steam juicers

[patR]

Has anyone got one of these seemingly good things... and what do you think of it.. Im looking for one to make grape jiuce... but would like an opinion from a user first..

[patR]

Does no one have one?

[niknik]

never even heard of one....til now!

[wulf]

I wasn't aware of them either. It looks like the main toss-up is whether you want fresh juice (in which case mechanical extraction is the way to go) or if you are wanting to make jams and other preserves, in which case the steamer might give you a head start and cut out some of the straining you might otherwise need to do.

Wulf

[dave45]

I have one. Not used it for years. Its in the garage. I was thinking of using it for my grape harvest this year after I made a total mess of it last year.. (when Dave discovered that a small fruit press is totally useless for grapes... and just about everything else he has tried).

Must be 15 years since I used it... with apples. It produced a passable apple juice as I recall. I figured it would have been thoroughly pasteurised/sterlised with all that steam treatment and bottled most of it. It went mouldy. But that may have been badly sterilised bottles or lids I suppose. Time for another go.

AIRI you put clean chopped fruit in the top basket and a couple of litres of water into the bottom pan and the steamed juice drops into the middle bit... Add more water and you get more diluted juice. I guess the skill is in getting that balance right. Not sure whether "sparging" is a good or bad idea - brewing term - meaning pouring boiling water over the remaining fruit mush to extract the last few molecules of fruity stuff.

Significant fuel energy input required though - low simmer on the gas ring for an hour or two.

But its big plus point is that its EASY and you do get a result (subject to dilution). Compared to large amounts of physical violence required to use my fruit press that yields mere teaspoonfuls of juice and leaves whole grapes to survive the process intact.

[patR]

Hi. The reason I asked about this is my swiss neighbour has one and adores it. she uses it to juice her grapes and soft fruit, I tried a couple of bottles she made that were left from the season before last... she doesnt thin it down and it was heavenly... and the point is, for me anyway, is that you dont have to do all that faffing about with boiling the stuff in hot water baths afterward, or oven baking it to sterilise etc... this does it at the time.. and as long as your bottles are sterile when you put it in, it keeps for ages...
For me who has a wood burning cooker the energy cost would be zero...
Im more into storing than drinking fresh, I have a manual juicer for fresh juice everyday...

[wulf]

In that case, it would be useful. Even better, borrow your neighbour's one and pay her back by offering to share some of the results or bartering something else you produce.

Wulf

[patR]

She's a good friend who helps me a lot already and I dont feel I could ask her for even more favours... plus she has everything I could barter and more...

[Millymollymandy]

Hi. The reason I asked about this is my swiss neighbour has one and adores it. she uses it to juice her grapes and soft fruit, I tried a couple of bottles she made that were left from the season before last... she doesnt thin it down and it was heavenly... and the point is, for me anyway, is that you dont have to do all that faffing about with boiling the stuff in hot water baths afterward, or oven baking it to sterilise etc... this does it at the time.. and as long as your bottles are sterile when you put it in, it keeps for ages...
For me who has a wood burning cooker the energy cost would be zero...
Im more into storing than drinking fresh, I have a manual juicer for fresh juice everyday...

I would say that the above IS your recommendation..... I expect you have loads of fruit there so why not go for it?