Clearwater Republican. [volume] (Orofino, Idaho) 1912-1922, 1914-09-25
Making Vinegar.

Making Vinegar.
In order to produce a sound, well
favored vinegar, food apples must be
used in making the cider. The apples
must be clean and free from rotten
spots. A good plan is to use the
sound culls in sorting apples for the
market. Having pressed out the juice
and allowed it to complete the RlcO-
holic fermentation, in clean barrels,
the cider is withdrawn from the sedi-
ment and is ready to be converted
into vinegar. To accomplish this two
methods can be used, the barrel pro
cess or the generator. For the first
process two barrels are used, the one
for making, the other for storing the
vinegar. Barrels from which sound
vinegar has just been withdrawn are
best The storage barrel is always
kept in the cellar; the generating bar
rel in sufficiently dry and warm
place, the best temperature lying be-
tween rs and 100 degrees Fahrenheit.
At the first temperature 1t will take
from 10 to IS weeks for complete
conversion to vinegar; at temperature
close to 100 degrees f., three to four
weeks.
How to Make Vinegar--Both stor
age and generating barrels should be
fitted with wooden faucets and should
lie on their sides. At the top OF one
of the heads of the generating bar
rels a small hole is bored for the cir
culation Of air, for in the conversion
of alcohol to acetic acid large
amount of air Is used in the Oxida-
ton. Fill the generating barrel about
half full of good sound vinegar at
a temperature of from S5 to IS de-
grees F., because the vinegar ferment
will be killed. Then add to this from
time to time the cider at a tempera-
ture of about 90 degrees F., and undi-
luted with water, until at the end of
~ to Is weeks, according to how well
the temperature has been maintained,
the barrel has been filled to the air
hole in the end. Let stand a week or
SO and draw off half of the contents,
free from sediment and mother OF
| vinegar" and transfer to the storage
barrel, in the cellar Then fresh
charge of cider can be added to the
started over again. Plenty of air and
warm temperature are essential In
making vinegar. In storage, these
conditions are not necessary.
A Much Faster Method-A method
of making vinegar different from the
barrel process above described and
having the advantage of being cOntin.
uous and much faster is as follows:
A water-tight box made of inch
boards, about four feet high and seven
feet long, is fitted inside with shelves
about four inches apart The tor
shelf has fall of about two inches
toward the other end and at the low
err end hole is bored. Grooves are
cut in the top of the shelf slanting zig
gag to this hole through which the
cider runs to similar shelf just be
low, but which slopes in the opposite
direction to the top one. The ides
being for the cider to zigzag down
through the box across these shelves
in thinly spread out stream, and al
the bottom Of the box is drawn of
into storage barrel or other recep
tacle. The box should be put to
gether with screws and particular at
tention should be given to tn,
shelves, fastening cleats across un
derneath so that they do not warp ou
of shape, for the cider flowing down
must be spread out as much as posi-
BILE to come in contact with the ali
in the box. A little above this. boz
at the end OF the highest point of tn,
top shelf barrel is placed with ,
! wooden faucet which allows a stream
of the fermented cider about the siz,
| of straw to flow onto the top shell
and run across the different shelves
and out at the bottom, by which tim,
pure and strong vinegar will be pro
duced. II run too fast the conversion
Of the alcohol in the cider to aceti
acid will not be complete. The stream
feeding the generator should be re
duced. The generator should be KEEP
in room in which temperature O
90 to 95 degrees can be maintained
When once started the process mus
be continued day and night until tn
supply fails. Before starting the ger
orator with cider, half bayrel or 8
Of good vinegar should be run throug
SO that the shelves will be imprei
mated with the vinegar ferment.
is good idea to add about ON,
fourth Of good vinegar to the eide
before running through the generator
the conversion will be better.