Sarah

Sheep bone is also done this way, along with chicken, pork, beef, and game birds. Sheep is my favorite, but be sure to skim/refine that tallow you will get later. The tallow is not flavorful eating , and the tallow has many uses. In the theme of 'never throw anything away!': After you have rendered all the goodie out, five times, not the three noted above, the old timers make 'bone oil', particularly of pork, but any would do, as a liniment for arthritus or as a 'neats foot' oil, or as a carrier for all kinds of leather products, to include dyes and polishes. (Black soot plus the oil is still the best boot polish!)(The original formula for 'Lincoln Stain Polish', so beloved by our Marine Corp, is this with a black shelack added.) If you find a three crockery bowl set, normally red clay, you might have a bone oil 'still'. Crock#1, the largest, looks like a flower pot, with a hole in the bottom. Crock#2 is the only glazed one, and fits the bottom of #1, and catches the juices from #1's hole. #3 is a top, dished to hold coals, like a dutch oven. Fill with 'dry' bones, put in fire, baking the remaining oils from the bone. Product is normally a dark red, and viscious, and has an abbadoir (off-blood) smell. The bones were crushed after rendering, and often used up to three times with new bone. This was called 'bone mother', and you might find this term use in a lot of the WWI-WWII cookbooks for jellies, and as a thickening agent for 'wheatless' days recipes and the like. Grandmother made a lot of the mother. She would add something to it, not vinegar, and it would be a hardish jelly, great for my beloved apple drops, think lemon jellies. Sigh: Another lost trick... Trivia: Where does the word 'neat' come from? Neat is an old world word for 'cattle'. Now ya know! Sarah of the Librum.

We have two students working with the old county newspaper on 35 mm film, trying to rig a system to scan them. We have readers and scanners, but they have to make one, as part of the course. These two are a real comedy. Both of them fight like an old couple. So we hear arguements interspaced with dead silences (when they get trapped in the material). We get a lot of grins from other patrons over their antics. Sarah of the Librum

Two links: http://www.4everrecap.com/Shop.html http://www.reusablecanninglids.com/ If I find the one for the 'goo', I will post. Sarah of the Librum

Slogging through a HUGE donation of American School of Correspondence materials for inclusion in the icsarchive site. And updating some newly restored Hasluck volumes for the librum site. Trouble is I start reading and get nothing done.

My first reaction was 'why would you want to?'. Weight? Simply put in the vac pack if you do not want the can. It certainly not a 'back pack' food, as you have to boil water to rehydrate. Putting in the dehydrator could induce a lot of no-see-ums. Which is why we do not dehydrate. Sarah of the Librum

Philbe, You just pushed another of my buttons. We at the Librum have been in negotiation with the family of Kurt Saxon for some time to obtain the rights to his works. Mr Saxon is now in a home, and his books/disks are out of publishment. If you can overlook his politics, he has some great material in there. Let me do a quickie... My hidden index says...<ding!>...Thermos cookery “Cooking Tools”, S1 pg 210. Translation is: 'Thermos cooking' is in 'Cooking Tools' article, in Survivor Volume 1, page 210. So, if you can find a copy of his 'Survivor' volume one, go for it! Sarah of the Librum.

Yes. To both. The trick is to concentrate the coffee without burning, or allowing to get bitter. To concentrate, we use a small stove top still, low/simmer heat. Do *NOT* boil. Reduce to one quarter, by volume. For bitterness, take eggshells, lightly roasted (removes the oil), and crush. These will settle the grounds and absorb bitterness in settling. Crushed is the key, to maximise surface contact. About a half teaspoon per cup of concentrated coffee . Some folks swear on brown over white shells, but I never noticed any difference. Some folks also do a charcoal drip, to counter bitterness, but I never have. I have made both jellies (think 'gummies') and hard candies from this concentrate. I am also aware of a 'pill'. If you have seen the pressed pellet snuff, like 'Stonewall', then you know of which I speak. I do not have the recipe, or remember exactly how mine mother made the 'carrier' from grits, sorry. Mine Father would grab a few each morning before going out into the fields. Got a solder family member? These pills are always part of our 'care' packages to ours. And we usually toss in a pack of 'Stonewall' to placate his 'brothers-in-arms', usually the 'Java' flavor. And an additional tip, the 'coffee' artificial flavors are a witches brew. If it were my man, I would wean him off, in favor of mine. Sarah of the Librum.

