# 24 The Apple and Apple Cider
The apple tree has been around for a long time. Early humans picked apples for food. Today the apple is still the most valuable fruit crop. It is more valuable than the orange. Peach, pear, and plum crops are valuable. But the apple is worth all of them combined.
Apple trees grow just about everywhere. But they do not grow in very hot or very cold places. Apples are a big crop. The world's crop is almost a billion bushels a year. About one fourth of that is used for juice. How much juice comes from an apple? A lot! A fresh raw apple is about 84 percent water. But it is thick water. The water is full of fruit sugar.
The juice is made into cider. No two batches are the same. Why? Because cider makers mix different kinds of apples. This brings out a unique flavor. For example, the Red Delicious is sweet. The Ice Red is tart. But mixing them makes a great drink. Not too sweet. Not too tart. There are over 7,500 different kinds of apples. So makers have a big choice.
Let's watch the making of cider. Here is what you see. First, the apples are washed. Then they go on a moving belt. There they are sorted. The bad apples are picked out. The good stay. These are fed into a grinder. The grinder grinds them to a pulp. The pulp is called cheese. The cheese is placed in cloth bags. The bags are stacked on the floor of the press. Then the press slowly winds down. The cheese-filled bags are squeezed hard. The juice flows down between the bottom slats. The base is like a tub. It holds the cider.
The cheese must be removed at once. If it isn't, every wasp within miles will come after it.
# 24 蘋果與蘋果酒
蘋果樹已經存在很長時間了。早期人類採摘蘋果作為食物。今天，蘋果仍然是最有價值的水果作物。它比橙子更有價值。桃子、梨子和李子作物也很珍貴。但蘋果的價值相當於它們的總和。
蘋果樹幾乎到處都能生長。但它們不在非常炎熱或非常寒冷的地方生長。蘋果是一種大作物。世界年產量接近十億蒲式耳。其中約四分之一用於榨汁。一個蘋果能榨出多少汁？很多！一個新鮮的生蘋果約含84%的水分。但這是濃稠的水。水中充滿了果糖。
果汁被製成蘋果酒。沒有兩批是完全相同的。為什麼？因為蘋果酒製造商會混合不同種類的蘋果。這會帶來獨特的風味。例如，紅地厘蛇果是甜的。冰紅蘋果是酸的。但混合它們能製成很棒的飲料。不太甜。不太酸。有超過7,500種不同的蘋果。所以製造商有很大的選擇餘地。
讓我們來看看蘋果酒的製作過程。以下是您會看到的。首先，蘋果被清洗。然後它們被放在移動的傳送帶上。在那裡它們被分揀。壞蘋果被挑出來。好的留下。這些被送入研磨機。研磨機將它們磨成漿狀。這種漿狀物被稱為「乳酪」。乳酪被放入布袋中。袋子被堆疊在壓榨機的底部。然後壓榨機慢慢降下。裝滿乳酪的袋子被用力擠壓。果汁從底部板條之間流下。底座像一個桶。它盛裝蘋果酒。
乳酪必須立即移除。如果不這樣做，幾英里內的每隻黃蜂都會被吸引過來。