Stainless Steel Fruit Press USA Made Fruit Press for Making Wine & Cider, Pressing Grapes, Honeycomb, and more!

A very good machine and well worth the cost. Made of stainless steel, it is heavy and rugged and cleans up easily after use. I've used it to press plums and grapes. The instructions say to put the included bag into the cylinder, put in the fruit and close of the bag at the top before pressing. This gives two levels of allowing the juice to escape while retaining the pulp. What I could not get it to do was to squeeze the juice out without mashing the fruit first. Grapes in the center do not crush when cranking down the press. The outside grapes do. Not the machines fault, grapes and plums just need to be busted up before pressing. It would be nice to have the juice tray go up higher around the cylinder. When I got down to really putting the pressure on, juice tends to squirt out the sides and not into the drain tray. The available apple crusher attachment might help break of the fruit better before pressing. I may invest in the crusher before the next use. I'm happy with machine and don't expect to ever need another.

This is a beautiful, well-constructed product, but it's too big for my needs. I'm not making cider using hard fruit. I'm pressing raw fruit such as cherries, shredded apples, etc. after macerating in vinegar. The fruit shrinks during this process because it gets softer and swollen with the vinegar. I typically use ten pounds of fruit at a time, and it's literally a drop in the bucket compared to the volume of the barrel. After I have cranked the press handle as far as it will go, it doesn't reach deep enough into the basket to press the amount of fruit I'm using.It would be great if the press came with a set of "followers" (typically used in cheese-making) to help fill up the void. I am currently filling the gap by using a stainless steel dog food dish turned upside down to get the extra amount of pressure I need.This isn't a slam against the company; it's just about my own particular needs. But I would think others out there would also be interested in purchasing a set of stainless steel followers. Otherwise, I think the pressing platen needs to be redesigned so that it goes all the way to the very bottom of the cylinder to ensure that smaller batches get the maximum amount of pressure.

Love it. Made several gallons of cider last year as a family activity a few everyone had a great time. Easy to use even by one person and cleanup is beyond easy. Have used a wooden press in the past and all the washing and scrubbing and treating is a huge hassle. Just spray this with a hose and a little soap and done cleaning in 15 minutes, let air dry on porch and put away in an hour. And you can enjoy a big glass of cider while waiting for it to dry instead of all that extra work. Amazing!

I liked the design and it is easy to clean but not 100% stainless. I had to use 4" of spacer blocks and the bag broke the first time I used it.

Press works but the horizontal slats have edges that tear the bag provided. Need a heavier bag or need to redesign the crush basket with round holes.

is a nice press used two times no problems.

For a Big Boy. That's the way I like it. Apples in the right season, I'll even do some pomegranates. Cleans easy, and I've had no issues with filter bag tears, or with the stainless steel-- that don't break. Along with my homemade ice cream maker this is my very favorite food preparer and I don't know how I managed so long with the old wooden one I got from my Grammy. It's been retired as an antique, like I'm fixin' to do soon.. Heh~ Good stuff here!