Deo. 27, 1906 



1047 



American Hqq Journal 



No. 22— Dadant Methods of 



Vinegar-Making With 



Honey 



BY C. P. DADANT 



Some time ago, through the courtesy 

 of Mr. A. F. Vinson, I received a small 

 pamphlet entitled, '• Timely Hints for 

 Farmers, No. 60," published by the 

 Experiment Station of the University 

 of Arizona. The special subject of 

 this No. 60, is the manufacture of 

 honey- vinegar. It is replete with good 

 ideas and practical information. One 

 thing attracted my attention. It is 

 the comparison of different samples of 

 vinegar as to the amount of unfer- 

 mented matter in proportion to the 

 acetic acid in each sample. I submit 

 the table : 



Composition op Arizona Honey-Vinegar. 



Uufermented 

 Acetic Acid Matter Ash 



No. 1 is a vinegar, months old, in which 

 the honey is nearly all fermented to alcohol, 

 but is still undergoing acetic fermentation. 



No. 2 is a very striking example of the loss 

 of saccharine matter. Alcoholic fermentation 

 is very seriously retarded by even small per- 

 centages of free acid, and in this case it is 

 doubtful if any of the remaining sugar ever 

 becomes vinegar. Furthermore, the unfer- 

 mented honey 6weetens the sourness to such 

 an extent that it tastes but slightly more acid 

 than a vinegar of half its actual strength. 



No. 3 also shows considerable material 

 which escaped fermentation. This is often 

 due to adding fresh washings to partially 

 made vinegar. The alcoholic fermentation 

 must, in all cases, precede the acetic, for even 

 small amounts of acetic acid greatly retard or 

 entirely prevent the activities of the yeast 

 cells. In other words, acetic acid is a direct 

 poison to yeast, and no further addition of 

 washings or honey should be made. 



The above description is taken from 

 the pamphlet. The conclusions are so 

 much in accord with my experience 

 that I can not help calling attention to 

 them. Too many people try to make 

 honey-vinegar without the previous 

 alcoholic fermentation. 



To make good vinegar the sweetened 

 water must undergo alcoholic fermen- 

 tation first. The more thorough this 

 fermentation is, the better and stronger 

 the vinegar will be, because a thor- 

 oughly fermented article turns to vin- 

 egar more easily than a sweet drink. 

 It is not advisable 'o allow the honey- 



water to take its chances on fermenta- 

 tion. It is true that honey usually con- 

 tains germs of fermentation, which are 

 gathered with it from the flowers, but 

 those germs are of different kinds. It 

 is always best to use some kind of 

 yeast to start the alcoholic fermenta- 

 tion. This pamphlet recommends cake 

 yeast. Personally, I much prefer the 

 fermenting germs of fruits, especially 

 of grapes. 



My readers are not ignorant of the 

 fact that the highest grade of vinegar 

 was originally made from grape-wine. 

 The name " vin-aigre " is French, and 

 signifies " sour wine." We can there- 

 fore make the best vinegar from the 

 natural yeast of grapes. A few pounds 

 of grapes, crushed, for a barrel of vin- 

 egar, will start an alcoholic fermenta- 

 tion much resembling that of wine. If 

 the temperature is right, and the pro- 

 portion of honey and water of the 

 right degree, a prompt and thorough 

 alcoholic fermentation will follow very 

 shortly, and as soon as it is over the 

 acetic fermentation may be induced by 

 the use of vinegar or vinegar-mother. 

 For both the alcoholic and the acetic 

 fermentations a fairly warm tempera- 

 ture is necessary — from 75 to 90 degrees. 

 At lower temperatures the fermenta- 

 tion is slow, and when very low it 

 ceases altogether. 



This pamphlet recommends the most 

 speedy method, which consists in allow- 

 ing the vinegar to trickle slowly 

 through the shavings made of beech, 

 which have been prepared by soaking 

 in strong vinegar. The purpose of 

 this is to allow the air thoroughly to 

 oxidize the liquid, for it is only by the 

 action of the air that the development 

 of the ferment can take place. Any 

 method which exposes the liquid to 

 warm air while the process is going on 

 will accelerate the fermentation. 



