St. Landry democrat., 1881-03-26
APPLES, Apple Juice. Cider, Vinegar.
American Agriculturist.l

only are well-kept orchards IN full
bearing, but every superannuated
and half-decayed tree, and every
scrub and chance seeding by the
roadside, is loaded i'll a manner sell
dom seen in lifetime. With this
abundance it is evident that with
apples there will be a glut in the
market. There will be no room
except "higher up,' and those who
send poor fruit to market had bet
fer use their barrels for fire-wood
and save the freight charges. There
is always a certain demand to be
met, but this year only the select
fruit will supply it. In years Of
plenty, careful selection and neat
packages tell. The almost daily
inquiries as to fruit-dryers show
that preparations are being made
to dry a share of this abundance,
and we hope by this article to an
ticipate the inquiries that will soon
be made as to disposing of the
fruit in the varions liquid forms.
Apple juice, as it comes from the
press, or +" sweet CIDER" is liked by
many, and we have inquiries as to
keeping it in the unfermented state.
Preserving powders are advertised,
and some Of these from their efec-
tiyeness in preserving fruit will no
doubt keep fruit juice equally we'll.
The majority will wish to preserve
their sweet cider without addition,
and these can treat it by the same
method used in canning fruit. Heat
the cider to the boiling point, bottle
and cork it while still hot. When
apple Juice is exposed to the air,
the natural ferment it contains
causes a change to take place. The
sugar in the juice is converted into
alcohol, and carbolic acid is given
of. This process may be carried on
until all the sugar is decomposed,
when it is s'hard' cider. The fer
mentation may be arrested at the
desired point by bottling, and
sparkling cider will be the result.
This, which is also called "cham-
payne CIDER" can only be produced
by bottling before the fermentation
is quite finished. The best still
cider is made from late-ripened ap-
pies, when the weather is cool, fer
mented slowly at as low a tempera-
ture as possible, taking care to ex-
clude the access Of air; when fer
mentation has quite ceased, the
cider should be racked off into a
clean cask, and kept securely bung.
ed or bottled. The great use of
apples in this year will be to make
vinegar. In the fermentation OF
cider, the sugar Of the apple;juice is
converted into alcohol, and in max
ing vinegar, that alcohol is changed
into acetic acid. The conditions OF
this change are full exposure to the
air and high temperature. The
richer the cider in alcohol, the
stronger win be the vinegar, and
the more slowly will the change
take place. Ordinarily, the cider is
put away in the cellar or some out
building, and in time, it may be
two or three years or more, will be
found to be changed into vinegar.
Those who have heard Of the "quick
vinegar process" thinking it can
be applied to cider, we are often
asked to give a description OF it.
In this process, a liquid containing
alcohol, usually in the form Of cheap
whisky, is converted into vinegar
in a few hours. But this is not
applicable to cider, for in the fer
mentation of cider or other fruit
juices, the change into vinegar is
accompanied by the growth OF a 2!
very low form Of plant, ''the mother"
as it is usually called, and this
would so clog up the apparatus OF
the quick method as to very soon
put q stop to it. Still, the change
of cider may be greatly fastened.
Those who make cider vinegar on
a large scale have a house especially
for the work, and this is heated to
about 70 deg. Vinegar can not be
made rapidly at much lower tenn
perature. Exposure to the air Is
Important, hence the casks are not
filled, but only partly so, in order
to EXPOSE broad surface OF the
liquid to the action of the air. Ex-
pOsure is increased by frequently
transferring the cider from one cask
to another, letting it run very slowly.
Exposure can be promoted by al
loving the partly formed vinegar
to slowly run down a long trough,
and also by allowing it to trickle
over corn cobs placed in a cask, the
cobs having been previously washed
and soaked in good vinegar. Old
vinegar acts as a ferment, and
hastens the change, and the mixing
Of new and partly formed vinegar
with a portion of old and strong
vinegar helps the change. Another
method to hasten vinegar making
is to add yeast to cider, or what
produces the same effect, the
g mother from vinegar barrels.
The conditions for the most rapid
conversion Of cider into vinegar
may be summed up: A tempera.
tire Of at least 10 deg. all possible
exposure to the air, the addition Of
old vinegar to the new or the use
II Ai,onn IL chnnld hn remam.