1868 The complete Practical Distiller

— MASHING.

POTATOES

115.

verted into sugar. The reason is, that the feeula has not been sufficiently decomposed in the potatoes boiled by steam. To liquefy and convert this feeula into sugar by means of malted barley, it is necessary to place it in im- mediate contact with the latter; the husks, and the gra- nular and crystalline state in which the feeula is found in potatoes boiled by steam, fulfil but imperfectly the con- dition necessary for the complete saccharification which has been observed in the mashing of rice. This saccharification is completed in the fermentation, at a much lower temperature, it is true, but not in so short a period. In fact, this conversion of feeula into sugar takes place as long as the fermentation lasts. To this process, simple in itself, are attached all the incon- veniences inherent to the distillation of pastes. Agricul- ture, which is deeply interested in this kind of industry, has long since been in want of means to remove this imperfection, without too hasty innovations, and without afi*ecting the simplicity and economy belonging to this method. There are some important modifications to the method just detailed, which it may not be amiss to give while on this subject. These modifications may be executed in two ways : the first consists in isolating the feeula of the potato, to work it with malted barley or Indian corn ; by the other the separation of the feeula is avoided, by directly operating on potatoes simply divided by the rasp. As the fabrica- tion of feeula will be useful to the reader, not only in this, but in the second method, a description will be given of it, such as is practised in Paris for the purpose