From butcher to fruit grower

Alois Frank from Zug doesn't just press his own apples on his farm. And he knows what makes a good cider apple.
 

Alois Frank stands among the trees on his farm in Menzingen and reaches for an apple. Next to him is his dog Babs, who accompanies him every day, waits, wagging his tail. Alois Frank lifts the fruit with a slight twist, and the stem comes off almost by itself. “Now it's ripe,” he says.

The cider fruit season has just begun, and lasts from mid-August to the end of October. The Swiss Fruit Association (Schweizer Obstverband) expects around 82,000 tons of cider apples and 3,600 tons of cider pears this year – a third less than last year, but still above the multi-year average. For the Menzingen fruit farmer, this means two months of non-stop work. Picking, sorting, pressing until the last apples are off the tree. “Everything runs at full speed during this time,” says the 57-year-old.

While the shelves of large distributors are mainly stocked with Gala apples – last year, this amounted to over 14,000 tons, or almost a third of all dessert apples in Switzerland – Alois Frank grows other varieties, such as Piros, Rubiola, Flurina, Gravensteiner, and Boskop. “We are too high up for Gala,” he explains. In addition, this variety is mainly suitable as a dessert apple, rather than for cider production. Gala is sweet and popular, but has little acidity. Acidity is needed for good cider, however, otherwise it quickly tastes flat.

From farm to farm with the mobile press
Alois Frank has known the area since childhood. He grew up on the Neuzuben farm, just a twenty-minute walk from his current business in Brand. His eldest brother later took over the farm, and Alois initially pursued a different career. He trained as a butcher and worked in this trade for 22 years.

But he never completely let go of agriculture. In 1988, while still a butcher, he bought his first small press at the bull market. He first used it to press apples on his brother's farm, but was soon doing it for neighbours as well. “Two of them asked if I could press for them too. And that's how word got around.”

Alois Frank and his dog Babs stroll bertween the apple and pear trees      
A nashi tree also grows on Alois Frank's farm. The fruit looks like an apple but tastes like a pear.
Alois Frank presents the ripe fruit on one of his apple trees.           
He reaches boldly into the apple mash. The sweet and sour scent immediately fills the air.
Alois Frank drives his mobile belt press from farm to farm and processes the apples directly on site
The youngest members of Alois Frank’s farm       Photos: Matthias Jurt
 

The step to starting his own business came in 2005, when a unmarried farmer in Brand wanted to sell his farm. Alois Frank seized the opportunity. ‘Only then did I give up my job as a butcher,’ he says. Today, fruit growing and processing shape his everyday life, and around 70 apple trees and 15 pear trees stand on his land.

Some of the fruit is used as table fruit, but the majority is used for cider (Mostobst). He also distils schnapps from some of the apples and pears. Although the farm is rather small, pressing cider for other farmers compensates for this financially. He drives from farm to farm with his mobile press, or takes on other people's harvests at his own farm. It’s important to him that every customer gets back the juice from their own fruit.

Only ripe fruit goes into the press
When the press is running, the atmosphere on the farm changes. A deep hum fills the air, metal clatters. The apples are first washed, so that only clean fruit enters the process. He sorts out individual damaged fruits with a trained eye, and the apples then rumble upwards on a spiral, where a large grater waits to process the fruit into mash. The mash runs into the belt press, where it is compressed layer by layer. The juice first emerges  drop by drop, and then in a steady stream.

In order to preserve the juice, it is heated briefly. ‘This kills the germs, otherwise the sweet cider would ferment quickly,’ says Frank. This happens automatically in the plant. ‘You could grab a coffee while you wait, but you always have to keep an eye on things.’ The result is a cloudy, golden-yellow apple juice that is slightly foamy and has an intense aroma. The plant produces between 1,000 and 1,200 litres per hour.

But not every fruit is suitable for pressing. ‘Many people think that you press an apple if it’s no longer beautiful,’ he says. ‘But that's a misconception. Only ripe, healthy fruit can be used to make cider.’ He immediately discards any apples that have been nibbled or are rotten. ‘If a bird has already been at it, the fruit no longer belongs in the press.’ Particular caution is required with sweet cider: heat-resistant fungi hide in the flesh of the fruit and can even survive the washing process. This is less of a problem with fermented cider, as the alcohol from the fermentation process stops their growth.

For a good three months, Alois Frank is completely absorbed in his work, seven days a week. Then comes the change. In November, repairs are due, trees need pruning, schnapps needs distilling. And he also helps out at his son's farm. There’s always something to do.

“I'm not going to become a millionaire doing this,” he says. But that's not what matters to him. “I can see what I've achieved. We have loyal customers and a lot of contact with people. And working outdoors in nature is a joy.” What he likes most is the variety. “It's nice when the cider season begins. And just as nice when it's over again.”