While a portion of the larger culls may be evaporated to excellent advantage, the most practical way of diverting this enormous waste into good food is by pressing. Practically all the valuable and nutritive elements of fruits are contained in the juice. The other part consists largely of cellular tissue and is of little value except to retain the juice, which in ripe apples runs as high as ninety per cent.

Products of Apple Juice

A modern hydraulic cider-press will extract an average of a little more than four gallons of cider from each bushel of ordinary culls. This juice is readily converted into a variety of food products that are not only appetizing and nourishing, but most of them are in concentrated form convenient to market and easy to preserve. Cider vinegar, boiled cider, apple syrup, apple jelly, apple butter and pasteurized cider are all in active demand and can be sold at a better net profit than is usually obtained from the apples in a fresh condition.

Even the pomace need not be wasted. It is being used extensively as feed for dairy and beef cattle, and for hogs and sheep. Many pronounce it equal to ordinary corn silage. Pomace also has a distinct value as jelly stock because of its pectin content, which is not impaired by drying. Frequently the pomace is pressed a second time, the resulting juice being used for making vinegar or jelly.

A Temperance Health Drink

Pasteurized cider is highly recommended as a temperance drink by eminent physicians and scientists. It is a tonic as well as a nutrient, containing natural salts and acids of special value in the correcting of stomach complaints and liver and kidney trouble, and can readily be made available as a delightful home beverage the year around. Chemical preservatives should be avoided, but pasteurizing to 160 degrees for two hours, and sealing tight, is effective.

Cider Vinegar

One of the staple food products from waste apples that is in universal demand is cider vinegar. Pure cider vinegar commands a premium on the market.

In the process of transforming cider into vinegar, two distinct fermentations take place. First is the vinous or alcoholic fermentation, which is the changing of the sugar of the cider into alcohol, caused by the action of certain natural yeast bacteria. Second is the acetic fermentation by which the alcohol thus formed is changed to vinegar acid or acetic acid. The alcoholic fermentation may be accelerated by the addition of yeast, using a cake to each five gallons, dissolved in warm water before adding. The acetic fermentation is also aided by the addition of good vinegar containing some mother of vinegar.

It is important to allow plenty of room for air in the barrel during all stages of fermentation and also to maintain the temperature between 60 degrees and 80 degrees. Care should be taken not to start the second fermentation until all the sugar in the cider is changed into alcohol, otherwise the change to vinegar will be retarded.

Boiled Cider

There exists in this country a potential market for boiled cider that would consume a hundred times the amount now produced if the product could only be obtained. Boiled cider is the fresh juice concentrated by evaporation in the ratio of five gallons reduced to one. In this form it will remain in a perfect state of preservation for years. It is dark brown in color and of a syrupy consistency. It has an extensive use both commercially and in the kitchen, being especially desirable for making mince-meat and apple butter, as well as having a multitude of other culinary uses.

By continuing the evaporating process until the cider is reduced to the ratio of seven to one, the product becomes jelly.

A Home-Made Sugar Substitute

When sugar and sugar products are scarce and high, a practical use of the generous sugar content of apples is especially acceptable. An extensive series of experiments by the Depart of Agriculture resulted in the development of a method of making apple table syrup which produces an attractive article of fine flavor.

The process is as follows: Stir into seven gallons of sweet cider five ounces of powdered calcium carbonate--a harmless, low-priced chemical--and boil in a large kettle five minutes. If a large vessel is not available the cider may be boiled in batches. After boiling, pour the cider into glass jars, and allow it to settle until perfectly clear, which requires about seven hours. Return the clear liquid to the preserving kettle, being careful not to pour off any of the sediment. Fill the vessel only about half full, as it foams up when boiling. Add a level teaspoonful of the calcium carbonate for the seven gallons of liquid and boil rapidly until a temperature of 220 degrees is reached, or until it is about a tenth of the original volume and the consistency of maple syrup when cooled rapidly and poured upon a spoon.

To insure clear syrup the cooling must be done slowly. A good way is to set the jars of syrup in a wash-boiler of hot water and allow the whole to cool. Use this syrup like any other table syrup, and as a flavoring adjunct. Also as sauce for puddings and for making brown bread, fruitcake, candy, etc.