>> Su-Mei Yu: "Savor San Diego" is made possible by-- >> female announcer: At Whole Foods Market, our fresh wild seafood is rated for sustainability, traceable from dock to store.

Why?

Because values matter.

Whole Foods Market, America's healthiest grocery store.

>> Su-Mei: Funding for "Savor San Diego" is also provided by-- >> female announcer: SDG&E is a San Diego-based energy company that provides energy to neighborhoods across San Diego and southern Orange Counties.

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>> Su-Mei: Whether sweet, savory, or sour, San Diego is full of unique culinary treasures.

I'm Su-Mei Yu.

I've been lucky enough to be a cook, author, restaurant owner in America's finest city for more than 30 years.

I'm constantly discovering interesting people, delicious products, and fascinating places in our food community.

Join me on another culinary adventure as I explore and "Savor San Diego."

>> Su-Mei: Known for its famous apple pies and small-town allure, Julian is a favorite weekend getaway for our community.

Today on "Savor San Diego," we'll visit a side of Julian that most visitors have yet to see.

It's a town full of rich history, delicious culinary treats, and some of the best handcrafted beverages you'll find.

Our first stop is at Apple Lane Orchard, where we'll met with owners Keith and Priscilla to learn about their cider business.

>> Su-Mei: Hello, Keith.

>> Keith Webb: Hi.

>> Su-Mei: And hello, Priscilla.

>> Priscilla Webb: Hi.

>> Su-Mei: Thank you for letting me come and visit you at this gorgeous place.

Tell me, what is Apple Lane Orchard?

>> Keith: It is a 10-acre, 1,000-tree orchard established in 1987.

We do two things.

We make cider that we distribute.

We also peel, core, and slice apples for some of the bakeries around the area.

>> Su-Mei: When you produce the apple cider, you use primarily the apples from your orchards?

>> Keith: When they are available.

>> Su-Mei: How many varieties do you have?

>> Priscilla: Five.

>> Su-Mei: Five on this land?

>> Priscilla: Yes.

>> Keith: We will start picking the last week in August.

That will be all the Galas, and the Red Delicious, and so forth.

Then, towards the middle of September, we will start picking the Granny Smiths.

That's the backbone of the orchard because that's what Julian pies are made from.

>> Su-Mei: Keith and Priscilla, I used to make--tried to make my own apple juice.

I didn't make any apple ciders.

What I did was I took a bunch of apples, chopped them up, put them in my blender, and blended the heck out of it, okay, and then squeezed it out, I let it sit.

Is it kind of like that?

>> Keith: You betcha.

>> Priscilla: Yes.

>> Su-Mei: It is?

>> Keith: Almost identical.

>> Su-Mei: Let's go and look at how's that so you can teach me more.

>> Priscilla: All right, Tom Hensley.

>> Su-Mei: He's the expert?

>> Keith: You bet.

He will tell you everything.

In the purchase contract, we inherited with the property facilities manager Tom Hensley, who has been invaluable to us.

He lives here, but he is a workaholic, and the most devoted person I've ever seen to a piece of ground.

This is his baby.

>> Su-Mei: Hi, Tom.

How are you?

>> Tom Hensley: I'm fine, thank you.

>> Su-Mei: Hey, listen, I heard you came with the place.

>> Tom: I did.

>> Su-Mei: So, are you from Julian?

>> Tom: I have been in Julian since 2001.

>> Su-Mei: What got you into the apple business?

>> Tom: I spent most of my life in blue trades.

I plumbed for 20 years.

I built homes after the fires of 2003 up here in Julian.

And we were running out of homes.

And a man by the name of Ray Myers taught me how to squeeze apples and to peel apples.

>> Su-Mei: What do you do as far as how to preserve the apples?

How long do they stay?

Do they stay outside?

Do you separate the different varieties?

>> Tom: I do.

When the pickers are in the orchard picking, they do keep the varieties separate, and then they go directly to the refrigerator.

Our apples are all organic, they're not sprayed, and they're not in a controlled atmosphere, and therefore I immediately refrigerate them the same day they're picked.

