Bedford inquirer. [volume] (Bedford, Pa.) 1857-1884, 1868-10-09
5farn1. 6araen 4 alnllsetoIa.
KEEPING CIDER SWEET.

Noticing recipe in the Prairie Farmer
sor last week for keeping cider sweet by means
Of adding igratod horse-radish in the proper
.;ou Of a tumbler and half to a half barrel
Of cider, and fearing that many barrels of
this delicious aud healthful beverage might
he injured thereby, | venture to caution all
who love mug Of good cider las who does
not?-agzinst its use.
That there is a substance in horse-radish
which arrests the fermentation Of cider and
other substances liable to passinto the aeetons
fermentation. there is no doubt. And it is
eaualIy true that horse-Tadish ordinarily i'm
narts a most nauseous and disagreeable flavor
10 The cider which it preserves, making It
alike unpleasant to drink and useless for
yinegar making.
The favor OF the tender roots of horse-rad-
7sb when dug IN early spring and eaten on
ham. is agreeable to the taste of most per
sons. but cider favored by the tough woody
roots Of hores radish dug in the fall, is about
rs palatable as ice cream Favored with onions
or rice pudding eaten with pepper sauce. ]
sneak ofthings thereof ! know when | con-
demn cider preserved in this manner. Few
peopIe relish tomato catsup on buekwheat
cakes or mustard in coffee. but either is to be
preferred TO bores .radish in cider.
Again. horse radish is not reliable even
for keeping the cider sweet, as the quantity
ofthe presergative principle is variable in
different specimens OF the root.
Perhaps the substance for keeping cider
sweet that can be readily procured in almost
any locality, is mustard, added in about tbs
proportion Of pound to barrel. Il the cidel
IS not Of good strength half a pound will do
its best to put the cracked seeds in long
rnuslin bag and drop it into the bung hole Of
the barrel. BY this means the seeds are re-
-ained in the barrel Ground mustard will
not answer the purpose as the oil, which is
the preservative agent. is extracted before
the seeds are ground.
Another excellent substance designed to
effect the same result is tie bisulphite Of lime.
This agent works to suppress fermentation By
means of the sulphurous acid of which the
sulpbite Of lime is in part composed. When
sulphur is burned in the air it unites with the
oxygen and forms sulphurous acid; salts OF
this acid are called sulphites. But this aeid
has disposition to unite with another pro-
norton ef oxygen and form sulphurie acid,
the salts of which are called sulphates, We
see the like Of this in the unions which other
ehings besides sulphur form for chemical
substances, like politicians seen to have a
natural inclination TO run iaso radicalism. So
easily indeed, does sulghurous acid change to
sulphuric and consequently the sulphite Of
lime to the sulphate. that it is necessary to
keep this salt in q sealed bottle.
This substance, which has lately come into
general use, in the manufacture of sugar and
sorghum molasses, acts to retard tie souriug
process by seizing upon the oxygen of the all
which is within the cask and which would
otherwise change the sugar of the cider first
to alcohol and finally to acetie acid. The
same end may be attained in part by burning
a stick or rag covered with melted sulphur in
tsle cask previous 10 hllug It with cldef.
independent of these methods, all of which
aim to abstract the oxygen-a substance the
name Of which signifies acid former-the LA
bility of all fruit juices to pass into fermenta.
tiou may be diminished by freeing them from
The pulp Of the fruit from which they are ex-
pressed. This may be accomplished by
takjag care to properly clarity the juice by
repeatedly sraiuing in before it is barreled
and racking it of by means Of syphon after
the pomace or lees have settled to the bottom
Of the cask.
1t must also be borne in mind that tht
lower the Temperature to which the cider il
exposed. the less is the liability to sour
r ". IN GeTmantolrn Telegraph.