STERLING - Tiny bits of apple sprayed the group of children as they gathered around an old fruit press and watched Jim D'Angelo squeeze juice out of the apples. D'Angelo, the director of the Sterling Nature Center, has been running the cider-making event at the center for the past three years, he said.

“It's something that fits the area. Some people still remember doing it when they were kids,” he said. “It's hands-on and they get to see where it's coming from.”

Margaret Faulkner, of Sterling, and her foster son, John Ramos, 17, were the first two people to show up for the apple-pressing.

“We've attended a few of his (D'Angelo's) things before and they're always great,” Faulkner said. “It's so beautiful and there's so much to learn. Without these programs, you come and you probably don't learn anything. You can appreciate nature and the community.”

Faulkner said she had no idea that it took that many apples to make the cider or that they didn't have to be peeled or de-cored.

Gary Korbin, of Hannibal, decided to bring his two grandchildren because it was a good way to get them outside and let them see how things are done, he said. Both of his grandchildren got a chance to grind some apples in the press to experience the process of making cider first-hand.

“It was hard because the apples got jammed in the (press),” said Korbin's grandson Adam Dennison.

Anyone who wanted to try grinding the apples was given a turn. Once enough apples were ground up, D'Angelo covered them with a cheese cloth that lined the basket and turned the screw as the juice began to pour into the pot that stood under the fruit press.

“I didn't know making this would be so hard,” said Joshua Lindstrom, who came to the nature center with his aunt, sister and a friend.

Lindstrom, 9, said that he liked the fresh cider better than the one at the store because “it has a lot more flavors.”

Different varieties of apples are what give the cider its unique flavors, D'Angelo said. Most ciders use a blend of apples to get the right flavor.

After the juice was squeezed out of the apples, D'Angelo took the pot into the kitchen to pasteurize the cider. All cider needs to be pasteurized in order to get the bacteria out and a state law requires that cider be pasteurized before it is sold, he said.

There are two ways to pasteurize the cider. The first is to heat it up to 170 degrees and the second would be to use a ultraviolet light. Heating, which will kill the bacteria and germs, will change the flavor of the cider a little bit and will also make some of the solids come out, D'Angelo said. The UV pasteurization will also get rid of the bacteria but it keeps the cider closer to its pure form, he said.

In colonial times, people made apple cider because that was the only way to store the apples for a long time, he said. In many cases, the cider fermented and what we now know as hard cider used to just be called cider, he said.

D'Angelo said that he likes to educate people about the process of making cider and it is also a good opportunity for people to come out and enjoy the area.

“Kids are surprised about what it took,” to make the cider, he said. “And it helps them connect more with the environment and with the area where the foods are being produced.”

Adults are equally as surprised.

“I'm going to drink cider a lot slower next time,” Faulkner said. “And appreciate what went into it.”

Staff writer Gitana Mirochnik can be reached at 253-5311 ext. 237 or gitana.mirochnik@lee.net