The Portland daily press., 1876-12-08
Domestic Vinegar Making.

Like every other business it is by no means
easy to make first-class vinegar if the person
trying to make it does not know how and has
not the proper materials to make it with.
While it is a business that can be carried on
to the best advantage by making it on large
scale with everything properly fitted and
managed, it is a fact that the scarcity of good
vinegar makes it quite an object for the care
full housewife to make the article at home,
if possible.
Every organized substance in this world
has natural tendency to growth, maturity
and decay. Especially is this the case with
fruits and vegetables containing sugar or
other sweets and starch or other mucilagin-
Gus substances from which sugar may be
made All these, after reaching maturity, be-
gin to ferment, the first process toward
decay.
Fermentation is of three sorts. The first
is the yinous or alcoholic, which turns the
sugar in.the fermented article into spirit, or
whiskey. If assisted here by proper decan-
tations or separation from impurities and ex-
cluded from the air wine is produced. But
if not stopped the fermentation rapidly passes
into the sour or acetous stage by which vine
gar is formed, This again may be checked
here by publication and keeping from the air
so as to be good for an indefinite length of
time-even years. But if not so checked,
the third and last stage, the putrefactive,
goes rapidly on, the fluid being entirely de-
composed and spoiled so that it is good for
nothing at all. In making vinegar, the
nature of these stages of the process ought to
be understood by the operator. They are the
coed, the middle stage ought to be attained,
and when reached kept there by careful and
skilled management.
Any substance that is sweet will make vim
egar, of quality good or bad according to
the materials USED. Good vinegar ought to
be made of acetic acid, obtained by ferment-
ing sugar or other pure sweet, and nothing
else. Commercial vinegar is largely COM
posed Of sulphuric acid, certain percentage
of which is allowed by law, though much
more than this is nearly always used. This
Is an adulteration that Injuries the article for
domestic use.
Apple and grape juice, made as pure and
clear as possible, makes very superior vine
gar, the essential oils in them adding greatly
to its favor. Still they are not at all Deces-
sary and an equally good article may be made
from pure sugar alone.
The first step toward success in small
domestic way is to procure few gallons of
really good vinegar from some undoubted
source to make start with. Unless this can
be done the process is a slow, difficult one,
lCuulIluS nuCa Shllls Dub IL d lew 2dllOuS
can be procured it is only necessary to place
this in perfectly clean barrel or other vessel,
some location where the temperature can
be kept even and near 100 degrees as possible,
adding at first very small quantities of the
isweet fluid desired to be turned into vinegar.
If there are five gallons of good vinegar in a
c.ean barrel, half gallon of water in which
a pound of pure white sugar has been dis
solved, will ,assimilate with the vinegar in
forty-eight hours, and all will be good alike.
The mixture should not be agitated or shook
at all when it is made. In few days add
another half gallon of the mixture, putting in
to increase it. If not, add only at the vine
gar is taken out for use. This will make
most excellent quality of the desired article
at the cost of about twenty-five cents
gallon, or the cost of two pounds of pure
sugar added to gallon of water, and is per.
haps the best way to obtain a really superior
article. The same method may be used with
apple, grape, plum, peach, watermelon, or
other juices, taking care that they are clean
and pure when poured in the vinegar barrel,
or the whole may be injured. They must
also be added In very small quantities, daily
if necessary.
By using number of barrels, if the supply
OF saccharine matter is large, large quantity
may be made in a short time. But it must
be borne in mind that to have really first
class article, nothing but the best materials
ought TO be used, and in skillful manner.
1t is the easiest thing in the world to have
good vinegar, if the operator knows how to
do it and goes at it right. 1t is equally easy
and even easier, to spoil the whole thing
when the proper articles are not used in the
right way.
Nearly twenty years ago the writer set up
VINEGAR barrel in the waV ahova dasoribad
and by adding grape juice at this season OF
the year has always had plenty on hand
When grapes can be bought at one to three
cents pound, they are the cheapest article
that can be converted into vinegar, straining
the juice carefully one day, adding pint Of
water to every galon-letting 1t stand TWEEN
ty.four hours, carefully pouring off from the
sediment and adding gradually to the vinegar
barrel.-C0r. Prairie Farmer.