The farmer and mechanic. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1877-1885, 1878-05-23
DIR. LEDOUX'S DIRECTIONS
FOR MAKING VINEGAR.

Reprinted from The Crop Report, OF the Com
missioLer OF Agriculture for June, Isl.
The abundant fruit crop IN u
State induced the inquiry among
MANY of the producers as to the
best, cheapest and quickest method
of obtaining from cider a good pure
article of vinegar. To those deslr-
inc 10 utilize their fruit IN this
manner, and supply our market
with a pure and wholesome article,
which would quickly supplant the
poisonous compounds now used to
a great extent, the following from
DR.. Ledoux, in response to a request
from this office, is commended
WINE VINEGAR.
The wine is stirred in a large tin
which contains lees, and when thor
oughly mixed, is squeezed by press
ure through cloth sacks into an
iron-bound vat, whence after stand
inc some hours it is drawn off IN
casks for fermenting. These casks
have only a small opening IN the
top, and are kept at a temperature
of 10 f. to SO F. After IA or
Is DAYS the vinegar now-formed Is
drawn off cautiously so as not to
disturb the sediment) into barrels
which contain birch wood chips.
This clarifies it, and alter standing
a few days it may be syphoned off
into the casks in which it is to be
sold. The casks used for ferment-
ing are never entirely emptied, but
the residue containing mother
is employed to ferment all the sub
sequent liquor by simply pound
ing the latter INTO the used cask.
FROM ALCOHOL.
If alcohol is allowed to come IN
contact with "spongy platinum
with free access Of air, or If it is
allowed to flow or trickle three or
four times through a barrel filled
with beech chips, the alcohol Is
completely changed into acetic acid
(vincgar). By washing the beech
chips with boiling water before us
ing, the coloring matter is extrac-
ted from them, and the vinegar
rendered more colorless.
RAPID METHOD OF ACETIFICATION
OF CIDER.
Place in the barrel a small piece
of bread soaked in vinegar, or else
a piece Of sour dough. Add about
a pint Of vinegar and allow to
stand in a warm place (75o F. to
$50 F.) Barley or grain which
has become sweet through incipient
termination (malt) will produce
the same effect as the dough, and
so will yeast, lean meat, etc. The
germs which start the acetons fer
mentation are conveyed into the
liquor in the vinegar placed in the
barrel. But as they are everywhere
present in the air an open barrel Of
wine or cider will almost ALWAYS be
found by them and the fermenta-
ton proceed unaided.
THE "MOTHER
can be made artificially, and kept
in store by simply starting a barrel
of sugar-water, wine, or cider fer
menting with malt, yeast or other
ferment, and "a little of this liquid
added to a fresh barrel of cider will
at once produce acetitication.
A good table vinegar may lie
made by d~issolving three pounds
Of white sugar IN one gallon of wa
ter and fermenting with yeast.
Cider vinegar is usually allowed
to clarity itself, which it will al
most always do by settling" and
on being drawn off from the tor
a clear liquor is obtained. Ism
glass, blood, and white of eggs have
been used to clarity vinegar.
Though acetic acid is the princi.
pal ingredient besides water in vim.
egar, yet its flavor, smell, and color
are influenced by the organic mat.
ter which the cider contained. Tc