Barbara Manning

Alina Green wrote:Some people buy chicken feet (aka "back scratchers"  haha) to add to bone broth, for the gelatin in all that skin and connective tissue...and toenails.  ugh.

You are so correct. Where I live I have to buy chicken feet, but the resultant broth was so delicious. I'll buy them once again but prepare them separately and add the resultant gelatin to individual brews. I suppose they would work in beef bone broth, but unless it was a voluminous beef broth, it might change the flavor. What  do you think?

wayne fajkus wrote:Prepping batch 2. Bones are frozen. I will take the advice of roasting the bones in the same pot. Great advice!

Yep. If you can, roast and boil/simmer them in the same pot.  You'll save yourself some clean up, and retain all of the flavor bits.

I don't salt my bone broth because I treat it as an ingredient in something else, and I know I'll be salting the end product.

Also, rather than boil the bones and toss the first batch of water, try cleaning the bones (or do as I do and used them direct from the source) and keep the water you use to boil them for the balance of the broiling/cooking might help with the gelling factor.  You may find that during the first boil, a dirtyish foam forms on the surface of the water. I use a skimmer to remove the foam.

Roasting the bones for a longer period of time and simmering the bones for a longer time will also give you a darker, richer broth. Having said that, purchased broth often has food coloring in it. The whole point of making your own is to reduce or eliminate all the additives, preservatives and unpronounceable ingredients. Try adding blackstrap molasses if you want to have a darker color. It's a processed product but less so than than the common commercially available browning sauces. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/benefits-blackstrap-molasses

Here's that Chef Google says about getting a good gel in a bone broth:
"The element of beef bones that makes the resulting broth gel is collagen, which breaks down into gelatin during the long cooking process.
Here is a breakdown of how this process works:
Collagen source: Collagen is the primary protein found in the connective tissues, cartilage, tendons, and ligaments attached to the bones, especially in joint and knuckle bones.
Conversion to gelatin: When these collagen-rich parts are simmered gently in water for an extended period (typically 12-24 hours), the heat breaks down the insoluble collagen into soluble gelatin.
Gelling effect: As the broth cools, this dissolved gelatin re-forms, creating a rich, viscous, and "jiggly" or jelly-like consistency when refrigerated. The more collagen in the bones and the better the extraction, the firmer the gel will be.
Reversibility: When the gelled broth is reheated, the gelatin melts and turns back into a liquid, giving the hot broth a rich body and mouthfeel.
A broth that gels when chilled is a key indicator of a high-quality, nutrient-dense bone broth."

I'm thinking that your first boil (where you pitch the water) also may be pitching some or all of the collagen. Or, you are cleaning off the bone bits that contain most of the collagen.

You're lucky to have so many bones!  I would also continue to reduce the broth until, like someone else in this thread suggested, you end up with a syrup-like consistency. You can pressure cook that too, and end up with a shelf-stable beef concentrate.

Good luck and keep cooking!

r ranson wrote:I've worn Pattens quite a bit and it looks like this style of clog is modelled after them. here's the wiki about them

In  modrrn Japan, women and men wearing Kimono in inclement weather wear a protective plastic oversoe on their footwear. Here's photos and a brief description of each style. May it give you inspiration.
https://livejapan.com/en/article-a0000942/#:~:text=Geta,with%20synthetic%20materials%20as%20well.

I'll  look for thr modern plastic overshoe later today and post. I understand you want to use natural materials, but many of these shoes have stood the test of time and are still sold and worn today.

Ah HAH! Here are some examples of thr "rainy day" overshoes worn over Zori. BTW, The workman's boots shown in the original link are the footwear of choice for all mondern-day construction workers. https://www.google.com/search?q=Zori+Cover&client

I know this is just for inspiration but I think it's interesting that at least In some cultures in modern day concept of wooden shoes and straw shoes and other shoes made of natural Fabrics is still alive and working quite well. Best of luck with your project.

