VOL. LX.
INDIANAPOLIS, AUGUST 12, 1905.
NO. 32
gxpcricucc gcpartituut
HOW  TO MAKE CIDER VINEGAR
FRUIT BUTTERS.
AND
Use Oood Fruit Only.
1st Premium.—Good, ripo, sweet apples
should be used for the cider from which
vinegar is to be made. Select the fruit
with care, rejecting all that is decayed,
wormy, or immature. The llavor of the
vinegar will be improved if the apples
lie in the orchard for a couple ofl weeks,
to mellow and mature, after they are
gathered. The press and the vessels in
which the cider is put should be perfectly
sweet and clean, and no water should
be used. If the apples need washing,
let them dry before they are pressed. As
s-oon as the cider" is made pour it through
a wire sieve, to free it from pieces of
pomace: then strain through cloth and
put in a clean cask. A faucet should
be placed an inch or two from the bottom of the cask, and after the cider has
stood long euough to settle, it should be
drawn off and put in another vessel. A
cask is the most convenient utensil to use
but a stone jar will do very well.
The vinegar will be better if the cask
is only partly filled and more cider added
every two weeks, thus allowing several
separate fermentations to take place. The
cider must be kept in a warm place until
it turns to vinegar. If the cask is put
in a cool cellar, poor wine instead of
good vinegar may (be the result The
Winner the cider is kept the more quickly it will become vinegar. If it is of
good quality, there will be no need of
adding sugar to the cider, but the addition of. mother of vinegar will hasten the
process   of   fermentation. The     bung
hole of the barrel should be left open,
to admit air, until the fermentation
ceases; then the barrel may be closed
and placed in the cellar where it will keep
for years.
Apple Butter.—Boi! ten gallons of new
cider doivu half. Peel and core one
bushel of good cooking apples, and add
to the boiled cider. Cook, stirring constantly, till tlie butter will adhere to
ar. inverted plate. Put away in stone
jars. When the butter is cold, pour
n thin layer of melted parallin over it to
prevent niolcling, ami tie up snugly with
heavy paper. If tlie cider is made from
sour apples, the apples used should be
sweet or the -butter will be too sour.
Peach Butter.—Peel ripe peaches, stone,
nr.d weigh. Take three-quarters of a
pound of sugar for each pound of fruit,
and a cup of water for each pound of
sugar; set over the fire; when it boils,
skim it clear, then put in the peaches;
mash them fine, and cook till the wnolo
is a jellied mass. Put away in tumblers
or stone jars.
Plum Butter.—Boil nice ripe plums, in
water euough to cover, until tender, and
rub through a sieve to remove stones.
To each pound of plums add one poun\
of pared and cored apples. Take one
pound of sugar for each pound of fruit,
add water enough to dissolve, boil nnd
skim; add fruit and cook til! clear ' and
thick. Put in tumblers or jars, and cover
with paraffin or paraffin-paper.
Quince Butter.—rare, quarter and core
nice ripe quinces. Boil the skins in
water enough to cover; strain the water
from them into a preserving-kettle, and
add the quinces; boil until soft and pass
through  a  colander or sieve.        Take a
_>ound ot granulated sugar for each pound
of fruit; place over the lire, stirring constantly, to avoid burning, and cook till it
will jell when cold. One half apples
and ono-half puirrces makes quite as good
butter as that made from quinces alone.
Secure the quince butter as directed for
plum butter.
Lemon Butter.—Beat six eggs, one-
fourth pound butter, and one pound of
sugar to a froth; add the grated rind und
juice of three lemons; mix together, and
cook in a double boiler until thick. This
is very nice for tarts, or to eat with
bread cr wafers.      Oranges may be used
pins and Northern Spy are my favorites,
six gallons of nice, clean eiler, twenty-
four pounds of granulated sugar, and any
llnvorin.. desired. Everything is prepared the day previous to the 'stirring
oii,"' and is on tlie spot ready to begin
ctrly, all except the kettle, which is usually a large copper kettle ami must be
scrubbed just before beginning, first with
suit and vinegar and then witli scouring
soap, to prevent the green rim at the top.
The kettle is then put over the fire, with
the cider in it, wliich is allowed to boil.
It is tlieir well SKimmed, and all the apples put in that the kettle will hold, add-
-i-,
Field of Rudy  Wheat, near Whitesville,  Montgomery County, Ind.      Twenty-two
acres, SOO bushels.    W.   A.   Davidson,   proprietor.
instead   of   lemons,   but   less   sugar   will
be needed than for lemons. M. W.
Cleanliness  Is Necessary.
2d Premium.—There isno great difficulty
connected with the making of good cider
vinegar; only care and cleanliness are required. Some people never think of
using good clean fruit and are then wondering why they never have good vinegar, but if something good is expected
we have to use something good to make
it from. Only ripe fruit makes good
vinegar, and -all rotten parts should be
cut out and the fruit washed before it is
ground. After pressing the juice out it
should be strained into barrels, with as
h.rge bung holes as possible, or even the
head out is better. The moro it is exposed to the air the more quickly it goes
to vinegar. It should be covered witli
a thin cloth, to keep out insects, gnats,
etc., and left out of doors or in the open
.-ir until cold weather. Skim occasionally, or allow it to run off as it ferments.
