214 VINEGAR, CIDER, AND FRUIT-WINES. 



of strong spirits of wine, a sand-like precipitate falls to the bottom 

 of the test-tube, which consists of very small crystals of tartar. 

 This, however, does not prove the sample to be genuine wine- 

 vinegar, tartar also being contained in imitations. With a suffi- 

 ciently sharp sense of smell this is, however, the surest means of 

 distinguishing genuine wine-vinegar from a spurious article. 



In case the derivation of a vinegar is to be established with 

 absolute certainty it has to be subjected to an accurate chemical 

 analysis, and this being better made by an analytical chemist 

 onlv a few hints are here given which may serve as a guide for 

 such analyses. 



In a vinegar prepared from a fermented fluid a certain quantity 

 of glycerin and succinic acid will, as a rule, be present, these bodies 

 being ahvavs formed bv the fermentation of a sacchariferous 



* 



fluid, and, consequently, when found, the respective vinegar can- 

 not have been prepared from an alcoholic liquid consisting only of 

 spirits of wine and water. If they are found only in very small 

 quantities, the alcoholic liquid used for the fabrication of the vine- 

 gar consisted very likely of spirits of wine and water with the 

 addition of beer or fermented whiskey-mash, and in this case 

 small quantities of dextrin and of phosphates will also be found. 

 The total absence of tartaric acid and the presence of malic acid 

 indicate the derivation of the vinegar under examination from 

 fruit, though not necessarily from apples or pears, other saccha- 

 riferous fruits also containing malic acid. A content of tartaric 

 acid is, however, no proof of genuine wine-vinegar, as its presence 

 may be due to an intentional addition, and it is very difficult to 

 arrive at a certain conclusion about the genuineness of a pre- 

 tended wine-vinegar, especially in the case of cider-vinegar to 

 which tartaric acid has been added. 



Should pepper, chillies, etc., be added to vinegar for the pur- 

 pose of conferring more pungency, they may be detected by neu- 

 tralizing the acid with carbonate of soda and tasting the liquor; 

 if these bodies be present, the solution will still retain the sharp- 

 ness peculiar to such spices. 



