Audubon Republican. [volume] (Audubon, Iowa) 1894-1925, 1903-09-10
In Vinegar Making.

Temperature plays an important
part In the making of vinegar Some
of our best vinegar makers declare
that the best temperature for this
work is between 6S and sc degrees.
The cider should not be permitted to
reach higher temperature than So
degrees nor should 1t be allowed to
drop below so. This rule is not in
keeping with the practice of those
that permit their vinegar to freeze
slightly before removing 1t to the cell
lar or other storage place. The mat
ter is of Importance, showing that we
have as much reason to watch the
temperature in vinegar making as in
butter making. The old system OF
vinegar supply Of the farm that had
small orchard was to make bar.
rel OF cider each year and let it ripen
for over two years before beginning
to use 1t, estimating that the barrel
made one season would be used dur
Ing the third season from its making.
1t was generally believed that two.
year-old vinegar had about the right
strength for the best service. Accord.
ing to the present makers of vinegar,
this was useless waste of time. In
those days the barrels were left out
OF doors till freezing time came, when
they were bunged up and rolled into
the cellar, being again taken out the
next spring and the bung removed to
permit the entrance of air. On many
farm there was one place by the
side of fence on one side of the
farm house yard, where two or three
vinegar barrels were always to be
SEGA In summer time, the barrels be-
ing on their sides and end to end.
MosI Of the work Of the bacteria aceti
was done during the summer months.
Now the vinegar maker puts his
cider into barrels and stores 1t in a
warm room long before the cold gets
to 1t, taking care to see that the tenn
perature is not much under seventy
degrees. Very often now the cellar is
not used for this work at all, at least,
not the cellar that is used for the
storage OF farm vegetables and roots.
1t used to be believed that the Gel
lar that was suited to the keeping
of potatoes, apples and roots was
also suitable for the storing Of
cider in process Of changing in
to vinegar. But this is no longer
believed. We need, for the keeping
OF vegetables, the temperature of the
cellar to kept as near the freezing
point as possible, while for the MAX
of first-class vinegar we need tenn
perature OF 40 degrees higher or there.
abouts.
The man that has a small orchard
and wants to make single barrel of
vinegar will not find 1t Advisable to
have room specially heated for the
r1pening OF his vinegar. He can, how
ever, utilize the family kitchen, If he
can spare the space for key or small
barrel, but hardly for two. However
in such temperature the ripening
process goes on so rapidly that year
| will give vinegar Of the desired
| strength. The barrel should not be
air tight, but should be uncovered
enough to allow the air to reach it.
| The mother" will then form rapidly
and the process of ripening will be
accelerated. All farmers have seen
what Is known as mother" but few
understand it's province. This mother
is a mass of threads of bacterium
aceti held together by peculiar jelly.
These bacteria are all the time draw.
ing from the cider its alcohol and
from the air its oxygen and combin.
ing them to form acetic acid, which is
then discharged into the liquid. 1t
will therefore be seen that the mother
is not to be skinned off but care
fully retained, as the process of sour.
ing will not go on without it.