1919 Home made beverages

— N on- Alcoholic

Beverages

. j— cohol, bung tightly and let stand 48 hours, when it wii be ready for use. The above is improved by adding to £ach gallon of spirit from 1 to 2 fl.dr. of apple essence (obtain- able from dealers in bar supplies, or probably front any wholesaler). This gives it the apple aroma and flavor. 3. — Artificial Cider. — Filtered water, 20 gal.;/ moist sugar, 12 lb.; tartaric acid, J^ lb.; rectified alcohol, 3 pt.; elder and melilot flowers, of each 4 oz. When the fermentation is finished, it should be placed in a cool cellar and left to repose for 10 days, then fined with isinglass and bottle; the bottles should be kept lying down. Bottling Cider To have good bottled cider, it is necessary first that care should be taken in its manufacture. Apples picked by hand and perfectly ripe and sound are essential to the best quality. They should he some time after picking. They should then be sorted, their surface wiped dry, and all the rotten fruit rejected. The cider may then be made in the usual manner by grinding and pressing. The cider should then be stored in a cool place to mature. After 3 or 4 months it should be racked off carefully, and then fined by adding to each hogshead 1 lb. of isinglass finings. In 2 weeks from the time that the finings are added it should be again racked off, and if found sufficiently clear and sparkling it is ready for bottling; if not, it should be again fined and allowed to stand 2 weeks. Before bottling, the bung should be left out of the casks for 10 or 12 hours to permit the escape of carbonic-acid gas. The cider may then be placed in bottles and the corks loosely placed in. The bottles should then be allowed to stand 24 hours. The corks may then be driven in and wired down. If the corks are driven in and wired when the cider is first put into the bottles there will be great danger of breaking the bottles by the accumulating pressure of the gas. All addi- tions of flavoring materials are a decided damage to cider made from a fine quality of fruit, though they may im- 136