851. Cheap-made Cider

851.    Cheap-made Cider. Take of good cider and water, 1 hogshead each; molasses, 50 pounds; alum, dissolved, 1/2 pound. Brimstone matches to stop fermentation, by burning.

852. To Keep Cider Sweet

852.    To Keep Cider Sweet. Allow the cider to work until it has reached the state most desirable to the taste, then add l1/2 tumblers grated horseradish to each barrel, and shake up well. This arrests further fermentation. After remaining a few weeks, rack off and bung up closely in clean casks.

853. To Clear Cider

853.    To Clear Cider. To clear and improve cider generally, take 2 quarts of ground horseradish and 1 pound of thick gray filtering paper to the barrel, and either shake or stir until the paper has separated into small shreds, and let it stand for 24 hours, when the cider may be drawn off by means of a syphon or a stop-cock. Instead of paper, a preparation of wool may be taken, which is to be had in the market here, and which is preferable to paper, as it has simply to be washed with water, when it may be used again.

854. To Clean a Foul, Sour Cask, and Restore the Taste of the Wood

854.    To Clean a Foul, Sour Cask, and Restore the Taste of the Wood. In order to accomplish this, dissolve about l1/2 pounds lime in 5 gallons boiling water. Rinse the cask to be restored with this liquid, and afterwards with boiling water. If the cask is very foul, it should also be rinsed with very dilute sulphuric acid after the lime water, and afterwards with boiling water. As a general thing, however, the lime water and boiling water are sufficient. To restore the natural taste of the wood, mash up in a mortar a handful of juniper berries and put them in the tainted cask, then pour over them several gallons boiling water, roll the cask violently, and set it first on one end, and then upon the other.

855. To Make Barrels Tight

855.    To Make Barrels Tight. Dissolve in a water-bath 1 pound leather scraps and 1 ounce oxalic acid, in 2 pounds water, and dilute gradually with 3 pounds warm water. Apply this solution to the inside of the barrel, where, by oxidation, it will assume a brown color and become insoluble in alcohol. This coat closes all the pores of the wood, and does not crack or scale off.