I regularly replace virtually any citrus with yuzu juice. It has a fruitier aroma and flavor than lemon -- less acidic, or tart too. I buy it exclusively to lemons and lines these days. I've made a passable Yuzu tart and pie with it.  I've used it as a meat tenderizer too. I make a quality lemonade-like drink with it and I also like a pop of it in club soda or seltzer water. I like it heaps better than orange or grapefruit too. There's another Japanese citrus fruit mentioned in this thread Sudachi, I think.  It's similar, but for me the bang for your busk is with Yuzu, because the fruit is much larger.  

Re' Burton wrote:Paul, I love the card!  ...What, why, how, when.  Maybe that only makes sense to me.  I'd like the card to be able to stand alone, so if the reader has no knowledge of what a "rocket" is, maybe add rocket stove/heater/chamber or describe it or show sticks going into the fire box, or something?  Very cool idea and graphics though!  ... Thanks!  

I'd like to see more information on the car too but the type can't be so small that it can't be read conveniently, so I would ask you to consider bullet points rather than trying to write out full sentences. Thanks!

Christopher Weeks wrote:My experience with chestnuts is that when you sprout them in the fridge over the winter and then plant them in your nursery bed, they're the most bestest favorite squirrel food ever and one squirrel can easily eat 100 in one day. But that's probably not how you should eat them.

Earlier this fall I was gifted with about 500 G of chestnuts. I looked up several different recipes and was intimidated by all of them. The time and attention to detail necessary in order to cook them, not to mention that they're potentially explosive was overwhelming.

So I walked out my front door and stood in the middle of the road and pitched them all into the National Forest right across the street from me. This is in the hopes that more chestnut trees will grow and help block the wind from blowing my house away.

Barbara Manning wrote:

Tereza Okava wrote:
The other thing I always do is take the last one, when it's finally soft and perfectly ripe and could be eaten with a spoon, and throw it in the freezer. On the first hot day, I take it out, let it defrost, and eat it with a spoon, a wonderful, squishy frozen treat from the fall.

Also, you can make sherbet with them.  Peel and freeze them, then put them in a blender or other kind of blitzer.  Add honey or this honey-based spice sauce.  The sauce is also good as a topping for vanilla ice cream. My Greek friend developed this recipe for his baklava, but I've rarely gotten past making the syrup. It's great on pancakes, too.
2 cups honey
2 cups water
2 cups sugar
2 cinnamon sticks
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1 teaspoon vanilla
1\4 teaspoon ground cloves
Combine all the ingredients for the syrup in a saucepan. Bring it to a boil (watch it carefully so it doesn't boil over -- it's a hot mess to clean up!) and then simmer for 10 minutes. Strain, or not as you prefer, then cool.  It keeps forever in the 'fridge as long as you use a clean spoon in it, and is a really tasty sauce.  I also freeze blueberries and whiz them with the sauce in a blender for blueberry sherbet. I suspect almost any kind of frozen fruit will work.

ah,forgot to tell you to omit the seeds.  Sorry!

Look to YouTube and Instagram for canning, and drying tips and instructions. I like Becoming a Farm Girl and Rose Red Homesreading for emergency preparedness.

Both women are excellent teachers in there own way. I recently added Nicole kills plants to learn how to make laundry soap, dw soap, and other Hh goods.

I understand that this is not quite permies approved   method of learning, but it provides me with the baseline information I need in order to learn how to water bath can and  pressure can. Good luck

I have recently come across a stainless steel dish cloth made of chainmail. They're fantastic! I used one for about a month when I was staying with my girlfriend's family. They scrub the delicate dishes clean they scrub the pots and pans clean they even scrub the non-stick pans without damaging the coating.

The only draw back is they are expensive, but once you have one you'll have it for life. Shop around to find a size, guage and peuce you can live with.

Very easy to clean. You can even put it in  boiling water if you'd like. It rarely gets dirty and thus it doesn't ever smell of rotten food. More here:
https://www.google.com/search?q=what+is+that+stainless+steel+chain+mail+dish+cloth%3F&oq=what+is+that+stainless+steel+chain+mail