My apples will be fresh for 4 months.

>> Su-Mei: Four months?

>> Tom: As long as I hold them between 33 and 35 degrees.

>> Su-Mei: Explain to me the difference between apple juice and apple cider.

Because to me, apple juice is the same thing as apple cider, no?

>> Tom: Quite contrary.

Apple juice has been so highly pasteurized that all the nutrient properties are cooked out of the apple juice, and re-entered into the apple juice, and that is why they're allowed to put such a long shelf life on it.

My apple juice is pasteurized, flash-pasteurized, and I can only put a 30-day shelf life on my cider.

>> Su-Mei: So, behind us here is this room where you have both the machines, one to peel the apples for some of the stores here that turn them into apple pies.

>> Tom: Yes.

>> Su-Mei: And the other one is where you put them through those machines that will pulp them.

And then on the other side, we're going to get the liquid, right?

>> Tom: That is right.

>> Su-Mei: I would appreciate so much if you'd show me your machines, how to cut and slice and core, and the other ones is to push through the machine to turn into a pulp, and then liquid.

>> Tom: Looking forward to it.

At the beginning of the day, if it's a peeling day, the two men that are peeling will take approximately 100 bushels of apples out.

The first machine will core, peel, and de-stem the apples.

And they transfer them to the slicing table, where a second man stands and operates the slicer.

So, a 38-pound bushel of apples usually only gives me a little bit more than 18 pounds, maybe a bucket and a quarter.

On production day, or cider-pressing day, it's usually a three-man operation.

And the first man loads the elevator, and makes certain that no damaged apple go up the elevator.

The elevator dumps the washed, graded apple into the hammer mill, and they hammer the apples into a very fine apple sauce.

And from the hammer mill, they're dumped into a hopper.

From that hopper, they're transferred via a hose and a pump to the station where the press operator will make a series of patties.

The hydraulic press puts 2200 pounds of pressure, and it squeezes the sauce into juice.

This raw cider is pasteurized, and any potential of E. coli and most unfriendly other bacterias have been eliminated.

From the pasteurizer, it's transferred to our finished product tank.

In between September and January, we'll range from 1,200 to 4,500 gallons a week.

>> Su-Mei: May I taste?

I'm told that yours is really quite exceptional.

>> Tom: Well, that's a compliment.

>> Su-Mei: So, can I--can I judge?

Can I judge?

>> Tom: Please.

>> Su-Mei: Okay.

[music] >> Su-Mei: Whoa, it is good.

>> Tom: It's good, yeah.

>> Su-Mei: It's like drinking apple pie.

>> Tom: It's a very popular juice.

>> Su-Mei: Oh, it's delicious.

>> Tom: Thank you.

>> Su-Mei: It's been fun, Tom.

I learned so much.

I'm glad you switched from construction to making apple cider.

>> Tom: Thank you so much, so am I.

>> Su-Mei: You're good at it.

>> Tom: It's been a pleasure to show you around.

>> Su-Mei: Yes, it's been fun.

Now, I'm going to go and explore the rest of Julian.

>> Tom: Thank you for being here.

>> Su-Mei: Oh no, you're welcome.

Can I take this with me?

>> Tom: It's been a pleasure.

You bet you can.

[music] >> Su-Mei: Owners Brian and Kathleen Kenner started Julian CiderWorks with the intention of making authentic Julian hard cider.

Julian has a rich apple heritage.

The Kenners are repeating history by bringing back some of the historical recipes in cider making.

Hi, Kathleen.

>> Kathleen Kenner: Hi, it's a pleasure.

>> Su-Mei: Hi, Brian.

>> Brian Kenner: It's nice to meet you.

>> Su-Mei: So, explain to me what you're doing here.

>> Brian: Hard cider is really fermented apple juice.

And during Prohibition, when they eliminated, for the most part, out of the economy cider, which was fermented apple juice at that time, it later on came back as hard cider.

So, apple juice is unfermented apple juice, and then hard cider, or cider, is fermented apple juice.

>> Su-Mei: Okay, let's go back a little bit because when you go to the store today, when I buy apple cider, it's not alcohol, though.