It does not hurt it to freeze, but for the
barrel's sake we put it whore it.will not
freeze hard. B.v spring it will bt; good
vinegar and may be put away in kegs
or smaller vessels, but when drawing in
small quantities it should be drawn from
a hole nearer the bottom, as this does
not disturb the mother of vinegar. When
the mother is shaken it sinks down and
another forms on top of the vinegar, and
takes up more vinegar each time.
.\pplo Butter.—For twelve gallons of
applo butter I use twenty gallons ot well
cored and  peeled apples, New York pip
ing more occasionally as these boil down,
until all are in. Boil until the mass is a
oark red color and thick enough to stand
in a heap when cooled on a saucer. The
sugar can then .be put in and boiled another hour, or until as thick as wanted,
but it keeps best when boiled until no
juice comes on it when it has cooled a
few minutes. Flavor when taken from
ever  the  fire. It can  their be  put  in
jars. ' Gallon jars are liest, as only a
small quantity can be opened at a time.
I have no trouble in keeping apple butter, made in this way, until warm weather without sealing at all, just kept in a
cool room, partially covered but not airtight. Ilbwever, it may be sealed or
covered with white paper dipped in
brandy.
Peach botter is made in much the same
manner, with the exception of the cider.
The peaches are just cut oil the seed
and the specks cut off. Freestone peaches
are best. Some think they are better
rubbed through a sieve to remove the
peel after they have stewed soft, but the
peel is scarcely noticeable after the butter is done. It may be flavored, sweetened ansl put away in the same manner as
apple l-utter. '•'•,
The other butters, plum, pear, grape,
etc., are made in the same manner as
peacli butter, only they require rubbing
through a sieve and sealing. I hnve
made my vinegar and butters after this
method ever since I have kept house,
r.iid can always dispose of any surplus at
a  good  prioe.
Farmer's Wife.
How to Make Use of the Pomace.
.id Premium.—For cider vinegar we
ti:k« apples not marketable ami wash
tin-in in tubs, then run through the cider
mill and press tlie cider out well. Pour
the strained cider at once into any barrel
that is tight enough to hold it. Empty
molasses barrels make very good vinegar
barrels. •
Puttlie apple pomace into a clean, open
top barrel, and pour wnter over it. When
it ferments, strain off the juice and pour
it into tlie barrel of cisler. It this is
taken in the shade a few days after making, ansl kept from freezing in the winter, you ean depend on having good vinegar. I am using vinegar at present
that was made last season, and it is so
strong I have to use one-half water.
Some people add molasses and rain
water to the cider for vinegar. This is
a good idea when the pomace is uot used
ns ulK>ve described.
There are difierent ways ot making apple butler. Some like cider apple butter better than any otlier. To make
cider apple butter, make as many gallons
of eider as you are expecting of apple
butter when it is done. Boil the cider
to a syrup and add the pared apples and
cook till the mess is stiff. I think an
easier way, and a way thnt has proved
satisfactory with us, is to core the apples
and cook them in water till they are soft,
then remove from the fire and when cool
enough to handle, rub through a sieve to
remove   the   peeling. I   always   cook
the apple the day before I intend to
make apple butter, then r__> them
through the sieve the next morning, put
or. to cook in about one-third as much
cider as you expect apple butter, and
ccok till it thickens, tnen add sugar and
flavoring to suit the taste.
Peach and pear butter are made by
paring the fruit and cooking it in water
till it thickens, then add sugar and flavoring. I uso cinnamon and cloves, in
stick or oil form, as flavoring for apple,
peach and pear butter. Mace is good
also. Grape, plum and other butters
may be cooked till tender, then rubbed
through a sieve or colander, and cooked
thick, then sweeten. All butters may
be sealed in jars; or parafline wax poured
over the tops of the jars after the butter
is cold. Some wet a cloth in alcohol
(.nd plice over the tops. Others make
jelly of the same fruit as the tatter is
and pour over the butter, the same as
parafline wax. The main object is to
keep the air out. This may be done
as suits the housekeeper best.
Farmer's   Wife.
No. 403, Aug. 10.—Explain how you
manage to have plenty of good fall pasture.
Xo. 404, Aug. 2(5.—Tell how to prepare
the soil and put in a crop of wheat, and
how to get a stand of clover with it.
No. 19."., Sept. 2 — Hew should the
farmer proceed in order to get the greatest possible value out of his corn crop?
Premiums of $1, 75 cents and 50
cents are given for the best, second and
third best articles for tho Experience De-
parfment each week. Manuscript should
be sent direct to the Indiana Farmer Company and should reach us one week before
date of publication.
Tlio Government has taken charge of
the Yellow fever situation in New Orleans, will make such thorough work of
the matter that it is expected the plague
will disappear before frost comes.