The American Pictorial Home Book
or Housekeeper's Encyclopedia - online book

A reference manual of household management in Victorian times.

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430                         BEERS, ALE AND CIDER.
piece of yeast cake an inch square into e£ch gallon of the liquor; sweeten to taste. Use the second day.
Ginger Beer. (N. O.)—Take i oz. of finely pounded ginger root and make a quart of strong tea, add water to make 4 gallons ; into this dissolve 4 lbs. of brown sugar, 1 ounce of cream tartar and mix with it thoroughly, 1 pint of good yeast; let it stand 24 hours, then strain carefully and bottle, tying down the corks. In 48 hours from the time of bottling, it will be fit for use.
Apple Cider—Should never be left in the sun, but as soon as it runs through the mill place it at once in a cool place, or alcohol, formed by the decomposition of sugar, is converted into vinegar. This applies to other fruit juices as well as apples.
The best Cider is obtained from rough sour apples—but those containing (the sweetest) the largest amount of sugar produce the best vinegar. No defective apple should be ground with the sound ones, nor unripe ones, as they do not contain enough sugar to undergo the various fermentations; while they render the liquor rough and acidulous and prevent its clarification.
To Check Fermentation—Add 5 or 6 ozs. of mustard seeds and 1-2 oz. of cloves, both well bruised; racking into a fresh spirit cask is a good plan.
Cider Champagne.—Good, pale, vinous cider 1 hogshead, pale proof spirits 3 gallons, honey or sugar 14 lbs.; mix and let them remain together in a temperate situation for 1 month, then add orange flower water 1 gal.and fine down with skimmed milk 1-2 gal.
N. B.—This will be very pale and resemble champagne when bottled, and when duly labelled, is often sold and palmed off on those who are not judges of the pure article. Before bottling, a piece of sugar should be put into each bottle, and stored away in a cool place.
To keei^Cider Sweet.—After cider has worked to the most de­sirable taste, then add 1 1-2 cupfuls of powdered horse radish to each barrel and shake it up well. After remaining a few weeks, rack off and bung closely in clean casks.
Cider, how to Refine and keep sweet for Family use.—To each barrel of cider, made of sweet apples, as soon as it begins to work, put in 1 oz. of alum, 2 lbs of charcoal, and 1 oz. of gum ara-bic, all in powder; let it stand 1 week, then pour it off carefully through a flannel bag and then bottle and cork very tight.
Cider Drink.—One and a half pints of cider and 1 pint of cold water, sugar to taste; grate in some nutmeg. Good for persons who are billious or have rheumatismus. Sharp cider is still better.
Champagne Cider. (Mrs. Davis.)—Let the cider made from good sound apples ferment, until palatable, then draw into a clean barrel;