Day 22-32: WWOOFing in Ohid
After picking apples off the ground and pruning rows of apple trees that never seem to end for 6 days in a row, pressing cider was a welcome change. Somehow the fact that Arthur and Richard's methods were always not so efficient was endearing because they both took so much pleasure in the work. The end product was just a nice perk for them. The farm's loosing money every year but Arthur doesn't seem to mind. Sometimes I'd catch him leveling out some huge pile of dirt with a tiny shovel (the kind kids might use or housewives who really don't know how to garden). It was cute to see him, white haired, dirt on his knees, and a huge grin stretched across his face, as he slowly but surely leveled the pile.
Making cider was a similar level of inefficiency that at first bothered us wwoofers. Since our ultimate goal was to have a good time, that's just what we did :)
After collecting the apples that have recently fallen to the ground, they are chopped up by a grinder. The apple mush is then plopped onto a cloth atop a wood board, then again and again layered until there are 5 or 6 layers of manually pressed plops of mush. The juice seeps out of the cloth, but the real volume comes when we crank a car jack down to press the remaining juice out of the shlop.
This process is a great workout. It took a lot of effort to ignore hundreds of bees interested in the sweet cider.
Zach, you were a good student in the kitchen. One of my favorite parts of staying at Reynold's farm was cooking with my fellow wwoofers. It's awesome to immediately connect with other trarvelers. We all had different stories to share of why we were traveling in Hungary, but all had a common desire to get out into the countryside to see the real life.
I loved seeing what we could create from unfamiliar ingredients, one burner, and some untrained kitchen cooks. Sometimes I wonder how boys like Zach manage in life? How can you live more than 20 years and not know how to cook anything? What has become of America's youth? What a shame to only know how to cook Ramen or tv dinners! Luckily, Zach was willing and motivated to learn at least some common sense about preparing food. He became my baking apprentice for the week as we made blackberry pies, chocolate chip cookies, plum jams, apple crumbles, and interesting melted meals made in a tiny toaster oven. You can tell he was focused on his tasks when given.
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Coralie and Matt casually sitting in the back of Arthur's white van. I can't believe they look so calm in this picture because we all felt like we were going to die in the back of that truck, the way Arthur was driving. He'd be caught up in a story of how he came to Hungary, or busy pointing at some property or house that he owned but did nothing with, while turning into traffic, without looking! Half way through the turn, he'd ask, "am I clear?"... if it hadn't been clear, it would have been too late. Arthur's laid back demeanor didn't seem to generalize to the road. At first it was funny to see him try to race other farm vehicles until we were the victims of each jurky swerve, every slam on the breaks.
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After picking apples off the ground and pruning rows of apple trees that never seem to end for 6 days in a row, pressing cider was a welcome change. Somehow the fact that Arthur and Richard's methods were always not so efficient was endearing because they both took so much pleasure in the work. The end product was just a nice perk for them. The farm's loosing money every year but Arthur doesn't seem to mind. Sometimes I'd catch him leveling out some huge pile of dirt with a tiny shovel (the kind kids might use or housewives who really don't know how to garden). It was cute to see him, white haired, dirt on his knees, and a huge grin stretched across his face, as he slowly but surely leveled the pile.Making cider was a similar level of inefficiency that at first bothered us wwoofers. Since our ultimate goal was to have a good time, that's just what we did :)
After collecting the apples that have recently fallen to the ground, they are chopped up by a grinder. The apple mush is then plopped onto a cloth atop a wood board, then again and again layered until there are 5 or 6 layers of manually pressed plops of mush. The juice seeps out of the cloth, but the real volume comes when we crank a car jack down to press the remaining juice out of the shlop.
This process is a great workout. It took a lot of effort to ignore hundreds of bees interested in the sweet cider.
Zach, you were a good student in the kitchen. One of my favorite parts of staying at Reynold's farm was cooking with my fellow wwoofers. It's awesome to immediately connect with other trarvelers. We all had different stories to share of why we were traveling in Hungary, but all had a common desire to get out into the countryside to see the real life.
I loved seeing what we could create from unfamiliar ingredients, one burner, and some untrained kitchen cooks. Sometimes I wonder how boys like Zach manage in life? How can you live more than 20 years and not know how to cook anything? What has become of America's youth? What a shame to only know how to cook Ramen or tv dinners! Luckily, Zach was willing and motivated to learn at least some common sense about preparing food. He became my baking apprentice for the week as we made blackberry pies, chocolate chip cookies, plum jams, apple crumbles, and interesting melted meals made in a tiny toaster oven. You can tell he was focused on his tasks when given.
Richard bought new sneaks today :) They are blindingly white but will only be that way for maybe 20 minutes.
Mmmm.. finally reaping the benefits of our hard work. The last day, Zach and I got to try hard cider that had been made Summer of 2011. It perfectly complemented our baked vegetables and beans. I will miss this plastic table and the plastic chairs that buckled under me several times, leaving me with scrapes on my elbows.
I'll miss the warm afternoons laying in the shade with Forint and Sal, getting reiki.
I'll miss the warm afternoons laying in the shade with Forint and Sal, getting reiki.
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