MAKING CIDER X'INEGAR. 



Would you please tell me iu The Cana- 

 dian HoRTiciil.TDRlsT, the best way to make 

 cider vinegar ? Please give full instructions. 

 W. J. K., Htnjr 



Although cider vinegar is being con 

 stantly made by fruit growers in Ontario, 

 methods vary, and we cannot reply 

 better than by giving our correspondent 

 the following directions by a competent 

 writer in the American Agriculturist : — 



Vinegar is a weak solution of acetic 

 acid, which is produced by the action of 

 a minute vegetable germ on the sugar 



visible, float off into the air, and as the 

 supply of them is inexhaustibly kept 

 up by the constant souring of various 

 matters containing sugar, all thai is 

 necessary is to expose some sweet liquid 

 to the air and it will at once begin to 

 ferment and finally will sour, making 

 what we call vinegar. 



Vinegar is a very wholesome sub- 

 stance, and is believed to have a useful 

 effect on the digestive process, and thus 

 we instinctively desire it in our food. 



Fii:. 1042.— Qlk'K Methud of Making Cider Vinegak. 



contained in the liquid to be acidified. 

 This germ changes the sugar into alco- 

 hol, first, and this by further action be- 

 comes acetic acid. The germs when 

 accumulated into a mass appear as a 

 kind of soft jelly like substance which is 

 found in the vessels in which vinegar has 

 been made and kept, and is commonly 

 called the "mother" of vinegar, which 

 it really is in fact. When dried, these 

 germs, which are so small as to be in- 



But as it is rather difficult to procure it 

 pure and free from injurious mineral 

 acids, it is much safer to make it from 

 fruit cider. Cider vinegar has a small 

 quantity of malic or apple acid in it, and 

 this makes it more agreeable. In mak- 

 ing vinegar from cider only the very best 

 should be used. This is only made 

 from ripe apples, quite free from decay 

 and the common worms often found in 

 the fruit chosen for vinegar n-uking. 



