TO KEEP CIDER SWEET.
Make the cider as late in the fall as possible from solid apples, without using any water, put away immediately from the press, and lay it in some place where it may remain quiet, let the place be as cool as possible. Fill the barrel up full, take the bung out and leave it out for four days, filling it up occasionally as it settles or works out. Should the cider stop working under 4 days, rack it off carefully from the dregs, which should be done as soon as the cider stops working, then put your cider into a clean sweet barrel—it should be a barrel that has had whiskey or brandy in it—if not, rinse with water until perfectly clean, then sweetened by putting in a small quantity of whiskey. If this cannot be done soak your barrels well so that they may be sweet and clean. After having racked your cider off from the dregs carefully, put in the whites of 6 eggs, battered light, and a scant ½ pint of mustard seed. Bung up and in 5 or 6 weeks rack it off again carefully from the dregs. Cleanse the barrel well and put in the same barrel—½ gallon of old rye whiskey will add considerably to its flavor. If your cider is very sour, add from 3 to 5 lbs. white sugar; to insure its preservation it should be strained through a cloth from the press. By being careful—cider put up in this way will keep for 5 years.