CIDER
To Make Cider.
Champagne Cider.
II.—Put 10 gallons of old and clean cider in a strong and iron-bound cask, pitched within (a sound beer cask is the very thing), and add and stir in well 40 ounces of simple syrup. Add 5 ounces of tartaric acid, let dissolve, then add 7 1/2 ounces sodium bicarbonate in powder. Have the bung ready and the moment the soda is added put it in and drive it home. The cider will be ready for use in a few hours.
Cider Preservative.
II.—Calcium sulphite (sulphite of lime) is largely used to prevent fermentation in cider. About 1/8 to 1/4 of an ounce of the sulphite is required for 1 gallon of cider. It should first be dissolved in a small quantity of cider, then added to the bulk, and the whole agitated until thoroughly mixed. The barrel should then be bunged and allowed to stand for several days, until the action of the sulphite is exerted. It will preserve the sweetness of cider perfectly, but care should be taken not to add too much, as that would impart a slight sulphurous taste.
Artificial Ciders.
Bottling Sweet Cider.
The greater the quantity of sugar contained in the liquor, when it is bottled, the more complete is its carbonation by the carbonic-acid gas, and consequently the more sparkling it is when poured out. But this is true only within certain limits, for if the production of sugar is too high the fermentation will be arrested.
To make the most sparkling cider the liquor is allowed to stand for three, four, five, or six weeks, during which fermentation proceeds. The time varies according to the nature of the apples, and also to the temperature; when it is very warm the first fermentation is usually completed in 7 days.
Before bottling, the liquid must be fined, and this is best done with catechu dissolved in cold cider, 2 ounces of catechu to the barrel of cider. This is well stirred and left to settle for a few days.
The cider at this stage is still sweet, and it is a point of considerable nicety not to carry the first fermentation too far. The bottle should not be quite filled, so as to allow more freedom for the carbonic-acid gas which forms.
When the bottles have been filled, {182} corked, and wired down, they should be placed in a good cellar, which should be dry, or else the cider will taste of the cork. The bottles should not be laid for four or five weeks, or breakage will ensue. When they are being laid they should be placed on laths of wood or on dry sand; they should never be allowed on cold or damp floors.
Should the cider be relatively poor in sugar, or if it has been fermented too far, about 1 ounce of powdered loaf sugar can be added to each bottle, or else a measure of sugar syrup before pouring in the cider.
Imitation Cider.—
I.—A formula for an imitation cider is as follows:
| Rain water | 100 gallons |
| Honey, unstrained | 6 gallons |
| Catechu, powdered | 3 ounces |
| Alum, powdered | 5 ounces |
| Yeast (brewer’s preferably) | 2 pints |
Mix and put in a warm place to ferment. Let ferment for about 15 days; then add the following, stirring well in:
| Bitter almonds, crushed | 8 ounces |
| Cloves | 8 ounces |
Let stand 24 hours, add two or three gallons of good whiskey, and rack off into clean casks. Bung tightly, let stand 48 hours, then bottle. If a higher color is desired use caramel sufficient to produce the correct tinge. If honey is not obtainable, use sugar-house molasses instead, but honey is preferable.
II.—The following, when properly prepared, makes a passable substitute for cider, and a very pleasant drink:
| Catechu, powdered | 3 parts |
| Alum, powdered | 5 parts |
| Honey | 640 parts |
| Water | 12,800 parts |
| Yeast | 32 parts |
Dissolve the catechu, alum, and honey in the water, add the yeast, and put in some warm place to ferment. The container should be filled to the square opening, made by sawing out five or six inches of the center of a stave, and the spume skimmed off daily as it arises. In cooler weather from 2 weeks to 18 days will be required for thorough fermentation. In warmer weather from 12 to 13 days will be sufficient. When fermentation is complete add the following solution:
| Oil of bitter almonds | 1 part |
| Oil of clover | 1 part |
| Caramel | 32 parts |
| Alcohol | 192 parts |
The alcohol may be replaced by twice its volume of good bourbon whiskey. A much cheaper, but correspondingly poor substitute for the above may be made as follows:
Twenty-five gallons of soft water, 2 pounds tartaric acid, 25 pounds of brown sugar, and 1 pint of yeast are allowed to stand in a warm place, in a clean cask with the bung out, for 24 hours. Then bung up the cask, after adding 3 gallons of whiskey, and let stand for 48 hours, after which the liquor is ready for use.
CIDER VINEGAR: See Vinegar.