346 VINEGAR, CIDER, AND FRUIT-WINES. 



ttire of 140 F. suffices to suppress every kind of fermentation in 

 cider which contained only 3 to 6 per cent, of alcohol. But in all 

 cases the cider thus treated acquired a peculiar taste calling to mind 

 that of dried fruit. The following experiments show how this evil 

 can be removed : On April 16, 1888, barrels holding from 25 to 50 

 quarts were filled with cider previously heated to from 140 to 

 149 F. ; on June 14, of the same year, the peculiar taste, re- 

 ferred to above, was noticed, though no change in the composi- 

 tion by alcoholic or acetous fermentation had taken place. To 

 the content of every barrel was now added a bottle of the same 

 cider not previously heated, whereupon regular alcoholic fermen- 

 tation set in anew. On July 9, of the same year, the cider had 

 lost the taste of dried fruit and re-acquired its original taste. On 

 July 11, of the same year, it was drawn off into bottles, was spark- 

 ling in September, and retained its normal taste. The process hav- 

 ing been tested by experts, the Congress of the "Association pomolo- 

 gique de 1'Ouest," held at Havre, expressed a favorable opinion of 

 it and declared the problem of keeping cider sweet as solved. 



Freezing of cider. G. Lech artier also made experiments in 

 this direction, his object being to answer the following questions: 



1. Are the aroma, taste, and clearness of cider changed by cold? 



2. Of what nature are the products obtained by freezing, and 

 does the latter take place without sensible loss of substance? 3. 

 Are the ferments killed by sufficiently long cooling, and is cider 

 thus treated protected from external influences? 



For all the experiments the cider was subjected to a tempera- 

 ture of from 0.4 to 4 F. A portion of the fluid congeals, 

 and the temperature rises to from 26.6 to 24.8 F. As soon as 

 a sufficient quantity has become solid the fluid portion is poured 

 off, which has a higher specific gravity than the original cider. 

 The ice crystals melt to a nearly colorless fluid, which has a 

 specific gravity of 1 and contains only 0.3 per cent, of alcohol. 

 From ciders with 4 to 5 per cent, of alcohol were obtained by 

 freezing concentrated ciders with 7 to 8 per cent, of alcohol, and 

 60 to 80 grammes of dry extract per liter, which corresponds 

 with the composition of the richest Normandy cider. These 

 ciders, after remaining for several months in bottles, differed but 

 little as regards color, content, and taste from the best products 



