Dodgeville chronicle. [volume] (Dodgeville, Wis.) 1862-current, 1874-10-23
How to Have Good Cider.

THE careless, shifting way we have of
making cider and spelling it at the same
time is sin-as if cider were good only
for vinegar, and as if vinegar would be
good enough, no matter how poor the
cider! We shake our trees, gather the
sour apples Tin many cases. into heaps,
let half of them become rotten, take
them off to the cider mill, dump them
into the common heap, and take the So
called sweet cider which the pressman
allows us-so many gallons to the bushel.
The apples are ground, and, it no water
be added directly to the mash, the straw
with which the cheese is laid up is drip
ping wet with water, and of course the
cider is diluted by just SO much. Water
is of course added if the cider will bear
it. Such cider is poor stuff, anyhow. 1t
tastes of rottenness when "sweet," has
harsh flavor when at its best, sours be-
fore it has done sparkling, and is "hard"
that is, vinegar, or vinegary-before
February
Try this way: Select sound-that is,
not rotten-apples. Bruises are no disad-
vantage, perhaps the contrary. They
may be both sweet and sour, and the
more substantial the apples the better
the quality of the cider. Insist upon
cleanliness at the mill. Better use
hand mill than take apples to mill
where you cannot have things done just
as you want. Grind the apples and let
the mash stand some hours before press
ing, stirring it to get color, and when one
cheese is in press have another ground
and waiting. Use no water to wet
the straw, but moisten it with sweet
cider; it requires but little. Run the
cider or "must" directly into clean,
sweet whisky barrels. If there is the
least smell of mustiness the barrels
should be purified by burning sulphur in
them. If they have held either cider or
vinegar before wash them out thorough
ly with soda, letting them stand for some
time with water in them, rendered aka
line by soda, and sWash it around in them
frequently so as to remove the vinegar
from every part.
Carry them home full and place them
in the coolest place available. Then
draw out, perhaps, two gallons, to allow
space for the effervescence to work off
without overlooking during the active
fermentation. Have one barrel or half
barrel to drink from if you need, and to
fill up the others from as soon as the
active fermentation is over. Keep the
OohShO1SO NOHO1OS "loii PAOOOo VI NAS"h
blanket, with stones laid upon them.
This will keep out fruit flies and exclude
access of air, while the carhonic acid
gas formed during the fermentation will
pass out freely. The cooler the cider is
kept the slower will be the working and
the better the result. In a week or fort
night, according to circumstances, the
fermentation will have quieted down and
a considerable deposit of lees will have
taken place. Then rack off into clean
barrels, filling them full. AS soon as the
" singing" has ceased and the cider is
nearly clear, rack again and bung up tight
1t ought really to be racked again in
March, and as soon as racked fined"
with isinglass, dissolved after long
maceratjon in cider only until it becomes
a thin jelly, using one and half to two
ounces of isinglass to the barrel. This
will carry with it all impurities to the
bottom and leave the liquid clear and
pure. This cider should be nearly as
fine as hook, and may be rebarreled or
bottled.
There are sundry minuti@ which the
best cider-makers lay great stress upon
We would be glad of the views of those
who are really adopts at this simple art.
1t is really a shame that with such an
abundance Of the raw material our peo
pie generally should be as ignorant of
what good cider is as they are of good
cheese.-Ru1'dl Neao Yorker.