A different kind of Apple technology

There was a time when an army of grandfathers with their Buck knives could peel apples enough to supply Apple Hill pie purveyors.But High Hill Ranch, Boa Vista Orchards and others haven't needed grandpa, not with custom paring technology that has become a must-have investment on the hill. The name F.B. Pease Co. is a household word there, because the firm has crafted some of the best peeler-corer-slicer models used locally.It's true that genuinely inventive gizmos since the 1860s have been fashioned to accelerate applesauce and pie production. In fact, dozens of gradually evolved paring-tool models, oddly looking as if they might have adorned walls in a medieval torture room, hang on a wall at High Hill Ranch.But as the orchard slopes grew in reputation and drawing capacity for pie seekers, high speed became crucial.Some staggering statistics attach to the most modern peeler-corers."You can set this for 60 apples a minute - one a second," said Jerry Visman of High Hill. "Without it, we'd never keep up with the pie demand. You could call it turbo-charged, even though it's just a standard electric motor."The super-machine will ease production of as many as 50,000 apple pies at the business this year, Visman said.Floor-to-ceiling, gear-upon-gear, wheels and belts everywhere, the greased iron F.B. Pease brainchilds at High Hill and Boa Vista imitate Rube Goldberg contraptions. But they are mercilessly precise on apple paring, sending constant streams of peel and core to floor bins.Jane Herrmann, head of kitchen operations at High Hill, said a particular local pig farmer makes a point to bring a truck by regularly for the peel and core castoffs.Boa Vista's model cranks out 44 readied apples per minute. Boa Vista's is on display behind a glass wall, showing off for all arrivals."We've had this one for 15 or 20 years," Boa Vista owner Carl Visman said. "Those old ones, I can't figure out."Cost for Jerry Visman's marvel at High Hill was a modest-sounding $8,500."Money well spent," he said.Not exactly high-maintenance, the F.B. Pease machines are still temperamental at times."Sometimes it gets out of time, and we've got to fly a specialist in to time it every couple of years, although my dad, George and brother David have gotten pretty good at it," Visman said. The Telegraph's Roger Phelps can be reached at rogerp@goldcountrymedia.com, or post a comment at folsomtelegraph.com