Glossary · Milling and pressing
Rack and cloth
Also written rack and cloth pressing, layer press. Each is a name for the same thing, which is why none of them has an entry of its own.
Definition
The standard traditional pressing method: pomace is wrapped in a square cloth to form a parcel, a slatted rack is laid on top, and the layers are stacked into a cheese and pressed.
- Subject
- Milling and pressing
- Also written
- rack and cloth pressing, layer press
In more detail
The racks hold the layers apart and channel juice sideways to the edge of the stack; the cloths retain the solids. A well-built rack and cloth press extracts a high proportion of the available juice, gives a relatively clear must, and is still used by producers who want gentle, oxidative extraction rather than the speed of a belt press.
It is labour-intensive: building, pressing, breaking down and washing cloths is most of the work of a traditional pressing day.
Where this is covered properly
The glossary defines; these pages explain. Each is described in its own words.
Related terms
Terms that belong to the same part of the subject, or that this one is routinely confused with.
Milling and pressing
Cheese
The stack of pomace built up in a traditional press: alternating layers of pomace wrapped in cloth, or bound with straw, forming a squat block that juice runs out of under pressure.
Milling and pressing
Press cloth
The woven sheet in which a layer of pomace is folded before pressing. Mesh size trades juice clarity against pressing speed, and cleanliness of cloths is a principal control on spoilage organisms in the press house.
Milling and pressing
Hair
A coarse cloth of horsehair, and later of woven synthetic fibre, used to wrap pomace in a press. The word survives as the trade name for press cloths regardless of what they are now made from.
Equipment
Hydraulic press
A press that applies force through a hydraulic ram, allowing high and precisely controlled pressure. It is the usual power source for a modern rack-and-cloth press.
Milling and pressing
Pressing yield
The proportion of fruit weight recovered as juice, usually expressed as litres per tonne or as a percentage. It depends on the fruit, the mill setting, the press type and the pressure profile.
Where to go next
- Cider glossary — The whole vocabulary, by subject and A–Z.
- Comparisons — Terms that are only really clear when set against the thing they are not.
- Search — Finds terms by their aliases and by their spellings in other languages.
Sources
What this page rests on. Where a source is marked as registered rather than read, CiderHQ is recording that the body is authoritative on the subject without claiming to have worked through the document itself. See our evidence policy for what each state means.
The New Cider Maker’s Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide for Craft Producers
Claude Jolicoeur, Chelsea Green Publishing, 2013. ISBN 9781603584739 · reference work · bibliographic record verified, not opened 2026-08-25
Bibliographic record verified on 2026-08-25 against the Open Library union catalogue: Chelsea Green Publishing, 2013, ISBN 9781603584739, one edition recorded. That establishes the citation points at a real book in a stated edition, which is what a citation needs and is all it establishes. No copy was opened and nothing is quoted from it. The book itself is in print and not digitised in any open collection; where CiderHQ needs a figure from this territory it uses an accessible research source instead and says so.
Hereford Museum of Cider collections and interpretation
Hereford Cider Museum Trust · museum · retrieved 2026-08-24
Cider and perry production technical training material
Peter Mitchell / Cider and Perry Academy · reference work · registered as competent for this subject
Searched again on 2026-08-25 and it remains the one printed source here that a bibliographic check cannot fix, because it is not a published work with an edition. It is course material issued to participants of a training programme, so there is no catalogue record to verify, no ISBN, and no lawful public copy. Its state stays `registered` for that reason rather than through inattention.