Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1879-09-19

A pure, sweet cider Is only obtainable from
clean, sound fruit, and the fruit should there
fore be carefully examined and wiped before
grinding.
In the press, use hair cloth or gunny in
place of straw As the cider runs from the
press let it pass through a hair seive into a
large open vessel that will hold as much
juice as can be expressed in one day. In
one day, or sometimes less, the pomace will
rise to the top, and in a short time grow very
thick. When little white bubbles break
through it, draw off the liquid through a very
small spigot placed about three inches from
the bottom, so that the lees may be left be-
hind. The cider must be drawn OFF into very
clean, sweet casks, preferably fresh liquor
casks, and closely watched The moment the
white bubbles, before mentioned, are per-
ceived rising at the bunghole, rack it again.
1t is usually necessary to repeat this three
times. Then fill up the Cask with cider in
every respect like that originally contained
in it, add tumbler of warm sweet oil, and
bung up tight. For very fine cider it is GUS
tomary to add at this stage Of the process
about half a pound of glucose Starch sugar.,
or a smaller portion of white sugar. The
cask should then be allowed to remain in
cool place until the cider has acquired the de-
sired flavor.
In the meantime clean barrels for its recep-
ton should be prepared as follows Some
clean strips of rags are dipped in melted sui
phur lighted and burned in the bunghole
and the bung laid loosely on the end of the
rag so as to retain the sulphur vapor within
the barrel. Then tie up half pound of
mustard seed in a coarse muslin bag and put
it in the barrel, fill the barrel with cider, and
add about quarter of pound of isinglass or
fine gelatine dissolved III hot water This is
the old-fashioned way, and will keep cider in
the same condition as when it went into the
barrel, if kept in cool place, for a year.
Professional cider-makers are now using
calcium sulphite (sulphite of lime instead of
mustard and sulphur vapor. 1t is much more
convenient and effectual. To use it, it is
simply requisite to add one-eighth to one
| quarter of an ounce of the sulphite to each
| gallon of cider in the cask, first mixing the
| powder in about a quart of the cider, then
pouring it back into the cask and giving the
latter thorough shaking or rolling. After
standing bunged several days to allow the
sulphite to exert its full action it may be bot
tied of. The sulphite of lime (which should
| not be mistaken for the sulphate of lilneJ is a
| commercial article. costing about 40 cents a
pound by the barrel. It will preserve the
| sweetness of the cider perfectly, but unless
care is taken not TO add too much of it, it will
| impart a slight sulphurous taste TO the cider
| The Bottles and corks used should be perfect
| ly clean, and the corks wired down.
A little cinnamon, wintergreen, or sassa-
fras, &c,, is often added to sweet cider in the
bottle, together with a dram or so of bicar-
| Donate of soda at the moment of driving the
stopper This helps to neutralize free acids,
and renders the liquid efervescent when un-
stoppered; but if used in excess, it may
prejudicially affect the taste. Scientific Amer
| icdu