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Vinegar, Pickles, and Pickling

SPECIAL VINEGARS-PICKLES AND PICKLING-MIXED PICKLES- PICKLED VEGETABLES, NUTS, AND FRUITS All vinegar, of which there are several kinds, consists of a dilute solution of acetic acid in water with a small amount of sugar and other organic matter. Vinegar is the result of the action of the oxygen of the air, in the presence of a particular kind of yeast or ferment, upon a solution of alcohol. The alcoholic liquors from which vinegar is made may be produced by the fermentation of almost any vegetable or fruit juices. The principal kinds of vinegar are, accordingly, wine vinegar, produced from grapes; malt vinegar, from barley; cider vinegar, from apples; sugar and molasses vinegar, from cane sugar products; corn vinegar; beet vinegar; etc. The alcoholic fluid, or "wash," as it is called, should contain not over 4 per cent to 12 per cent of alcohol. And for the best results the temperature should be from 70 per cent to 85 per cent Fahrenheit.

Plenty of air to introduce the oxygen required by the process must be supplied and mixed with the alcoholic solution. The changing of alcohol to acetic acid by the action of oxygen produces heat and increases the weight of the liquid.

Commercial vinegar is made on the Continent of Europe principally from cheap grades of wine, in England from malt and sour beer, in the United States from cider and cheap grades of alcoholic liquors, as whisky and the like. coholic solution is placed in a barrel or vat containing a little old vinegar or mother, which supplies the necessary yeast, or in the case of wine vinegar, old wine lees, either exposed to the sun or placed in a warm room.