>> Brian: Correct.

>> Su-Mei: So, why are we calling apple juice apple cider?

>> Brian: It was just about getting rid of alcoholic beverages out of the economy at the time during Prohibition.

So, by changing cider into the perception of just juice, it eliminated the use of cider in America to represent alcoholic apple juice.

>> Su-Mei: And so, could you educate me a little bit historically about how cider was consumed in the olden days, during the time of Washington, let's say.

Because it went all the way back then, right?

>> Kathleen: Yes.

During the time of George Washington, everyone drank hard cider rather than water.

It was accepted that it would be cleaner to drink.

So, there's a huge history of drinking hard cider in the United States that actually went right on up until the time of Prohibition, when it disappeared.

>> Su-Mei: And so, I understand, one of your passions is to bring back that appreciation for the hard cider that our forefathers started to drink, or drank back in the olden days, by not just doing hard cider.

You are doing something else, and I'd like for you to tell me a little bit of how you got into all this.

>> Brian: Well, one of the things we're doing is seeking out these different farms and ranches around the area, and fermenting some of those ciders.

But in addition to that, we very thoroughly document all the fruit, and we carefully keep all the fruit separate.

So, our customers come to taste various ciders, they're tasting the cider both from the fruit, we educate them on the fruit, and we educate them on the origins.

And some of these varieties are 400 years old.

In fact, a lot of the varieties came from England and France.

As America was colonized, those varieties were brought over, and some of them survived, and some of them did not.

And it just didn't thrive on the East Coast, but what's interesting about Julian's climate is we have a much more moderate, warm-weather climate, so some of these really interesting English and French cider varieties do thrive and exist in this area, and they have for 100 years.

>> Su-Mei: So, if you could be so very kind to educate me by getting me to drink some.

I'd like to smell and drink some of your wonderful hard cider.

[music] >> Su-Mei: Well, it's been a great pleasure.

>> Kathleen: It's been a wonderful pleasure.

>> Su-Mei: What a wonderful way to discover you in these beautiful hills.

Thank you, Brian.

>> Su-Mei: Jeremy's on the Hill is a favorite restaurant of locals that values homegrown ingredients and giving back to the community that has been so good to them.

We'll talk with Jeremy himself, and learn more about how they got started.

>> Jeremy Manley: Hello, welcome.

>> Su-Mei: Thank you, what a lovely restaurant.

>> Jeremy: Oh, thank you.

>> Su-Mei: So, I understand you're a local boy.

>> Jeremy: I am, yes.

>> Su-Mei: You were born and raised in Julian?

>> Jeremy: I grew up here since I was ten.

>> Su-Mei: How did you find this place?

>> Jeremy: My family and I were going out for corned beef and cabbage on St.

Patrick's Day.

>> Su-Mei: You remember every detail, it's amazing.

>> Jeremy: The building was for rent, and our family drove by, and one of us looked over at the other one and goes, "We should open up a restaurant."

And my mom goes, "Okay."

And from there-- >> Su-Mei: Really?

>> Jeremy: Yeah, that was it.

So, it's turned into something that I never could have imagined.

>> Su-Mei: So, tell me, when you rented the place, what was your concept of your dream of what the restaurant was going to be like?

>> Jeremy: My family's from the Midwest.

I call it Midwestern food, where you get a Midwestern portion size, and you expect things to be kind of overly large.

That doesn't align with my philosophy, so what I do is we keep those larger portion size dishes, which is very mountain man friendly, being up here in Julian, and adding fruits and vegetables, adding potatoes.

So, we use ingredients that people can wrap their heads around, and then we do our own backcountry twist on it.

And that's, I believe, one of our largest distinctions.

>> Su-Mei: I think I need to look at your menu and try some of your cooking.

What do you think of that?

>> Jeremy: Sounds excellent.

[music] >> Su-Mei: Oh my gosh.

What is this?

>> Jeremy: This is our bison meat loaf.

So, we use bison from the farm right down the road, grass-fed bison, which is of course much leaner for you, higher in Omega-3s.

