Pressing Matter loves apples and especially the delicious juice they make. The company, located at 338 Dove Creek Road, Courtenay, offers an apple pressing service where your apples can be turned into this delicious nectar. It offers services to commercial orchards, private homeowners and non-profit organizations. The process is sterile with high-tech equipment, innovative flash pasteurization and convenient bag-in-the-box packaging. It allows everyone with a tree and limited freezer space the opportunity to enjoy the bounty of their harvest throughout the winter.
The pasteurized juiced can safely be stored at room temperature for six-months, once open it can last up to three months in the fridge. If you are an avid cider maker, or rather have non-pasteurized juice, Pressing Matter can fill up your own containers (it cannot go in the bag-in-the-box).
They press every Tuesday and Thursday, until there are no apples left (end of October). There is no reservation, it’s on a first-come-first-served basis, and apples drop off is between 8-10:30 a.m. at the apple press (338 Dove Creek Rd, Courtenay)
For individuals, please bring your apples to the site. A minimum of 200 pounds are required per pressing (approximately one loaded tree). This will yield about 10- sL boxes of juice. The apples should be as clean as possible (dirt, leaves, branches removed) and if stored, they should be in a cold space (cold room, garage, cellar) and away from animals.
For groups of neighbours with a minimum of 6,000 pounds, this could be a great time to gather people and share in a community harvest-time celebration such as a tailgate or barbecue while the apples are being pressed. It can also be a perfect opportunity for non-profit organizations to raise needed funds for their organization. You might plan an “Apple-Fest” as a fundraising project where the fruit is gathered from abandoned and unpicked trees and made into juice for a winter fundraiser. There is no waste! The pressing process leaves behind an almost completely dry mash which may be used as fertilizer, compost or apple mash for animal feed for sheep and cattle. Bring your fruit to the press and take home delicious pasteurized juice in a convenient and safe packaging system.
For more information, call 778-585-8677 or email info.pressingmatter@gmail.com .