The Chemistry of Cookery

to ‘vinage,’ to ‘plastering,’ ‘sulphuring,’ &c.—processes of cookery to be presently described. This sickness shows itself by the wine becoming turbid, or opalescent, then throwing down either a crust or a loose, troublesome sediment. Those of my readers who are sufficiently interested in this subject to care to study it practically should make the following experiment: Dissolve in distilled water, or, better, in water slightly acidulated with hydrochloric acid, as much cream of tartar as will saturate it. This is best done by heating the water, agitating an excess of cream of tartar in it, then allowing the water to cool, the excess of salt to subside, and pouring off the clear solution. Now add to this solution, while quite clear and bright, a little clear brandy, whisky, or other spirit, and mix them by shaking. The solution will become ‘sick,’ like the wine. Why is this? It depends upon the fact that the bitartrate of potash, or cream of tartar, is soluble to some extent in water, but almost insoluble in alcohol. In a mixture of alcohol and water its solubility is intermediate—the more alcohol the smaller the quantity that can be held in solution (hydrochloric and most other acids, excepting tartaric, increase its solubility in water). Thus, if we have a saturated solution of this salt either in pure water or acidulated water, or wine, the addition of alcohol throws some of it down in solid form, and this makes the solution sick or turbid. When pure water or acidulated water is used, as in the above-described experiment, crystals of the salt are freely formed, and fall down readily; but with a complex liquid like wine, containing saccharine and mucilaginous matter, the precipitation takes place very slowly; the particles are excessively minute, become entangled with the mucilage, &c., and thus remain suspended for a long time, maintaining the turbidity accordingly. Now, this bitartrate of potash is the characteristic natural salt of the grape, and its unfermented juice is saturated with it. As fermentation proceeds, and the sugar of the grape-juice is converted into alcohol, the capacity of the