Michigan is a gorgeous state! It seems like this time of year attracts more former residents and visitors than any other season. Our autumn blesses us with fantastic colors, spooky celebrations, and a yummy harvest of good food.
As the last of the leaves get stuffed in brown paper bags and the farmer’s markets end their season, we are offered a break before the big holidays. I recommend you continue to savor the delights of Michigan and visit one of the three working cider mills in the Rochester Area. While you may have “done the cider mill thing” already, the lines are shorter and the cider is sweeter at this time of year.
Rochester Cider Mill, on Rochester Road, three miles north of town offers traditional pressed cider, unpasteurized and untreated. It’s a craft 
beverage – the natural way. Coming soon is their grape, cranberry, and holiday apple cider blends; I love the grape cider – it sends your taste buds into overdrive.
You’ll find all the regular treats as well at the Rochester Cider Mill: Donuts, pies, fudge, caramel apples, and honey. Michigan apples are also available for baking at home or packing in lunch boxes. A unique feature is the antique wall of farm tools. Before power tools were available, our recent ancestors harvested the food for our tables with great labor. See for yourself and imagine farming the old-fashioned way.
The Rochester Cider Mill will be open until Christmas, selling all their goodies, as well as Christmas trees.
On the edge of the village of Goodison, is the Goodison Cider Mill on Orion Road, home of the “World Famous” Pistachio Nut Bread. Goodison offers a nice variety of donuts, jams, honey, and caramel apples. They also press the old fashioned way – unfiltered and unpasteurized – and they use an ultraviolet light to treat the cider. It’s the best of both worlds, the cider is fresh & flavorful and completely safe for all to enjoy.
Goodison Cider Mill is open seven days a week until Thanksgiving and then weekends only until Christmas.
Across town, where Dequindre, Avon and 23 Mile Roads meet, is Yates Cider Mill. The press is still water-powered and they offer flash-pasteurized cider. This is a big operation set in a beautiful location on the Clinton River. You also have access to the Clinton River Trail and the Macomb Orchard Trail for hiking and biking.
Family-friendly with lots of parking and picnic areas, Yates Cider Mill tends to attract huge crowds in September and October. They have a fudge shop with Frankenmuth Fudge, donuts, pies, and large variety of other products to satisfy any sweet tooth. Open until December 22 this season.
All three use Michigan apples and press their cider on-site. Customer demand tells them how often to press (the cider is always fresh), but most weekend mornings is the best time to witness the magic of squeezing goodness out of a blend of apples. As apples mature throughout the season, the cider gets sweeter. Apple cider is fat free, cholesterol free, and sodium free. The only sugar is what the apples produce naturally and it’s very good for you.
While you may find cider at other locations around town, such as grocery stores and fruit stands, Rochester, Goodison and Yates cider mills offer the real deal and a true local product in the Rochester area. I suggest you visit all three before the end of the season. Enjoy the sweeter cider and smaller crowds that this time of year brings.
Because of the nature of a seasonal business, hours will shorten at the mills. Please call ahead for exact times and product availability.
Rochester Area Cider Mills that press their own cider:
Rochester Cider Mill 5125 Rochester Road 248-651-4224 www.RochesterCiderMill.comGoodison Cider Mill 4295 Orion Road (Near Baldwin School) 248-652-8450
Yates Cider Mill 1990 East Avon Road 248-651-8300 www.YatesCiderMill.com
About Michael Dwyer