The Scranton tribune. [volume] (Scranton, Pa.) 1891-1910, 1900-02-24
MADE OF DRIED APPLES.
Counsel Tourgee Describes Palata-
BILE and Economical French Drink.

Judge Albion w. Tourgee, who is
United States consul at Bordeaux.
France, has written at length an in
teresting communication to the state
Department on a new use for Ameri-
can dried apples in France.
1T is curious fact" he says, that
the consumption of wine in France is
steadily diminishing. This results from
a variety of causes. prominent among
which is general belief among the
common people that the product of the
vine is apt to be deleteriously adulter-
ated. Whether this is true or not. II
is a matter of such universal comment
that they naturally make ii an excuse
for discarding wine and indulging in
a beverage which they declare is too
cheap for anybody to dream of adul-
terating. Their first resort was to the
product Of the apple and pear orchards
of Normandy and Brittany. In 1895 the
consumption Of cider in Paris amount
ed to 100000 gallons. but in conse-
! quence of the bad apple harvests in
1896 and 1897 this fell in 1898 to an ut
terly insignificant figure.
THE importation of cider to meet
| the demand was impossible because of
the prohibitive duty of $50 francs per
hcctOliter, amounting. with the octrol
| duty, to about 16 cents gallon in
Paris. OF course, no man could pay a
tax of 4 cents quart and furnish n
! drink cheap enough to meet the de-
| mand for cider. which could not be
! diluted to any extent with water and
i retain its peculiar tang 1t became
! necessary, therefore, to find a substi-
| tute.
with the English or American taste,
| this substitute would probably have
| been found in a sort of beer or some
mere alcoholic product. But the French
man, if he is not addicted to absinthe,
usually cares little for the alcoholic
! character of his favorte tpple What
| he wants is not to become intoxicated
| but to have a pleasant drink which ne
can sip by the hour in company with
! his friends at the buvette. Two things
| are essential. First, II must have a
pleasant, fruitv flavor if little
piquant so much the better); and, seq
ond, 1t must not make too heavy Il
drain upon his purse. The bourgeois
rarely allows his palate to make him
forget his pocket. Cheapness ana
| briskness are essential elements of il
popular drink for the French people.
a NEW DRINK.
"Out Of these conditions. aided by
the genius of some unknown mixer OF
drinks in Paris, was evolved 'piquettc' :
sparkling, fruity beverage, composed
Of dried apples, raisins and water. al
lowed TO stand until fermentation takes
place and then bottled, with the az
, dition OF a little sugar. or served di-
glass is the ordinary charge at the
| buvette for this spicy and, as rule,
harmless beverage. A franc go cents }
will furnish a man a treat which Is
good for two hours sitting at the
| buvette, but hardly develops enough
alcoholic influence to nerceptibly re-
duce the ordinary liveiness of the
| tongue.
The following is the receipt given m->
| for its preparation by one of the lead
| ing manufacturers of Bordeaux:
Five pounds of raisins, five pounds OF
| dried apples and five gallons of water.
| Put in an open cask and let stand for
three days; bottle with a half teaspoon
| full of sugar and a bit of cinnamon in
| each bottle. Vary the Ilayor to suit
| the taste.
1T is really pleasant summer hcv-
| erage, and If made in the United states
| might take the place of some of our
mysterious decoctions with decided ad-
vantage to health.
"rhe special American interest in pl-
| quette, however, is found at present
in the fact that the dried apples out
| of which it is made are imported from
the United States. | would note in
| this connection that 500 barrels of dried
| apples which l recently examined 200
We're dead loss to the shipper because
| of lack Of care in drying and packing.