The smell of apple cider and cinnamon spice doughnuts has been welcoming customers to the Franklin Cider Mill for 181 years.
The mill opened its doors in 1832. Since then, people of all shapes and sizes have flocked to the cider mill to watch the making of apple cider, eat a doughnut made from an old homemade recipe, and wash the delicious taste down with sweet, crisp cider.
To make the apple cider, employes of the cider mill follow the same procedure that has been passed down from previous generations.
The first step is selecting only the best apples. To do this, employes on the second floor of the mill hand pick hundreds of Grade-A apples daily. This apple selecting process is not open to the public due to a limited amount of space.
After employees select the apples to make cider, the workers wash the apples before the fruit enters the grinder. Here, the fruit is cut into bite-sized pieces.
The bite-sized chucks of apples then travel down stairs to be pressed at the presser before the customer’s eyes as the workers extract the juice of thousands of apple chunks. The remaining portions of the apples are dispensed onto blankets made of nylon. The nylon allows juice to seep through, but keeps the seeds, peels and pulp inside.
The blankets are then stacked on top of each other by an employee, then he/she activates the last step of the cider making process, the presser. The press applies 40-50 pounds of pressure for 15-20 minutes in order to extract as much juice as possible.There you have it ladies and gentlemen, apple cider. From start to finish, the process takes less than 25 minutes. The leftover pulp is shipped to the nearby Detroit Zoo to feed the animals.
Unlike most cider mills, employees at the Franklin Cider Mill do not pasteurize or filter the cider in any way, shape or form, making the cider a pure fruit juice.
The cider mill on Franklin Road makes more than apple cider. The mill fry cinnamon spiced doughnuts fresh every single day. The delicious deserts are made from an old recipe straight from Germany, brought to the good old U.S. of A many, many years ago. Make sure to get em’ while they’re hot! Warning: Don’t close the bags because the doughnuts will loose heir crispiness.
In addition to cider and doughnuts, the mill also sells an array of products from which to choose from including pies, cones, breads, cakes, meats and cheeses, jams, spreads, honey, vegetables and even pumpkins and corn stalks.
At the Franklin Cider Mill, there’s something for everyone. You and your friends can pose to take a once in a lifetime picture with a 1260 pound pumpkin. Children and the young-in-heart can get their face painted by a clown, feed doughnuts to ducks, or do whatever their hearts desire at the nearby stream. While you’re there, make sure to take a step back in America’s past and watch the water wheel revolve round n’ round.
Scattered outside the mill are large pumpkins that are engraved with a saying sure to make a persons day that much better. “Happy times at the Franklin Cider Mill.”
Set aside a date to visit to the cider mill today before it’s too late. The Franklin Cider Mill shuts its doors right after Thanksgiving.
Provided is a link to their Website – Click Here.