I missread / missintrepeted the title. But I think my tidbit will kick in... There are twenty seven different types of rice, per the Farmers Cyclopedia of Agriculture, 1911. But considering the age of that classic, there are probably more now. But you were asking about prepared, not species. Sorry. Is 'dehydrated' available in your English stores? For long term storage of the rice itself, dry full grain. If in a prepared 'dry' recipe (soup mix, ramien, 'Uncle Bens', etc) dehydrated. In a 'wet' recipe, I do not think it makes a difference. If a wet recipe, I usually use full grain, which takes longer to cook, but more wholesome. Sarah of the Librum

Cast iron and steel ones, yes. Aluminum, no. The cast iron distributes the heat better, I have never scorched. The steel always 'hot spots', and I have scorched several. As aluminum is not as conductive, I suspect they would be inbetween. I suspect you really only have one option, try it. Sarah of the Librum. (I ALWAYS break the ears when icing. )

Jeepers: Ah, good. Mt_Rider: Sorry about the initials, etc. We also have disabled folks with mobility issues, so I am very sympathic. I am glad you folks are able to get what you want/need, truely I am. As a librarian, when I hear of somebody who can not get what they want/need, well, it hurts.. Sarah of the Librum.

??? OH!

Why not do your own? Is there a lack of can sealers out there in the English world? Is that why you say 'canning' for 'jarring' (glass Ball brand and the like)? Sarah of the Librum

Jeepers, Let me try again. There is NO reason for you to visit your brick-and-mortar library to get any electronic media. Let me walk you through a late ILL request I recieved to see how it works here. Any books by George Herman Ruth? Yes. There were four. 'Babe Ruths Own Book of Baseball', 'A Long Fly', the autobiography, and one other. The first three are on our shelves. The requesting library gave me the contact email of the Patron, and that he was running Windows 7. So I replied direct to the Patron that 1) 'Babe Ruths Own Book of Baseball' is in the paperback shelf, and gave the link to the 'shelf'. 2) 'A Long Fly' is a FB standard, and give the link to the sixty day editon. I also noted that there is a full version available for download for a modest $5. (MUCH less than a physical ILL!) 3) The autobiography is not digitized, and in reserve status so no physical ILL was possible. If the Patron wishes an electronic edition would they mind a modest investment, approximately $40, to have the work done, and thereby support a student? The Patron grabbed the #1, downloaded the FB 60 day copy of #2, then purchased the unlimited (via public access portion of the portal), and then hosted the student to do the #3 work. The work was finished in three days, into a DRM FB edition, locked to the Patron (he paid for it!), and sent to the Patron for $32 (and may appear as a download FB). Had the Patron not been using Windows 7, I would have forwarded the request to the Library of Virginia to do any conversions, such as to Kindle DRM. If your library does not do kindle, have them refer to one that does. We libraries are required to have portals and to support one another. Oh, and I misstyped, add in 'using Dewey and/or OCLC'.. Any library in a ILL network >and any library using Dewey and/or OCLC< is required to portal. OK, let me bounce this question off you folks who 'kindle'. Kindle uses one DRM, Adobe another, etc. I think there is something like a half dozen of the DRMs. But these DRMs are limited, intentionally made so they can be defeated/bypassed. Federal regulations require this. The exception is the FB standard, which was government created. LOCER is another, but nobody uses that text only format any more. One can buy such crackers for little. Most libraries who do DRM have and use these crackers. One of the reasons that not all of the tablets do FB standard is that it is a true/good DRM, and they do not want that. . What is to keep you from simply cracking them for your use? (I am wondering just what percentage of the 'freebies' are not cracked DRM.) Ah well. Sarah of the Librum.

