The Cook County herald., 1903-10-17
In Vinegar Making.


part in the making of vinegar. Some,
Of our best vinegar. makers declare
that the best temperature for this
work is between 6S and S6 degrees
The cider should not be permitted tc
reach a higher temperature than 81
degrees nor should it be allowed to
drop below so. This rule is not ir
keeping with the practice of those
that permit their vinegar to freeze
slightly. before removing it to the eel
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 systeE OF
vinegar supply Of the farm that had
a small orchard was to make a bar
rel of cider each year and let it ripper
for over two years before beginning
to use it, estimating that the barre
made one season would be used dur
ing the third season from it's making
It 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 te
permit the entrance of air. On many
farm there was one place by the
side OF a fence on one side of the
farm house yard, where two or three
vinegar barrels were always to be
seen in summer time, the barrels be
ing on their sides and end to end
Most of the work of the bacteria acct:
was done during the summer months
Now the vinegar maker puts his
cider into barrels and stores it in
warm room long before the cold gets
to it, 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 eel
lar that was suited to the keeping
OF potatoes, apples and roots was
also suitable for the storing o1
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 flrst-class vinegar we need a 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 it advisable tc
have room specially heated for the
ripening of his vinegar. He can, how.
ever, utilize the family kitchen, If he
can spare the space for keg or small
barrel, but hardly for two. However
in such temperature the ripening
process goes on so rapidly that yeal
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 a peculiar jelly
These bacteria are all the time draw
ing from the cider it's alcohol and
from the air it's oxygen and combin.
ing them to form acetic acid, which is
then discharged into the liquid. II
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.