When we press the apples we end up with delicious juice and a whole lot of bits - pips, apple skins, bits of the core. It turns out there are lots of things to be done with it to use up all the remaining goodness and encourage sustainability.
Robert Snook farms a suckler herd of Hereford beef cattle near Castle Cary, Somerset. His wife, Sally, also runs a Bed & Breakfast business http://www.clanvillemanor.co.uk/ from their beautiful Georgian farmhouse in which she serves Orchard Pig apple juice.
This winter the farm will also be serving Orchard Ground Force apple pomace to guests, but the guests will have four legs instead of two!
Robert explains “In mid July this year, when there had been so little rain, we knew that the price of food for our cattle was going to go up. We had no silage, no grass to cut for the second or third cut, and when someone mentioned that Orchard Ground Force had apple pomace we thought we would consider it. It’s not that unusual - plenty of people have used it - but it was new for us.”
The pomace is rich in vitamins and roughage. Robert stores it in a big heap in the yard.“There’s a heat element in the pomace so most of the time we don’t cover it, because we don’t want it to break down and ferment. But we also don’t want it too dry because the cattle don’t like it if it’s too dry. We don’t have a roof for it, which would make it simpler, so we are just covering it with plastic sheeting when it rains a lot.”
“It’s basically carbohydrate and we balance it with a protein based product. The cows really like it - you’d probably like it too, it smells lovely! They push each other about to get to it and it means the grass lasts longer so they can stay outside longer.”
Apple pomace is also on the menu for the Gloucester Old Spots that give Orchard Pig its name, and experiments are taking place with feeding it to the game birds on a local shoot. The pips encourage the natural scratching behaviour of the birds.
Back at West Bradley Orchards the pomace is mixed with woodchips from the apple tree prunings and basalt dust is added - a waste product from a local quarry. The basalt dust contains essential minerals and has long been used in Australia in the wine industry to retain moisture in the soil. The mixture is composted for at least six weeks and then used as a mulch around the base of the new trees later in the year.
