The vinegar, after passing through the sand and flannel strainer, and the false bottom, accumulates in the bot tom of the barrel but cannot escape through the spigot until it reaches the level of its mouth, or a depth of 8 or 10 inches. It is then first drawn from the bottom where its strength is greatest. And the strong vinegar thus accumulated assists in the proc ess of fermentation.
To use this apparatus, pour in about 4 gallons of alcoholic liquor or " wash " every hour with the addition of 1 quart to make up for the waste. And withdraw every hour about 4 gallons of vinegar from the bottom. The first product must be ladled back into the upper half barrel, run through again and again, when it will be converted into vinegar in three or four days. It must then be poured into a clean tank or cask, and one or two quarts of molasses added to it each day, imtil the molasses settles in a bed 3 or 4 inches thick. This im proves the flavor of the vinegar and gives it a fine color. This process is the quickest and most satisfactory that has ever been devised. And as the apparatus is inexpensive, and the product is more salable than ordinary vinegar, there would seem to be no reason why it could not be utilized by grocers and other dealers in vine gar, or by private families or indi viduals either for domestic use or for sale.
Water f or Vinegar.—Pure soft or distilled water ought to be used for the manufacture of good vinegar, and if the water is not pure it should be purified by filtering through char coal.
Wash or Liquors for Vinegar.— The commonest alcoholic liquor used for commercial vinegar in this coun7 try consists of about 3 gallons of corn whisky, 4 gallons of good com mercial vinegar, and 33 gallons of pure water.
Or 50 gallons of 60 per cent whisky and 37 gallons of beer or maltwort.
Or 0 gallons of brandy, 4 gallons of vinegar, and 19 gallons of water, with the addition, to promote tation, of about 1 gallon of an sion of equal parts bran and rye meal.
Or use pounds of sugar to each gallon of pure water.
Or gallon of water to 2 gallons of cider. Add to the above in all cases 2 quarts of yeast to every bar rel of the liquor.
To Ferment Vinegar.—The proc ess of making vinegar requires the presence of the minute vegetable or ganisms called yeast, and is greatly hastened by conditions favorable to their growth. This is the reason that vinegar is made more rapidly in hot than in cold weather, and that the temperature of 75° to 80° F. hastens
the proce,ss. The germs of yeast are, of course, present in large numbers in the lees and mother of old vine gar and also in the vinegar which is soaked into the fiber of the cask. Hence an old vinegar barrel, if sound, is preferable to a new one. The germs of yeast are also present in ordinary vinegar, and if 1 gallon of sound vinegar can be added to each 3 or 5 gallons of cider or other alcoholic liquor or "wash" from which vinegar is to be maAe, no other yeast will be necessary.
Or good brewers' yeast may be added to the alcoholic liquor at the rate of about of a pint to each 12 gallons.
Or homemade hop yeast at the rate of 11 pints to 12 gallons. The " wash " should be at a temperature of about 75° or SO° F. when the yeast is added, and should be kept at or near that temperature while the vine gar is being made. Yeast must not be scalded as a temperature above 140° F. kills it. When old vinegar barrels are employed, or ordinary vinegar is put into new casks to has ten fermentation, care must be taken that the vinegar formerly made in the casks, or used for this purpose, is of the same kind and of at least equally good quality to the desired product. That is, if a fine quality of cider vinegar is desired, only casks that have been used in making pure cider vinegar, or the best grade of cider vinegar itself should be used in the process.
Or boil until tender pints of shelled corn to each gallon of the " wash" and add this in place of yeast to promote fermentation. When the vinegar is sour enough, strain it through cheese cloth to remove the corn and let stand another week to clarify.
Money in Vinegar.—Grocers and other merchants who sell vinegar at retail should make their own vinegar. They can thus, by employing only the best materials, guarantee a pure ar ticle. They can also materially in crease their profits. In fact, any per son living in the country or small town, can profitably manufacture vinegar for family use and also, if de sired, by producing a pure and genu ine article can build up a neighbor hood trade. To do this it is only necessary to leave samples, with price attached, at the neighboring houses and keep always on hand a sufficient quantity of first-class vinegar. The commercial article is so often adul terated vvith injurious acids that most persons will prefer to buy homemade vinegar at the market rates or bet ter and a satisfactory profit will be assured.