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Every October Mill House Cider Museum rolls out the barrel for Cider Making Days, open to the public in the October half term. A day of Traditional Cider Making - Apples are crushed and pressed using the antique equipment - a chance for people to see the traditional way of making cider in the flesh. There are also demonstrations of how cider can be made at home using simple everyday items, as well as rural crafts, games, face painting, folk songs, hot mulled cider and Dorset Apple cake on sale. The Cider Making Team (staff, and friends roped in to help) dress up in traditional costume. A mixture of Dorset and Somerset apples are used, and are crushed in a 19th century hand driven mill.
On the 19th Century Dorset Iron Screw press we use traditional long straw to build up the cheese with the apple pulp (pomace). When enough layers are built the huge iron screws are turned to press out the juice.
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We have a demonstration of traditional Dorset Felt making, using sheeps wool, then dying it with natural dyes, such as onion and beetroot. Folk music by Marianne Whatmoor Duane singing and playing guitar adds atmosphere, while children (and adults) enjoy the 'apple shy' and quoits games playing for t-shirts, mugs and toffee apples. A prize basket is awarded to the person who makes the longest continuous piece of apple peel. Tastes of Hot Mulled Cider are offered to warm people up, and if you get hungry there is Dorset Apple Cake, biscuits and other local snacks.
Copyright (c) 2005 Mill House Cider. All rights reserved.
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