The ranch. [volume] (Seattle, Wash.) 1902-1914, 1906-08-01


= wrote up for these
columns the process of making home
made cider vinegar some two years
ago. We are not unmindful OF tne
fact that we have very many new SUD
scribers and for this reason it becomes
necessary to answer the same ques
tons again and again.
In making cider vinegar on the farm
a few simple things must be Kept IT
mind. If the vinegar is intended fol
the market we must remember thai
our pure food laws require commercial
vinegar to be of certain strength
In Washington there is no standard ol
strength established by law. That Is
done by the pure food commissioner
When Mr.. Mcdonald filled that post
ion he made ruling that such vinegar
should contain three and one-haf pei
cent of acetic acid. I talked with him
about this matter just before he lef'
the office to accept the position thai
he now fills under the department OF
agriculture, and he said that the stand
ard should be raised to four per cent
and that if he had continued in that
office he would have raised the stand
ard to that per cent. Whether the
standard has been raised by the pres
ent commissioner I do not know, bu'
think not. The state of New York
REQUIRES cider vinegar to contain foui
and one-half per cent of acetic acid.
Not all apples will make four PEI
Wi
make a three and one-half per cent
product What per cent OF acetic aclo
cider will make depends upon the
sugar content of the apples. NOW, we
can not decide the question OF sugar
content in apples by tasting them
The sweetness or sOurness OF apples
is determined by the presence or alb
sence of malic acid. A Tallman Sweet
for instance, contains less sugar than
some sour apples because the Tall
man contains a very low per cent OF
malic acid. The reason that | mention
these things here is that it will be
necessary to have the sugar contents
of your apples determined if you make
vinegar for the market. II the vinegar
is made for home consumption then II
will not be necessary to know what
per cent of acetic acid it contains.
Apples to be made into cider for the
purpose of vinegar making should De
clean and not rotten. The cider should
be strained through some cloth. Ii
the cider is kept all the time in the
cellar it will take long time to have
it converted into vinegar. 1t should
be kept in the summer time out in the
sun light. The barrel containing the
cider should not be entirely tight
The air must come in contact with the
apple Juice in order to facilitate Ter
mentation. There will be two stages
of this fermentation. The first stage
is called vinous fermentation and pro
duces alcohol; the second one is call
ed acetic fermentation and during this
fermentation the alcohol undergOeS q
chemical change and is converted into
acetic acid. If left in a cool place like
a cellar it will take about one year
for the alcoholic fermentation to take
place and then another year for the
acetic fermentation to be completed
Thus it can be seen that under these
conditions it will take two years OF
longer to convert apple juice into ap
pie vinegar. But with increased heat
this process can be shortened at least
one half. With proper machinery and
the use of artificial heat this process
can be accomplished in a few days
But such a plant will not be profitable
on farm. This kind of business must
be left to costly plants and men of ex
nerience. So it will be seen that ],
requires practically one year to make
good cider vinegar on the farm.
When the second fermentation 1;
completed the vinegar should DC