A Huddersfield cider maker has urged people to donate apples from their gardens rather than letting them go to rot.

Dave Kendall-Smith produces real cider made from locally-sourced apples along with perry from pears at his cidery in Lindley, Udders Orchard, but Dave is always short of fruit.

Now’s the time apples and pears are ripe and falling off people’s trees, but far too many folk don’t eat them so Dave has urged everyone to donate them to him in return for a tipple of the strong stuff.

Dave said: “Udders Orchard is about utilising otherwise unused and unwanted fruit so don’t let them rot on the ground or dump them at the tip. Bring your apples to one of our drop-off days at the Lindley Cidery.”

Udders Orchard has been making cider in Lindley for more than 15 years, firstly in the cellar before moving to an old bakery premises on Acre Street.

The business has grown from strength to strength and now boasts a monthly taproom where cider lovers can sample the wares. The ciders are also available in Huddersfield and all over Yorkshire with regular stockists on the east coast through Hull, York, Leeds and Sheffield.

Dave added: “It’s really important we get plenty of fruit from around Huddersfield to really capture the characteristic taste of the gritty northern industrial revolution landscape.

“It takes over 12 tonnes or 800 bags-for-life full of apples to make to make a year’s worth of cider. Any dessert, cider or culinary apples can be used but, above all, the fruit must be ripe, relatively clean with unbroken skin. Windfalls can be used – the odd bruise is not a problem – as well as those picked directly off the tree.”

Real cider is made using whole juice from fresh-pressed apples, is naturally fermented by wild yeasts and contains no other fruits, flavourings or colourings. It’s vegan friendly and gluten-free.

The drop off days at Udders Orchard on Acre Street in Lindley are Saturday, September 14; Saturday, September 28 and Saturday, October 13 from 11am to 2pm each day.

People unable to drop their apples off can contact Dave to arrange drop off or collection and there are limited appointments available to pick your apples if you’re unable to do so yourself. Donors will be rewarded with cider or apple juice. See www.uddersorchardcider.co.uk/harvest for further information

The apple needs to be ripe. Cut open a few samples, check the colour of the pip and if it’s brown or black then it’s ready for picking. If it’s white then leave the apples a few weeks and check again.

Apples and pears will be exchanged for cider with 500ml per 10kg of fruit delivered or 500ml per 20kg picked.

Over the last 15 years around 40 tonnes of Huddersfield apples have avoided a soggy end in the compost heap and have been turned into award-winning cider delivered to specialist outlets all across the north of England.

Dave can be contacted on 07817 367752, by email at dave@uddersorchard.co.uk, or on Facebook and Twitter www.twitter.com/uddersorchard  

Written by ANDY HIRST who runs his own Yorkshire freelance journalism agency AH! PR (https://ah-pr.com/) specialising in press releases, blogging, website content and copywriting.