Jeepers, ??? You have me confused. Of course you can get kindle at your library. BUT! There should be no reason to make trips to your brick-and-mortar public / semi-private library. All libraries have electronic portals. Well, OK, any library who is part of any inter-library loan program. It is a requirement. They may not be publicly visible, but they must have them. I process such ILL requests weekly, usually to/from the LOC. Usually, they are in PDF, LOCER, or FB formats. Usually, these are processed (transcribed/converted) by the library and then delivered to you. But we do not 'kindle'. Sorry. I know there are conversion systems out there, but such is beyond our modest budget. We have to be selective. If I should have such a request, and I never have, I would refer it to our county library, they can do that. They would return the record, via portal, and I would then deliver it to the Patron. The content on *publicly viewable* librum.us site is all almost all FB format student projects where they learn to make such. ICSArchive.org is almost all PDF, many are also student projects, especially the ICS materials. If one of our sponsors provided us with a good conversion package, then we could do that too. Frankly, though I do not see a need, as I understand all those tablet thingies can take PDF, and many FB. Correct me if I am wrong here. Sarah of the Librum Sorry. ILL: InterLibrary Loan. LOC: Library of Congress. LOCER: Library of Congress Electronic Record (ancestor of PDF). FB: Flip Book (decendent of LOCER).

Violet, Um, you can use it for making syrups, but I never have. I use mine for canning/jarring. You can use one for any liquid you want to extract water from, without scorching it. As a girl, mother used one to condense milk or soups, without scorching. She also used it to kill live cultures in what you would call soft yogurts or cheeses. Another use is to 'boat' food. A 'boat' is a unglazed ceramic pan. This boat floats in the vacuum pan, with the food it in. It will positively kill any unwanteds in the food. My youngest loves to put a fish fillet in a pat of butter in the boat. If a food is questionable or suspected to be turning, it could be used to salvage the food, but this practice is now forbidden, especially with fish/meat. I am in Virginia, in an old order Mennonite community, but came here from Iowa. You will find 'communities' often have them as a community property, especially with our Amish brethren. Ours has two, counting mine, which I always bring when we have a canning/jarring marathon amoung the goodwives. I was just fortunate to inherit this one. As to the whole pot pressure test, a portable pressure tank is filled at a compressor to a specific psi. This tank has a hose, with a fitting on the end that attaches/clamps on the nipple. Then they open the valve, with a long stick, If it takes the pressure in the tank it passes. Sarah of the Librum

Violet, we are mixing equipment. My badly expressed point is that a 'vacuum pan' (misnomer!) can be used as a pressure cooker, in a heavy duty industrial sense. I conceed that they are really intended for different uses. But if you can get one... 'Steam King' is the brand name on mine, early fifties. Not to fight with you, but I wonder if you know what an autoclave is. An autoclave pumps/evacs out the air first... It works a vacuum, not with pressure. Not fighting! I do find it interesting that you do not test the whole pan. Here they do as you do with the hand pump, but then they also do a heavy psi test, whole pot, to test the seal. I have seen one with a 'blown' seal. I do not recall that brand, but It was an old hand-me-down model. Ah well. Sarah of the Librum

Thanks, Mommato3boys. Arby, I would not know, I just remember her stories from when I lived with them. They took me in after losing my first husband. And I met #2 in her kitchen. Her 'pub', as I recall, was the 'Green Man' in High Wycombe. (I know how to spell that one, as I have a stein from there!) I know Guiness is England English. I've never had any. The local stout, frankly, you can have. I am not worried about meat around here. In that way I am fortunate. Sarah of the Librum

Oh, 'bangers' !!! WWII bread sausages. They used whatever grain mush they could get, a sliver of fat or grease for some flavor, and packed it into a linen sausage skin to cook. The late goodwife Lee showed me these. She learned of them when her husband introduced her, when he was posted to England, and she had just arrived.. He had a strange sense of humor. According to her story, after she 'blahed' the banger, she was treated to a large shepards pie by the establishment. She said it was worth it. She loved the 'Strongbow', a hard English apple cider, CO2 carbinated, as she did not care for flat heavy beers. There was a bottle of oatmeal 'stout' on a 'shelf of honor' in her kitchen. I inherited some of the English steins she had. If it were me, I would also research the spices used for haggis. Haggis, if you did not know, is oatmeal and spices, cooked in a sheep stomach. BTW: There is an actual measurement for a 'dash'. A 'pinch' too. The lady in the video apparently did not know that. AND you can do oatmeal like corn, like 'corn dodgers', aka 'hush puppies'. Sarah of the Librum

