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#16
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Worms revisited
Hello Janet,
"Janet Baraclough" wrote in message ... The message from "Rocks" contains these words: BTW in a long past lurk there was a conversation between you and Janet (Hi Janet. I am moving house! you are moving a farm, The mind boggles!) No I aint...thank goodness. Lawrence calls his few acres a farm, I call mine a big garden :-) I've narrowed it down to only 300 plants in pots that are coming with us,(and the dog and cats). The hens are staying here. What has John narrowed it down to? . My narrowing does not seem as effective (or narrow) as Sheena's! What would I do without all my power toys? A relatively complete selection of my plants has gone to Len & Bev's for babysitting during the transition for the move (thanks Len & Bev, I will try to replace the Chinese Water Chestnuts that your bloody wild ducks have eaten ) For the rest I am moving in 40' shipping containers (two so far and, I hope, not a third) which will be (modified and) retained as a workshop and (hopefully) a cool room for preserving and storing food. (I can dream, if I can afford it Congratulations on your move to Arran, (I am (enviously) very impressed) That is a truly beautiful place. Sheena (coincidendally) has plans to visit Arran next year. She is going to visit with an old school friend (in Dumbarton) who insists that a visit to Arran is mandatory and plans to take her there on the trip. Glad I'm not packing a vinegar mother; that sounds as if it would join the long list of "potential hazards" that our removal company won't take on the island ferry :-(. This is certainly an extreme difficulty in moving overseas but if you need anything, please do not hesitate to let me(us) know. We will do what we can to assist. Regards, Ted. |
#17
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Worms revisited
Hello Fran,
"Fran Higham" wrote in message ... "Rocks" wrote in message I am seriously into packing mode for the forthcoming move Good luck with it Ted - such a stinker of a job, but it does declutter a place marvellously! Declutter??? Girl's are certainly different from boys! There are boxes everywhere. It is virtually impossible to move in the house. I have started to buy those plastic storage boxes so that they can be stacked outside without risk of rain damage. (some rain would be nice). Thanks for the offer Ted. I may hold you to it. I have fed my foul brew too much of Himself's good red to want to continue with that particular experiment - I threw it out yesterday! (For months I've been filching a glass to feed my brew from his good red wine from every newly opened bottle whilst his back is turned - he has been complaining that he can't be drinking it THAT quickly and I just look vague and make reassuring "Can't you Dear?" noises. If I drank I'd end up a suspect. It would be far cheaper to just buy the stuff than to make it at in the manner in which I've been attempting it.) I won't dob!! Is there a possibility that you have been too generous with (Hubby's) alcohol. Alcohol is a boicide (and an excellent preservative). If you are using a standard (14%) wine, then it would be convenient to dilute it by half, (ie an equal quantity of tank water). Any percentage of alcohol equal to or less than 8% should get a 'mother' growing. Higher than 10% will certainly kill it. My next attempt will be to 'produce' vinegar on a continuous basis from raw materials, That is, anaerobic fermentation and aerobic acetification (similar to the system I use for the compost tumbler). I have some reservations but think it could work with tall, deep fermenters and maybe a non-sporing (splitting) yeast. What do you mean by a non-sporing (splitting) yeast? The 'mother ' on my cider vinegar was a solid pad of leather like consistency. Is this what you are describing? Remember you are talking to someone who is useless at science (or Maths) so words of one syllable of less would be appreciated (or descriptions are sometimes good as my brain works well on images). The 'mother' is as you describe (although a fresh, active one is more like a souffle omelette than leather). My apologies for the wandering. The yeast is required to convert the fruit/vegetables to alcohol before the 'mother' is added to convert the alcohol to vinegar. Most yeasts produce spores which would settle to the bottom of the fermenter and form a sediment, which would need periodic removal and interrupt the 'continuity' of the system. If I can find a yeast with a low or zero sporing potential, I could (in theory) set up a fermenter that would continuously produce vinegar from the addition of scrap fruit/vegetables. In the meantime I will probably just put another tap in the top (aerobic) part and draw the vinegar from there. But what are the poor chooks going to eat then? I like pickles but I must admit there is a limit. Ah there's the rub! I had better get this system trialled before I get chooks BTW, if you are reading Len, I have been eating the pickled eggs and quite enjoying them - not raving about them but enjoying them. I'm the same. I may give Len's cider vinegar recipe a try, but otherwise I dont think I will bother again. I think on balance I'd rather turn the eggs into rich fruit cakes and store tehm that way. Himself likes fruit cake but won't even go near the pickled eggs. Fruit cake pickled in brandy! Sheer Heaven. I don't venture into those hot climes unless there is a swimming pool and air conditioning in the immediate locale. If that is on offer then I'll take you up on it - otherwise you'll need to move to a more civilised climate before you'll see me :-) A regrettable impasse, since I am attempting to become less civilised I have therefore decided to dispense with the bull and have bought two cows with calves (one male, one female) and one heifer. What exactly did we say about jam pots? I remember talking about jam cooking pans with Tara (specifically copper, wide flat ones, but maslins???? - nada!) That's the one. The jam pot/cooking pan you described is called a maslin. I used the name to save typing the description. Regards, Ted. |
#18
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Worms revisited
"Rocks" wrote in message
What has John narrowed it down to? . My narrowing does not seem as effective (or narrow) as Sheena's! What would I do without all my power toys? Hint: Threaten to narrow down some of her embroidery threads and fabric stash and see if that makes her more co-operative (very evil grin!) |
#19
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Worms revisited
"Rocks" wrote in message
'D' day approaches and this computer will be dismantled and packed in the next two days. Ted All the best for the move and the new place. I haven't yet had a chance to reply to the wonderful last post you did on the vinegar mother and my feeding of my batch. My apologies for that but you see I too have been extremely busy (with work and also with trying to sell this place - more on that at some other time). I have taken the advice on board and printed it off as it is obviously more useful info that the pack of poo tickets advice I found somewhere on the net. All the best to you and Sheena. We will make sure Cap'n Blood keeps us updated on your progress. |
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