READERS' EXCHANGE

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXI, Issue 21698, 13 January 1934, Page 7 (Supplement)

READERS' EXCHANGE

RHUBARB WINE In answer to an inquiry by E.B. (Ellerslie) the following recipe has been kindly sent by a reader, M.H. (Auckland): — To every olb. rhubarb allow one gallon cold water; to every gallon of liquor allow 31b. of loaf sugar, Jo/.. isinglass and the rind of one lemon. Wipe rhubarb with a wet cloth and bruise with a mallet in a tub or other convenient vessel. When it is reduced to pulp, weigh, and to every olb. add one gallon cold water (spring if possible). Let these remain three days, stirring three or four times a day; and on the fourth day press the pulp through a hair sieve. Put the liquor in a tub, and to every gallon put 31b. loaf sugar. Stir in the sugar till quite dissolved and add the lemon rind. Let the liquor remain and in four to six days the fermentation will begin to subside and a crust or head will be formed, which should be skimmed off or the liquor drawn from it when the crust begins to crack or separate. It is best kept during the process in a room free from excessive draught and not too cold. Put the wine in a cask and if after that it ferments rack it off into another cask and in two weeks stop it. If it should have lost any of its sweetness, add a little more loaf sugar, taking care that the cask is full. Bottle it off about seven to eight months later, and in another three or four months it should be fit to drink. It improves greatly with keeping. REMOVAL OF BORER The same reader contributes the following directions for destroying borer, requested by E.W. (Auckland): — Creasote is the handiest thing to remove or stay the borer beetle. Apply with a brush, or preferably with a spray (which latter is better of the pressure variety), to the surface affected. Bu.t for internal house fittings and furniture especially, orthodic-hlorobenzene (if it can be procured) is better for use. It can be used alone or as a five to ten per cent solution in kerosene, and may be applied as is creosote. An hour's exposure to this substance and its fumes kills the borer. QUESTION AND ANSWER H.H. (Ohakune). —Many thgnks for your recipe for rhubarb wine, for which, however, a similar recipe has already been received.