Vol. LXXVTT. 
Published Weekly by The Rural I’ublishing Co.. 
3J13 W. 30th St., New York. Price One Dollar a Year. 
NEW YORK, NOVEMBER IDIS. 
Entered as Second-Class Matter. June 26, 1879, at the Post 
Offlce at New York. N. Y., under the Act of March 3, 1879. 
No. 4510. 
The Manufacture of Cider Vinegar and 
Other Apple Juice Products 
Part T. 
N EXTENSIVE BUSINESS.—The nitiiiuftu- 
ture of apple cider vinegar has grown from a 
primitive one-man-mill affair to proportions that 
etinal many of tlie large commercial food factories of 
tlie country. Vinegar is a staple commodity, and 
there is an outlet for ail tlie make from individual 
and commercial plants where it falls within the 
legal standard for pure apple cider vinegar. Tlie 
Imsiness has so expanded that vinegar is not the 
only output of the progre.ssive plants. There is ap¬ 
paratus for reducing cider to boiled cider and apple 
jelly. The pomace, once thrown awaj", is dried and 
used as jelly stock. The rapid spread of prohibition 
is creating demands for .safe substitutes, and as a 
consort of grape juice a delicious drink in the form 
of a permanent sweet cldcu- is now being bottled for 
the market. Many operators liave added apide bnt- 
VINEtJAR FERMENTS.—Vinegar from cider must 
undergo two distinct fermentations—vinous or alco¬ 
holic. and acetic. As soon as the alcoholic ferment 
starts to work and produce alcohol the acetic bac¬ 
teria pre.sent attack the alcohol and convert it into 
acetic acid. As this acid develops it gradually over¬ 
comes the alcoholic ferments, and in a very short 
time completely kills them. Wlicn tlie acetic fer¬ 
ments have consumed the little alcoliol present, they 
become inactive, and there the cider vinegar cea.ses 
development. To secure the best results a yea.st is 
added that will produce the largest percentage of 
alcohol for the acetic ferments to work on. The 
time to complete vinous fermentation will vary from 
four to eight weeks, depending on the richness of 
the juice, the temperature of the fermenting room 
and the species of ferment predominating. A cool 
room will recpiire a longer time to convert all the 
sugar. The most favorable temperature is from 75 
to 85 degrees Falirenheit. 
IMPURITTI'18.—When fermentation takes place il 
of tin* ferment will be obtained. l-h|uids suited to 
this ferment can be obtained by mixing ecpial parts 
of cider and vinegar, or one part of grape wine ami 
two of vinegar, and adding tivi* per cent of JtP p(M- 
cent alcohol to the mixture. Such mixtures pos.sess 
the power of vigoi’ously nourishing the vinegar fer¬ 
ment. 
'rilE GENERATOR.—The chemical changes iu- 
\olved in the formation of acetic acid are the forma¬ 
tion of alcohol from fruit sugar, and the formation 
of acetic acid from alcohol. It is in the last fermen¬ 
tation tluit the layge plants depart widely from old 
nu'thods by employing the generator for the quick 
proc('ss of manufacturing vinegar. The rapid for¬ 
mation of acetic acid results from partial combus¬ 
tion or oxidation of alcohol, and is acconipli.shed by 
lunning the alcoholic liquid through a generator so 
arranged that a large surface of the cider containing 
alcohol will come into contact with the oxygen of the 
air which circulates through the generator. The 
most important piece of equipment for making vine- 
snifuntr,) filial Thildiohi Applen Groivn on Long Island. Natural 8f.:c. Fig. ()2d. 
ter, as but little extra labor is re(|uired to operate 
the butter cooker. 
VINEBAIt STANr>ARl)S.— In the Federal Stand¬ 
ards of the United States Department of Agriculture 
v inegar is defined as the product made by the alco- 
•I'olic and subsequent acetous fermentations of tlie 
juice of apples. It must contain not less than four 
jier cent of acetic acid and not less than 1.0 per cent 
of apple solid.s. There is no statute provision bar¬ 
ring any farmer from running a cider mill or mak¬ 
ing vinegar. The only requirement is that the vine- 
gar offered for sale shall be of legal .standard. The 
ruling setting a standard does not necessarily weed _ 
out the small producer, though it does ask for a 
standard product. I have heard of one man in the , 
fruit belt of Western New York who made $000 in. 
one season from cull apples with only a small press 
operated by a 2i4-hor.sepower ga.soline engine. Here¬ 
in we had the old way of producing cider. ThOf 
fruit may or may not be washed, according to the 
idea of cleanliness carried by the operator; it is 
then put through the grinder and at once sent to the 
press wrapped in buidap, which acts as a filter be¬ 
tween the juice and pulp. Fermentation soon be¬ 
gins, though by this method it is a long course to 
legal vinegar. 
will be notice<l that a head always forms on the sur¬ 
face of the Ihiuid. This is composed of light i)ar- 
ticles and a great many impurities thrown up by 
fermentation. As the fermentation subside.s, tliis 
head settles down clo.se to the liquid, and will finally 
fall down througli the liquid, causing considerable 
disturbance, as it carries with it impurities that are 
detrimental to the cider. By the removal of this 
liead after fermentation has begun to subside these 
impurities can be got rid of, and it will l)e found 
well wortli while to do .so. 
ACETIU FERMENTATION follows ' the general 
principles of fermentation in the conversion of al¬ 
cohol to acetic acid or to making vinegar. The active 
agent in the process is the vinegar ferment. Nothing 
is known of the origin of this ferment, but experi¬ 
ments have shown these organisms to be distributed 
everywliere throughout the air and to multiply at 
an enormous rate in suitable liquids at a favorable 
temperature; for instance, cider or Wine at a tem¬ 
perature of about 80 degrees Fahrenheit. The culti¬ 
vation and development of a vinegar ferment is not 
a difficult process, it being only necessary to pre¬ 
pare a liquid especially adapted tn its nourishment 
and allow the liquid to stand in the open air of suit¬ 
able temperature. In a few days a Vigorous growth 
gar is the generator. It consists of a largo cylindri- 
ca 1-shaped tank divided into three compartments, the 
uppermost for the distribution of the alcoholic 
liquid over a mass of shavings, the latter serving 
not only to divide tlie wash into small particles, but 
also as a carrier for the vinegar ferment; the cen¬ 
tral compartment for the shavings, and the lower 
compartment for the collection of vinegar. The .gen¬ 
erator is generally made of cypress or tir lumber, 
and bound by iron hoops with di-aw lugs. The upper 
or distributing compartment is .separated from the 
sh.Mvings compartment by a perforated distributing 
head. . • 
HOW IT WORKS.—^The central compartment is 
tilled with beechwood or rattan shavings, and is. sep¬ 
arated from the collecting conqiartment by a false 
bottom. Beechwood and rattan best .serve the'ir pur¬ 
pose because they are free from sugar or other .solu¬ 
ble extracts, and retain their curled shape when 
saturated with the liquid. Strong vinegar is fir.st 
tun through the generator, wlien the shavings are in 
place, for the purpose of thoroughly acidulating the 
sliavings and all parts of the generator. The pri¬ 
mary object of acidulation is to implant in the gen¬ 
erator a large quantity of vinegar ferment, and the 
second object is to displace as much as possible any 
