Enjoying Fresh Cider & Donuts at Franklin Cider Mill
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FunTranscript
00:00Hey there, I'm Danielle Flynn, and I am hanging out with Laura at Franklin Cider Mill.
00:06This place has been around since 1837.
00:09Well, that's when it was finished, the same year that Michigan became a state, Laura.
00:12The cider we get in the beginning of the season at Franklin Cider Mill isn't the same cider that we get later in the season.
00:19Well, the apples change over the season, so our cider changes over the season.
00:23The first apples we get, the early apples, are absolutely wonderful, and our cider is sweet and light.
00:29It's perfect, and then come the middle of the season, once there is a first frost, then the apples, the sugar content gets heavier.
00:37Our cider begins to change, and it gets deeper in color, and it gets sweeter.
00:42By the end of the season, we call it gold.
00:45So our apples are constantly changing, and our cider's constantly changing based upon the apples that we have.
00:53They should look perfect to me, I gotta tell you.
00:55They are.
00:55Yeah, so right now we're dealing with cider that's being made from McIntosh, Empire, and Gala.
01:02And Honeycrisp.
01:03And Honeycrisp is my favorite.
01:06So it's a great combination.
01:06Yeah, yeah, that sounds delicious.
01:08So we gotta go check out how the cider is made.
01:11We've got the seven layers made, and they're getting ready to put it under the press now.
01:16And you can see the cider dripping from absolutely everything.
01:19And because Cranklin Cider Mill is a historical landmark, they can't do anything to change the place structurally.
01:28That's part of the reason, I'm sure, why these special boards were made.
01:32All right, so here we go.
01:33It's time to squash some apples.
01:34So first of all, it goes into this bucket, and this bucket has a hose on it that takes it.
01:45This is Willy Wonka Chocolate Factory stuff.
01:48Takes it all straight up to three coolers that we have upstairs.
01:52I don't know that anybody else is doing this other than Franklin Cider Mill.
01:55It is a cider slushie.
01:57So this is cider.
01:58On average, the cider that you buy at Franklin Cider Mill is maybe like a day and a half old.
02:03Like insanely fresh.
02:05Such an amazing idea, man.
02:07All right, so right now we're in the donut shop.
02:10You want to talk about flying off the shelf.
02:11Like I'm watching them get bagged, and they're boom.
02:14They're coming, and they're grabbing them, and they're selling them.
02:16So this is Kevin and Penny, and they have both been here for a lot of years.
02:20Kevin, you came here at age 12.
02:23His mom worked here at Franklin Cider Mill also, and your dad used to run the donut shop,
02:29and now you run the donut shop.
02:30Is that correct?
02:31You got it.
02:31Oh, my God.
02:32That's amazing.
02:33So what's going on right now?
02:35So we have our own specialty mix that's in a hopper at the beginning here,
02:40and it automatically drops out a donut-shaped piece of dough that runs through our fryer at 375 degrees.
02:49It takes two minutes to get from the beginning to the end.
02:52This could be the freshest.
02:54It's got to be the freshest donut I've ever had.
02:55I'm worried about eating it just because it's going to ruin me for all other donuts, but we'll give it a shot.
03:05Thanks for ruining me for all other donuts, Laura.
03:07That's just great, man.
03:08I'm going to need a bag of these to go.
03:09That's for sure.
03:10I actually have an old shopping list from friends, family, even my boss asking for the apple butter here at Franklin Cider Mill.
03:16Perfect.
03:16Right on.
03:17Thank you so much for having us, man.
03:18Franklin Cider Mill is part of our community literally for hundreds of years since Michigan was a state.
03:23We're live with WCSS.
03:25Hey, thank you.
03:26Thank you, WCSS.
03:28Super thank you.