I have thought best to bring this 

 matter again to the attention of the 

 readers of the American Bee Journal, 

 because I have had an occasion to ex- 

 amine different samples of vinegar 

 lately. I was selected as judge of the 

 bee and honey exhibit of the Illinois 

 State Fair this year, by the action of 

 our State Bee-Keepers' Association. 

 Among other premiums there was one 

 for the best honey-vinegar. Of the 6 

 or 8 samples exhibited, only 2 were en- 

 tirely devoid of a perceptibly sweet 

 taste. Two samples contained, to my 

 judgment, more honey than vinegar. 

 It is evident that none of the exhibi- 

 tors had realized the necessity of caus- 

 ing a thorough alcoholic fermentation 

 in the liquid previous to the acetic fer- 

 mentation. The conditions required 

 by the premium list demanded that 

 each exhibitor of vinegar should sup- 

 ply with the sample a written recipe 



for making the vinegar. In not a sin- 

 gle instance did the recipe contain in- 

 structions for providing some kind of 

 yeast or germ to start the first fermen- 

 tation. 



I must here add that it is possible to 

 prepare honey-water in which the ele- 

 ments of fermentation are entirely ab- 

 sent. My first attempt at making 

 honey-vinegar, years ago, resulted in 

 a dead honey-water. I had used the 

 very best of clover honey diluted in 

 clear water, and had put it away in a 

 warm cellar in earthen jars, in full 

 confidence that I would soon have good 

 vinegar. Six months afterwards my 

 honey solution was still sweetened 

 water, with a moldy scum over the top 

 of each jar. Air was not lacking, but 

 the fermenting germs evidently were 

 absent. At the suggestion of my 

 father I added some grape-juice, 

 poured the entire lot into a barrel, 

 warming a .part of it sufficiently to 

 bring the entire mass to about 75 de- 

 grees; within 24 hours the liquid was 

 fermenting, and within a few days it 

 was thoroughly fermented and begin- 

 ning to sour. 



To make good vinegar we must have 

 clean honey, soft water, and good, 

 clean barrels. In many instances our 

 farmers spoil their wine, their cider, or 

 their vinegar, by using musty barrels 

 that have been kept in a damp place 

 without proper care. If you have no 

 barrels in which to make the vinegar, 

 buy empty whisky barrels or syrup 

 barrels iron-bound, which still have 

 the smell of the whisky or of the syrup, 

 and fill them at once with your solu- 

 tion. If you wish to keep the barrels 

 pure and wholesome after they are 

 empty, cleanse them first thoroughly. 

 A small piece of chain tied to a string 

 and lowered into the barrel, the string 

 holding through the bung hole, will 

 help cleanse every corner. Put in 3 or 

 4 gallons of hot water, put the bung in 

 and shake thoroughly. After the bar- 

 rel is clean, drain the water and allow 

 it to remain, bung down, for 2 or 3 

 days until it is dry. Then lower iato 

 it a small piece of brimstone-rag 

 lighted with a match. When it is burnt 

 out bung the barrel tight and you may 

 trust it to remain sweet till the next 

 season. 



Brimstone rags are made by melting 

 brimstone over a fire in an iron skillet, 

 and dripping strips of cloth into the 

 liquid sulphur. These rags may be 

 kept on hand for this purpose, as well 

 as for killing the moth. The rag 

 serves as a wick, and the brim- 

 stone is much more easily handled in 

 that shape than in lumps. We keep 

 them on hand all the time. 



Hamilton, 111. 



The Stinging Bug 

 Enemies 



Bee- 



BT PROF. A. J. COOK 



"Subscriber." at St. Charles, 111., asks 

 about a little bug that he found devour- 

 ing a bee on a yellow flower. This is 

 none other than the insect named at 

 the head of this article — Phymata erosa. 

 It is fully described and as fully illus- 

 trated in my book. "The Bee-Keepers' 

 Guide." This insect is a wonder of 



