422 VINEGAR, CIDER, AND FRUIT-WINES. 



Moreover, air and light must be kepi away from the pickles as 

 much as possible, and they should be touched only with wooden 

 or bone spoons. An essential condition for success is to treat the 

 fruits immediately after being gathered. The method of some 

 manufacturers, who add verdigris to the pickles or boil the vine- 

 gar in a copper boiler until it is sufficiently " greenish" to com- 

 municate its green color to the product, cannot be too strongly 

 condemned. That this crime against the health of the consumer 

 is unfortunately committed to a considerable extent, is conclusively 

 proved by numerous chemical examinations recently made in the 

 large cities of Europe and the United States, and undertaken with 

 the laudable purpose of bringing the adulterators of food to jus- 

 tice. Many of the pickles in the market, and most of the im- 

 ported canned peas, contain copper, and this notwithstanding the 

 fact that there are very innocent means for coloring pickles green, 

 it being only necessary to put a handful of spinach or wine leaves 

 in the boiling vinegar which acquires thereby a green coloration 

 and communicates it later on to the pickles. 



The following list comprises the fruits which are chiefly used 

 for the preparation of pickles in factories : 



Barberries. The berries are gathered before they are ripe and 

 washed with salt water. The vinegar is added cold. 



Beans. Cold vinegar is poured over the young pods, previously 

 soaked in cold water. 



Cabbage , red and white. The heads are cut up into fine strips 

 which are placed in a strong brine for two days, then dried upon 

 hurdles for 12 hours, next brought into bottles, and after pouring 

 cold vinegar upon them, at once sealed up. 



Cauliflower. The heads are broken up into small pieces which 

 are placed in brine, and finally treated with hot vinegar. 



Cucumbers. Young cucumbers are placed in salt water for one 

 week. The brine is then poured of! and after being made boiling 

 hot is poured back over the cucumbers. The next day the cu- 

 cumbers are dried upon a sieve, slightly rubbed off with cloth, and 

 then boiling vinegar is poured over them. 



Elderberry flowers. The umbels are gathered just before the 

 flowers open, and treated in the same manner as cauliflower. These 

 pickles are much liked in England. 