So, again, we took an ingredient and a product that people are familiar with, and we elevated it, put a backcountry twist on it, threw some cheese on there, enhanced it, and then we serve it.

>> Su-Mei: Sounds like you use a lot of ingredients from Julian.

>> Jeremy: We do, we do our best.

And our biggest food philosophy I call practical sustainability, and that means we do as much as we can locally here.

We treat them as, like, filler-ins.

So, it's bison, but it takes 180 days to grow an onion.

You think about how small Julian is.

What farmer is going to dedicate 180 days to grow an onion?

You have to source it from somebody larger.

So again, the practical sustainable part is the bison.

>> Su-Mei: You know, I have found that the new generation of children, they don't eat a lot of greens.

So, what do you do?

>> Jeremy: We participate in a farm to school program.

So, we feed 200 school kids every day.

I was a bit of a troublemaker when I was younger.

>> Su-Mei: You were?

>> Jeremy: Yes.

And through--one of the greatest feelings of accomplishment that I get is working with kids that are either on that same path, or have made those mistakes that I've made, and just kind of talking to them, and showing them that there's different outlets.

So, if there's an opportunity where there's a kid who's going down my path, and the teachers could bring them to the restaurant, and I can show them, just give them a place to hang out, offer them a job, show them there's another way around, like then they've graffiti'd the school at one point, but like, life's not over.

I'm from this town, it's in my blood, I love what I do.

And if I can help feed kids, I'm going to do my best to feed kids.

>> Su-Mei: You've really turned around from a rotten kid.

>> Jeremy: Yeah.

>> Su-Mei: I'm going to have a taste of this.

>> Jeremy: Okay.

>> Su-Mei: Drink a little vino.

So, taste your own cooking, and then I'm going to go.

[music] >> Su-Mei: Opened by San Diego brewing legend Tom Nickel, Nickel Beer Company offers visitors and locals alike an inviting spot to sample a range of his creations, including several with a unique Julian twist.

So, I understand you are really a brewmaster.

>> Tom Nickel: Yeah, well, I've been doing it a long time, and never had any formal training, but I started brewing when I was 18 at home before you could-- >> Su-Mei: Eighteen?

>> Tom: Before you could legally buy beer, you can make beer at home, and buy all the ingredients to home brew.

>> Su-Mei: And you were a part of the revolution of the craft beer-- >> Tom: I've been on the San Diego beer scene, yeah, since 1995.

I started out managing the original Home Brew Mart location.

Those guys went on to open up Ballast Point.

Everybody knows they have been very successful.

I've also worked for Pizza Port, and OG's Pizza and Brewing Company for a number of years.

My wife and I own O'Brien's Pub in San Diego.

And just 3 years ago, we started the brewery up here.

>> Su-Mei: So, how do you connect Nickel's Beer Company with Julian?

Do you do something with apple?

>> Tom: We do.

We make a-- >> Su-Mei: You do?

>> Tom: We do apple pie ale, so it's a blend of beer with local apples.

A local cidery presses the apple juice for us, and then we blend that juice into a beer, and then it's spiced with your classic apple pie spices, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, and clove.

>> Su-Mei: So, how have you been received?

Are you happy?

>> Tom: Oh, yeah, very happy.

I'm pleasantly surprised how much beer we sell up here in this town.

I mean, there's only 1500 people right in Julian year-round, but you know, we're the only brewery in about a 35-mile radius in San Diego County, and not many people can say that.

>> Su-Mei: So, you've been coming here forever, right, ever since you were a kid, Boy Scouts and all that sort of thing.

So, now you're here, you're brewing beer, and so you probably got to know a lot of people.

>> Tom: Yeah, I would say.

Being the brewer in town makes you popular very fast.

One of the big things we do is we provide beer to all of the special events and festivals that happen up here.

And then that benefits--usually, the Chamber of Commerce is usually the beneficiary of that money.

And then, you know, I'm also active in the Chamber, so we do a number of events and help out with them.

>> Su-Mei: I understand you have some kind of tradition before we walk out to do something with your beer.

Something about stomping, or something or other?

>> Tom: Oh.

