Tips and Tricks

Kettriken

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Yeah, if its got black mold or odd blobs, you might as well chuck it. I have a large vat (gallon and a halfish) that has some harmless yeast on top. That quantity is pretty resilient to surface contamination. One of these days I'll make a thread about the process, but feel free to ask questions. I've studied it a fair bit.

So, strange about the olives. I'm not in a region that can produce them, but there is a general resistance to fruiting trees on public streets. Too messy, I guess. Very unfortunate. I have an assortment of drupe pits to sow along an untended treeline if I can hide them from the squirrels.
 
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I find it a really interesting subject for some reason. Had you heard of making mead. It is similar to wine. I should see if I can find the recipe he uses and post it. I never made it as I don't drink wine. I guess it is legal for home consumption, I mean to make.
drupe pits ?
 
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Kettriken

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I've made mead but not well and not in many years. I'd like to try again if a ready source of quality honey presented itself.

Drupe pits are just the seed of assorted stone fruits. Peaches, plums, cherries, etc.
 
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I've made mead but not well and not in many years. I'd like to try again if a ready source of quality honey presented itself.

Drupe pits are just the seed of assorted stone fruits. Peaches, plums, cherries, etc.
You probably know the ratios for mead then I hope as I think my friend is in dire health straights.
My goodness that is so very exciting about the peaches, plums, cherries. I thought you couldn't grow them from seed. I have buried plenty of them, lol.
Tell us more when you have the time:)
God bless you.
I just love this!
Not sure why, i am just very excited.
If my friend is still around would you like some input from him on the mead?
 
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Kettriken

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You probably know the ratios for mead then I hope as I think my friend is in dire health straights.
My goodness that is so very exciting about the peaches, plums, cherries. I thought you couldn't grow them from seed. I have buried plenty of them, lol.
Tell us more when you have the time:)
God bless you.
I just love this!
Not sure why, i am just very excited.
If my friend is still around would you like some input from him on the mead?

I'm always interested in more fermentation information. If I recall, the ratio is 1 pound of honey per gallon, but I haven't made it in years. It's less like wine and more like a light cider. I've been playing around with small batches of beer. It takes a while to get from brewing to consumption, so in subsequent batches I'm flying blind a bit til I get something drinkable to compare.

I just jarred up my sauerkraut. Turns out I used a little too much salt, but I managed to keep the top yeast from contaminating the full batch. It's crunchy and sour and makes a great addition to anything that needs a little veggie-probiotic boost.

You want about 2 tablespoons per quart, whether you are making a brine or allowing shredded vegetables (as with cabbage) to make their own brine. You can play around a bit though, using a little less, particularly if you have an airlock, or a little more if you're making something like hot sauce that will be used in small amounts. Rinsing is also an option if a pickle turns out a little too salty to eat pleasantly. I'm considering doing that with some of my sauerkraut.

Cheers!
 
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Hi
always nice to hear about this topic.
I probably will never ferment with salt and after the mold deal I won't attempt that either but I do like to hear about your success and attempts, lol.
I don't want to bother my friend that dabbles in this because of his ill health but I did get a few links he posted several years ago.
Here they are, I am not sure how much help they will be:
Beer Making Kits | Refills | Homebrewing Recipes | Mr. Beer
Northern Brewer Home Brewing Supplies
I will look for his mead recipe but his thread is 400 pages long, lol.
We all loved this thread, it was a get together thread and have fun.
Here is his thread if you want to go through it.
https://www.mycopper.net/Forum/yaf_postst1079p3_Beer.aspx

This post was interesting, keep in mind there is a lot of messing around that could be offensive but the thread has a lot of valuable info if you can drudge through it.

"yes, when you open the package it is time to get to it.....you need to swap over to a five gallon set up. 5 is standard. My guess is they sell those smaller kits, because when you get hooked you’ve got to buy a bigger kit.

There is a book called Brew Ware by Karl F Lutzen & Mark Stevens that will help you in purchasing the gear needed. Lots of tips on buying, scrounging, and making equipment. Why pay more.

Collecting bottles is not that hard. How many guys do you know who only drink out of a bottle(elitists)? The local tavern is a good scource...one of the best scources is your family and friends. Now that I mentioned those folks there will probably be some payback...."jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way"....they gooooinnnggg to love you Santa.

