Moonshine is made from fermented grains or mush. The main ingredient is usually corn and the product is called "corn whiskey". Other ingredients such as yeast, malt, and sugar are used, which vary depending on the taste of the distiller (Logsdon, n.d.). Elaborate stills are set up to produce the liqueur. Only two steps are involved in production, fermentation and distillation (Stewart, 2103). During the fermentation process, starches from grains or fruits are broken down into sugars through saccharification, and then the sugars are broken down into alcohol. This process is greatly accelerated by the infusion of sugar, yeast and/or malt. In the production of whiskey, the basic mixture for fermenting grains, water and other ingredients is called “mash”. To go from fermented wort to alcohol requires the additional step of distillation. In this process the essence of the fermented liquid is separated from the water by heating to the appropriate temperature. The resulting vapor then lifts the alcoholic essence from the water and the vapor is converted back to liquid by cooling (Stewart, 2013). The resulting product was usually sold in fruit canning jars (Logsdon, n.d.). The making of moonshine is a complicated process but not so difficult as to prevent men with relatively few resources from mastering it. Moonshine was a practical enterprise in Appalachia. Farmers could earn extra money by turning excess crops into corn whiskey or apple and peach brandy and selling it. Because of the region's rugged terrain and bad roads, farmers have found it easier and more profitable to distill some of their crops before taking them to market (Stewart, 2013). The practice of distilling and producing home-made spirits in the Southern Appalachians from... ... middle of paper ...... a kind of responsibility in the production process. Depending on the gender and age of the children, they would also have different jobs in making moonshine. Conclusion Moonshine has been an important part of American history, particularly in Appalachia. While the practice is stereotyped in the eyes of the rest of the nation, it fails to provide a complete picture of the region. The rifle-wielding, jug-wielding mountaineer popularized by television shows and the media is a distortion of the region's reputation for producing much of the nation's illegally distilled alcohol (Edwards, 1985). Laws on prohibition and the production and possession of alcohol have had many effects on the moonshine industry. Although illegal production still seems to be a problem in the region today, it should be given some respect as part of the history of this culture.