Yeah, I think that what they were talking about is when you toast and drink-- >> Su-Mei: I'd like to do the apple.

>> Tom: You're going to take the apple, perfect.

So, you toast and drink, and then kind of shoot your glass down on the bar.

>> Su-Mei: I hope I--okay.

>> Tom: It's a sturdy piece of local cedar, it's not doing anything.

>> Su-Mei: You've been fun.

>> Tom: Thank you very much.

Thank you for stopping by.

>> Su-Mei: And good fortunes here.

>> Tom: Yeah, excellent.

>> Su-Mei: Coming all the way from San Diego because you have a very, very successful business here.

>> Tom: Thank you.

>> Su-Mei: Volcan Winery is new to the Julian scene, and they are churning out some of the most highly regarded wine in the area.

They even add a Julian twist with their creation of a sparkly apple wine.

Thank you for taking the time to come and talk to me about your vineyard and your tasting room.

How did you ever come about deciding to own one of these?

>> Jim Hart: Well, we're relatively new to the wine business here in Julian.

We've only had the place a year, but the winery's been here about 20 years.

We only have a small vineyard here.

Most of the property is in apples.

We have about an acre, it's in pinot gri and pinot noir.

Right now, we have nine different wines available for tasting, they're all made from local fruit, some of them from San Diego County, and some from vineyards in Temecula.

>> Su-Mei: And what do we have here?

>> Jim: Well, this one--well, we're in Julian, and we have eight acres of apples, so of course we make an apple wine.

This is a sparkling apple wine.

>> Su-Mei: Sparkling apple wine?

>> Jim: A sparkling apple wine, yes.

So, this is made 100% from estate-grown apples.

We have 18 different varieties of apples grown on the property.

>> Su-Mei: So Jim, is this new?

>> Jim: It is new.

>> Su-Mei: That you just kind of experimented and decided whether or not this is going to work or not, and you liked it?

>> Jim: I liked it, and people loved it.

>> Su-Mei: What kind of apples is this?

>> Jim: Oh gosh, 18 different kinds of apples.

I could go down the list, but we'd be here all afternoon.

>> Su-Mei: And how has it been received by the various people who walked in here?

>> Jim: It's our bestselling wine.

>> Su-Mei: Really?

>> Jim: Yes.

>> Su-Mei: Well, I'm going to try to see whether or not--what I'm going to cook with you, going to match this to honor your creation.

>> Jim: Okay.

>> Su-Mei: I have come up with a recipe that is going to be using both apples and the apple cider.

>> Jim: I think it will work.

>> Su-Mei: So, I'd like for you to come and help me chop, chop, chop, cook, cook, cook, and we'll try to taste it with this.

>> Jim: Okay, we need to taste it, though.

We've just smelled it so far.

[music] >> Su-Mei: So, this particular recipe is called super fruit salad.

And I created it actually for Saffron, my restaurant.

And it's a very simple, easy, easy recipe.

The dressing is a little bit different from what we offer at Saffron.

This is in honor of Julian.

>> Jim: Of course, of course.

>> Su-Mei: So, typical Thai salad dressing is salty, with salt, a little pungent, which is garlic.

So, have you ever pound?

>> Jim: Yes, I have.

>> Su-Mei: Okay, good.

Come pound, up and down, up and down, pound, pound, pound, pound.

Okay, and then we're going to also put a couple of chilies in there.

>> Jim: Okay.

>> Su-Mei: Okay.

>> Jim: Pound those?

>> Su-Mei: Yeah.

So, we're going to pound really good, okay.

And then in order to add the sourness, I thought we'd use the-- >> Jim: Oh great, some Julian cider.

Of course, of course.

>> Su-Mei: So, I would say because this is very sweet, I would add probably a couple of tablespoons, okay.

And in order to counteract the sweetness, I add two different kinds of citrus.

>> Jim: Am I still pounding, or I'm done pounding, okay.

>> Su-Mei: So then what I'm going to do is I'm going to add blood orange because it's also sour, but it also has a very interesting character.

>> Jim: Beautiful.

>> Su-Mei: Right?