I’ve got two of those deep fried turkey setups. Those are my cooking units. I’ve got 4 carboys (two are the water bottles from the neighbor). Made my own paddle for stirring (good piece of hardwood I had laying around)...cut it to a shape I felt comfy with and drilled some 7/8 holes to allow easy passage of the cooking wort. Hardest thing I ran into is the language. Da*ned brewers talk like lawyers...mashing sparging, wort, lautering...all most gave up before I got started. It isn’t as hard as they make it sound."
Have fun:)
Thanks for posting, I always enjoy your posts.
 
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I had a brilliant idea yesterday. I had some greasy cookie dough and in the past have tried to drain the grease on paper towels after I have baked them but it wasn't enough so I put paper towels under them when baking on a cookie sheet. That worked, you can see no clean towel but all grease. There was a problem though, can you guess what?:)
 
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Michie

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I had a brilliant idea yesterday. I had some greasy cookie dough and in the past have tried to drain the grease on paper towels after I have baked them but it wasn't enough so I put paper towels under them when baking on a cookie sheet. That worked, you can see no clean towel but all grease. There was a problem though, can you guess what?:)
Fire?
 
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I was worried about that but nope.
Care to try again before I answer my question, lol.
Here's a hint.
I didn't take them off the sheet for a while. They were cold by that time.
 
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Michie

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I was worried about that but nope.
Care to try again before I answer my question, lol.
Here's a hint.
I didn't take them off the sheet for a while. They were cold by that time.
Paper towel baked in the cookies???
 
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Paper towel baked in the cookies???
close, the bottoms were stuck to the paper. I am sure had I taken them off the towels when warm or hot it would have been easy. So pealing the paper off is tough and I am not getting it all, lol. Live and learn. I know you wouldn't have made that mistake.
Thanks for playing along.
Have a nice evening!
 
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Michie

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close, the bottoms were stuck to the paper. I am sure had I taken them off the towels when warm or hot it would have been easy. So pealing the paper off is tough and I am not getting it all, lol. Live and learn. I know you wouldn't have made that mistake.
Thanks for playing along.
Have a nice evening!
You too! :)
 
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keith99

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close, the bottoms were stuck to the paper. I am sure had I taken them off the towels when warm or hot it would have been easy. So pealing the paper off is tough and I am not getting it all, lol. Live and learn. I know you wouldn't have made that mistake.
Thanks for playing along.
Have a nice evening!

There is parchment paper which is actually made for cooking. It is far less apt to either burn or stick than paper towels.

Burning should not be a problem as paper ignites at 451 degrees. Can you guess why I know that (I am well read, especially regarding dystopian subjects).
 
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There is parchment paper which is actually made for cooking. It is far less apt to either burn or stick than paper towels.

Burning should not be a problem as paper ignites at 451 degrees. Can you guess why I know that (I am well read, especially regarding dystopian subjects).
Does it soak up grease?
 
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keith99

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Does it soak up grease?

Some.probably not enough. It might work layered with a paper towel.

You might also try cooking on a coooling rack with a cookie sheet under it. That is what I do for finishing ribs that I've half way cooked/smoked. The grease would then drip out for the whole cooking time.
 
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Some.probably not enough. It might work layered with a paper towel.

You might also try cooking on a coooling rack with a cookie sheet under it. That is what I do for finishing ribs that I've half way cooked/smoked. The grease would then drip out for the whole cooking time.
These cookies don't drip oil but they are greasy and the paper towels will work if I remember to take them from the towels before they get cold.
Thanks for the info:)
 
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keith99

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These cookies don't drip oil but they are greasy and the paper towels will work if I remember to take them from the towels before they get cold.
Thanks for the info:)

Actually that reminded me of a tip for cookies in general. It can be important when you make sure they are free from the cookie sheet. For most about 10-20 seconds is the best time to run a metal spatula or cake server under them. They then can cool on the sheet and be loose. I think of this because when making the ginger snaps with a mirro cookie press this is very important. They are presses out in a strip and if they are not cool enoiugh they buckle, too cool and they stick. Way too cool and it takes a chisel to get them off. Well not really but close.
 
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