ScrubbieLady is right on this one. Our extension office uses a clamp on guage to test. But leave the whole pressure cooker with them. That way you also get a test of the lid seal. And you did right to have it checked/repaired by the manufacturer. There are kits to do the repair, but pressure testing is something I do not like dealing with. Tip: 'Vacuum pans', or 'evaporation pans' or 'condenser pans', are pressure cookers, but with a higher possible pressure. If you find one at an estate sale or the like, they can vary the pressure better, by a dial, not by rocker weights. Mine will do sixty psi. This is the old school way to make condensed soups for canning. Sarah of the Librum

Thank you for beating me to it. Freezing is not that effective, and also hurts the 'trade' (glueback)(thermal glue) paperbacks. On that note, if you do damage a trade paperback with cold, Brodart Plastic glue, about $5 a squeeze bottle, is the trick. Posted by request, as someone broke some spines by freezing. Oh, and most 'foggers' are ineffective. Sarah of the Librum.

Thank you.

Do a google for 'silabub'. I think that is the English name. Today, you rarely see any, but in yesteryear it was common to curdle milks using vinegar (or yeasts)(or alcohol) and drink that. These new yogurts, like Danactive (spelling?) use a yeast to do the semi curdle. Mother used to make it, and throw the failed waste to the hogs. Sarah of the Librum

You don't, until too late. The commercial packets are sold as dryed powders for a reason. And thank you, I could not remember the English term 'friendship yeast'. These were distributed in dough fingers, wax paper wrapped (before the days of zip log bags)(foil often retarded the culture). I still can not remember the so-called generic scientific name for a safe yeast. I hope it comes to me. A good established yeast (good or bad) will fight off any new yeasts forming in/from the 'mother'. That is how the yeast manufacturers you buy the packets from control their raw product. Same with 'mother of vinegar', 'vingar' to me... My advice, if you do not have access to established mothers, then buy. Sarah of the Librum

Ummm... Have a care here. Yeasts can be dangerous. In fact, the process has several 'alerts' about toxicity. Use only tried and true. In fact, experimentation and/or 'wild harvesting' with such is now forbidden in many of our enclaves/communites. If you are near an Amish/Mennonite/Hutterite/etc enclave/community, gently approach and ask some goodwives. There used to be swap meets where they would exchange 'fingers' of various sourdough cultures. I say 'used to be', as most such meets have been discontinued due to some rather over-hyped poisonings. But many goodwives keep the 'family culture', and will be happy to help you get a 'safe' one. I keep three. One for cornbread. One for wheat/etc. And a christmas seasonal that I inherited. (Ah memories! As a little girl I would go with my mother, and I would always get stuffed with baked fingers... YUM!) Sarah of the Librum

While an issue, I wonder why the latest 'wave' of hype. This issue has been with us for centuries. Ben Franklin's lending library sold and used a dust. Turn of the century catalogs sold insectside treated inks, paper, etc. 'Archive' ziplock book bags (with insectside) have been with us since the advent of zip lock bags. Ever wonder why we wear plastic/rubber gloves instead of cloth? Quite a few persons have been poisoned by the older insecticides in the materials. And it is not just bedbugs, it is insects of all types, and molds and mildews. My man is disabled due to mold in books. He was a book binder and restorer. Tiny spiders with a wicked sting are the issue here. *stinkbugs* (excuse me while a zap a couple more...)(I love these little gas zappers.) *lice*. (shudder) There is nothing new here that I see, nor do I see any 'increase' in the infestations or transferals. But the hype! Today, we get contacts from salesmen offering all kinds of things. Insectside treated gloves. Insecticide wristbands, and anklebands. 'Flea collars'. Heaters, coolers, inert gas chambers. Respirators and 'nose plugs'. Hazmat suits. Light wands. Electrostatic field generators. The list goes on. We use a 'barometer' chamber, and it is very effective. Basically, you put the materials in, the pressure rockets up (150psi?), then rockets down into near vacuum, then returns to normal. Some critters can't take the high pressure, some can not take the vacuum. Takes about five minutes. We have done this for years. And of course, our archive works are individually bagged, with inert gas. Why this latest 'fad' or 'craze'? Sarah of the Librum. PS: Don't blame the libraries. The public bring in these pests. Perhaps we should 'zap' all patrons?