HONEY MEAD AND VINEGAR.

Shannon News, 30 August 1927, Page 4

HONEY MEAD AND VINEGAR.

(By D. S. Robinson, Departmental Apiary Instructor). HONEY VINEGAR. Now is not the time to make honey vinegar, but the beekeeper will probably have more time now to study the methods of manufacture and prepare for the coming season. Most beekeepers have a certain amount of waste honey or honey not quite fit for the market; honey from washings of cappings, honey that has been through the melter, and so forth, these honeys can be turned into eithtr honey vine gar or honey mead. December to February are the best months for the manufacture of these articles as the warm weather assists the fermentation. Iu the making of either vinegar or mead a temperature of about 80 degrees Fahrenheit should be aimed at. For the preparation of vinegar take 1} to 1£ lbs. of honey to each gallon of water. The liquid for vinegar should be of a specific gravity of 1.640. The liquid should be placed in an onen vessel protected by muslin from the flies and dust and exposed to the air, kept at the temperature as near 80 degrees as possible. Metal utensils must not be used owing to the acid of the vinegar attacking the melal. Skim as scum rises to the top and when violent fermentation ceases transfer to a cask. In making vinegar air is needed for the formation of acetic acid. Bore in the cask on the upper edge of the ends a one-incli hole each end in a line with the bung; cover these holes with muslin to keep out flies, etc., but allow a current of air. After about S or 10 weeks, when the liquid has obtained sufficient acidity, the holes may be closed up and the vinegar syphoned off by means of a rubber tube into glass bottles, and corked tightly with new corks. In syphoning off the vinegar a short stick should be tied to the end of the rubber tube to prevent the tube reaching the bottom of the cask. On no account should honey vineagar be made in the building used for extracting honey or where any honey or appliances used in connection with honey are stored as the fermentation germs from the vinegar would remain in the building and be likely to start honey fermenting-

The lighter the colour of the honey used the lighter in colour will be the resultant vinegar. Honey vinegar of a light colour is ideal vinegar for making pickles, giving to them a peculiar acidity, without undue tartness.

HONEY MEAD

An excellent drink may be made from the washings of cappings or from honey. Mead was the standard or national drink in Britain for many years, but With the advert of tea, coffee, etc., being imported into the country and fewer bees being kept in England the manufacture of mead gradually got less, and now it is only made in very small quantities . In New Zealand it is not made to any extent; this is due partly to persons thinking that it entails a lot of work, to make it but such is not the case as it entails really less work than the average wine and certainly much less than blackbeiry wine as the following methods will show:— Take 4£ lbs of honey to each gallon of water or Sufficient honey cappings to give a reading of 1.115 specific gravity. The honey and water should be put into a cask that has had the head removed; add to this a little yeast to start fermentation. The cask used should for preference be one that has contained spirit before. Keep the liquid as near the temperature of 80 degrees and as fermentation starts the scum should be removed; at the time the main cask is started a similar mixture should be started; in a smaller vessel so as to add from time to time to the main cask as portions are taken away while skimming; when the scum changes to a whitish colour the liquid should be transferred to another cask; a hole should be bored through the bung and a glass tube inserted, just clear of the top of the liquid. A rubber tube should be placed over the glass tube and the free end of the tube be placed into a glass jar full of water; this is to allow the gas generated by the process of fermentation to escape, but to prevent the air returning into the cask. In the process of making mead we wish to keep out the air, but with the process of making vinegar the opposite is required. When the liquid is transferred to the second cask there should be sufficient to fill the second cask. As fermentation goes on one can see the bubbles rising in the jar of water; when few bubbles rise the glass tube should be removed, and a small wooden spike driven into its place; this should be removed on odd occasions to allow gas to escape; after a few weeks the spike can be driven in tightly and the cask left undisturbed. The mead can now be left for 6 to S months, and should then be racked off into another cask to clear it, or it can be left for 12 months or so and then syphoned off straight into bottles. The longer the mead is left the better will be the result, as mead improves with age. '

Mead, like vinegar and for the same reason, should not be made on the same premises where honey is dealt with, especially should it not be made near where the vinegar is made for the acetic germ of the ferment would cause the mead to go sour. The methods given, are for the preparation of fair quantities of honey, vinegar or mead, but the process can be applied by individuals to suit each one’s own requirements.