to apple peeling – a wide spade bit in a drill, which is used to skewer and
rotate the apple. Advising safety first,
the Hacker makes short work of the apple peel using a horizontal style peeler. I think I may actually try this using my
cordless drill, which would be safer as it can sit flat on its base for
stability. (He also uses the drill with a
sturdy brush to peel an entire bag of potatoes, pomme de terre, very quickly).
Another helpful YouTube video on apple shortcuts is offered
by Grant Thompson, the King of Random. He
also shows the more adventurous how to make a neat apple swan, which
might be a fun fall project with the kids.
Of course, its cider season, and Pathfinder
Produce has gallons of the sweet amber favorite available. There are all kinds of videos about cider
processing, from how to make your own washing machine press to
basic home processing. If you decide to make your own cider, be
careful not to use drops to avoid pathogens from contaminating your harvest. Also, some of the videos suggest using
softwoods or wide-grained woods to make cider contraptions. I would avoid doing so, as open wood grain
can accumulate bacteria, which is why wooden utensils and cutting boards are
traditionally fashioned from tight-grained woods like hard maple. For videos on commercial processing, check
out these clips about Sharon
Orchards and The Fly
Creek Cider Mill.
Until
next time, CHEERS!
Lori