And it gives it a nice color.

So, we're going to squeeze and bring in the juice as much as we can, and get everything all bloody.

Yes, okay.

We're also going to add lime because lime I think provides the freshness, as well as the sour taste to the salad.

And so, we're going to add--so that's, I would say, about a tablespoon of the blood orange juice.

And then about the same as the-- >> Jim: Of lime.

>> Su-Mei: Lime, right.

And if you like your salad dressing sweet, or a little bit sour, you just add accordingly.

But I think that this is pretty good.

Yeah, it's nice.

I think I would add a little bit more of this.

>> Jim: A little bit more of the Julian cider.

>> Su-Mei: Because it's not as sweet.

Okay, that's good, all right.

So, the salad basically is kale.

>> Jim: Kale, right.

>> Su-Mei: Right, about a little bit over a cup.

And also some cabbage.

>> Jim: Okay.

>> Su-Mei: And you could reach the radish for me and put that in.

>> Jim: All these radishes?

All right.

>> Su-Mei: The whole entire thing.

Okay, and also the pineapple.

>> Jim: And pineapple, let's put it there.

>> Su-Mei: Pineapple, all of these have fantastic nutrients, right?

>> Jim: I can't wait to eat it.

>> Su-Mei: Chicken, celery, and of course apples.

You know what they say, an apple a day keeps the doctors away.

They actually mean it.

>> Jim: I've got an apple orchard, so I want that to be true.

>> Su-Mei: It is true because it has very high vitamin content, fibers, all kinds of minerals.

So, an apple is about a cup, yes?

And I added a little bit lemon juice there, so to keep it from browning.

And you could mix it with this.

And I'm going to pour the dressing on for you.

I think you might have a surprise of some chilies in there.

>> Jim: Oh, never too much chilies for me.

>> Su-Mei: Really?

Oh good.

All right, so mix, mix, mix.

I think that's pretty good.

And then here's a plate for you.

>> Jim: All right.

>> Su-Mei: And you take a little bit of it, and taste and see whether or not it's to your liking.

I didn't put a lot of salt in there because, you know, we are very careful about it.

>> Jim: Now, are we dressing it with the nuts, or the--just for decoration?

>> Su-Mei: Oh right, forgot about that part, thank you.

So, a little bit of the almonds, about a little bit of the sunflower seed, some blueberries, and a little bit of the chilies, yes.

>> Jim: Beautiful.

>> Su-Mei: And some sesame, and bon appetit.

>> Jim: Bon appetit.

>> Su-Mei: You try that while I pour the wine.

[music] >> Jim: It is zippy.

Very good, very good.

>> Su-Mei: Thank you for a zippy visit.

It's been tremendous.

>> Jim: Thank you for coming up.

I enjoyed it.

>> Su-Mei: Oh, it's been great fun, and very, very interesting.

And I'm beginning to really know now a little bit of why people love Julian.

>> Jim: Well, hopefully people will understand now that we have some different things in Julian.

>> Su-Mei: And your wine is wonderful.

>> Jim: Thank you, thank you.

>> Su-Mei: Right, bon appetit.

>> Su-Mei: Julian truly is a special place full of amazing people and delicious culinary treats.

Next time you drive up, take the time to discover all the hidden treasures that this wonderful town has to offer.

>> Su-Mei: For video clips, recipes, tips, and more, please visit my website at savorsdtv.com.

[music] [music] >> Su-Mei: "Savor San Diego" has been made possibly by these generous supporters and viewers like you.

"Savor San Diego" is also brought to you by-- >> Julie: My name is Julie.

I want to be a chemist.

I am the future.

>> Renordo: My name is Renordo.

I want to be a photographer, and I am the future.

>> female announcer: The Boys & Girls Clubs of Oceanside.

>> Su-Mei: Funding for "Savor San Diego" provided by-- >> announcer: SDG&E is a San Diego-based energy company that provides energy to neighborhoods across San Diego and southern Orange Counties.

Our employees live, work, and play in the communities we serve, and we give back by volunteering with local charitable organizations.

Connect today at sdge.com.