The aegis & intelligencer. [volume] (Bel Air, Md.) 1864-1923, 1881-11-04
Farners' Column.
the PIOtU.o
How to Preserve Cider.

| 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 hair sieve 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 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, preferable 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 re-
! spect like that originally contained in it, add
a tumbler of warm sweet oil, and bung up
tight. For very fine cider it is customary to
add at this stage of the process about half a
pound of glucose Starch sugar. or q smaller
portion OF white sugar. The cask should then
be allowed to remain in q cool place until
the cider has acquired the desired flavor
In the meantime clean barrels for its rcccp-
ton should be prepared, as follows: Some
clean strips of rags are dipped in melt
ed sulphur, lighted and burned in the bung.
hole, and the bung laid loosely on the end of
the rag so as to retain the sulphur vapor
within the barrel. Then tic up half
pound ofmustard seed in coarse muslin bag,
and put it in the barrel, fill the barrel with
cider, add about quarter OF pound of ism
glass or fine gelatinc dissolved in hot water.
This is the old fashioned way, and will keep
cider in the same condition as when it went
into the barrel, ifkept in a cool place, for
year.
Professional cider makers are now using
calcium sulphite (sulphitc 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-eghth TO one.
quarter of an ounce of sulphite to each gal
lon OF cider in the cask, first mixing the pow
der in about quart of the cider, then pour
ing it back into the cask and giving the Int
ter thorough shaking or rolling. After
standing bunged several days to allow the sui
phite to exert its full action it may be bot
tied off.
The sulphite of lime (which should not be
mistaken for the sulphate of lime) is q COM
mercial article, costing about 40 cents
pound by the barrel. 1t will preserve the
sweetness of the cider perfectly, but unless
care is taken not to add too much oft, it will
impart slight sulphurous taste to the cider.
The bottles and corks used should be pcrfcc-
tly clean, and the corks wired down.
A little cinnamon, wintergrecn, or snssa-
fras, etc, is often added to sweet cider in the
bottle, together with drachm or so or bicar-
Donate of soda at the moment of driving the
stopper. This helps to neutralizc free acids,
and renders the liquid effervescent when I'M
stopped but if used in excess it may preiu-
dicially affect the taste.