FERMENTATION

After having taken the vegetable sulfur away through steam distillation, we have a dead
plant and we should separate its various elements through fermentation.
Fermentation is the key that opens the secrets of Nature, that is why it should be seriously
studied and experimented with.
All fermentations or putrefactions require the reunion of three conditions to be realized:
- the presence of a living element
- an adequate composition or an adequate state of the body to be fermented
- temperature conditions and, depending on the nature of the fermentation, presence or
absence of air.
If we take into account the evolution of terms in general and in particular the meaning
that the word "putrefaction" has taken since Pasteurs theories and the inception of
microbiology, we should emphasize that, in the old days, the putrid characteristic
wasnt attributed to putrefaction as it is presently.
The living element is usually killed through heat. The steam extraction kills the ferment.
In the same way, in the metallic realm, the ferment is killed by the fusion of metal and
fermentation cannot start. We should then always add a ferment to it. In the case of the
vegetable realm, some authors recommend the use of brewer's yeast, but this is an error.
Nature is unique, we have to use the specific ferment for each plant or metal. Otherwise
we need an undetermined ferment, and unfortunately there is none in the vegetable realm.
It is better to mix in with the dead plant a little bit of a plant which didnt undergo any
treatment so as to bring the elements needed for the fermentation.
In the metallic realm, the metal to be fermented is dead. It should be mixed with a part of
its ore which can't be fermented but which brings life to the prepared metal.
If, following agricultural treatments, the plant doesnt have its own ferment any longer,
one possibility would be to seed it with a foreign yeast which should preferably be
obtained from the bottom of a wine tun. Do this only as a last resort.
To the plant which is macerated in rain water and whose sulfur was just extracted, we add
a little bit of the fresh plant to obtain the start of the fermentation while respecting the
following conditions:
- If air is in contact with the liquid, it is mostly the yeast which develops, while little
alcohol is produced. (aerobic fermentation).
- If little air comes in contact with the liquid, yeast develops only a little while a great
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deal of alcohol is produced (anaerobic fermentation).
- Alcoholic yeasts become dull and lose their liveliness at a temperature above 30C and
under 20C.
- Yeasts do not live in a basic (alkaline) milieu, they only develop in a neutral or acidic
milieu; the latter often blocks the proliferation of parasitic ferment. For the most part, the
cut stalks and seeds of the fruit produce the acidity of the liquor (ph < 7).
- Vegetable and metallic fermentation produces heat, and the flask should be ventilated.
- During the 2 or 3 first days, you should renew the stagnant air which is above the liquid
to evacuate the carbon dioxide which hinders yeast development.
- Stir the plant / water mass with a wooden or glass rod.
- After two or three days, let the carbon dioxide stagnate in order to increase alcohol
production.
- In alcoholic fermentations, yeasts cease to work when the alcohol is at 32 to 34%,
whether there is any transformable matter left or not. In acetic fermentation, which we
shall deal with later, yeasts cease their work when the acidity is 8%.
- When fermentation is complete, separate the solid mass from the liquid through
filtering.
- Slowly distil the liquid to recover the alcohol.
- Plant fermentation essentially produces two kinds of alcohol:
- ethyl alcohol
- methyl alcohol; the latter is very dangerous and should be carefully eliminated from
spagyric products.
The separation of the methyl alcohol is rather simple because no aezotropes are formed
with the ethyl alcohol and its boiling point is at a temperature of 64C. Eliminate then all
liquid that distils under 76C.
The artificial enrichment of a vegetable maceration with solutions similar to the
sweetening of the must in wine making very strongly increases the presence of methyl
alcohol.
To summarize, all vegetable or metallic spagyric fermentations are controlled through
three elements:
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- choice of the ferment
- choice of the solution to be fermented and its chemical composition
- choice of the temperature and whether it is the aerobic or anaerobic.
It is a delicate matter to attempt to change the realms of the mercuries. But, for the
principles of fermentation and putrefaction it isn't the same. An ancient Philosopher used
to say:
"Seek what rots quickly in the animal realm. Using fish, extract the fish principle, and it
shall accelerate metallic putrefaction which is otherwise very long."
As everything in Alchemy follows logic, so does Kerkrings menstruum which allows a
rather rapid extraction of the metallic Alkahest and is composed of sal ammoniac
(principle released by the putrefaction of fish) and of absolute alcohol, a vegetable
median which permits the animal to act in the vegetable realm. One cant go from one
extreme to the other without going through a median.
We shall describe the making of this menstruum at the end of the lesson concerning
vegetable processes.
Complementary note:
Page 2, fermentation of plants, there are rather few yeasts to be found on plants. They are
mostly on fruit. They become active only on glucosidic substances. The bacterial
population of plants is composed for the most part of lactic bacterias or infusorians. V
\/'hen a plant is put to maceration for the purpose of fermentation, more often a
development of infusorians and bacterias is obtained, the action of a lysis rather than an
alcoholic fermentation.
To put a plant to fermentation, we should add a bit of sugar.
FERMENTATION
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