WD Daily Chat - Talk about anything You Like

ursula · Post by **ursula** » Sat Aug 10, 2013 08:04

Hi all,
My PH meter arrived today from UK. I have a temperature and humidity controller and an old fridge. Now only the humidifier is to come.
And then I'm set to go.
I haven't solved the problem of being unable to obtain Bactoferm mould, but will pick up a mouldy salami from Vic market, and culture my own, as someone suggested in another topic.
In the meantime, my sopressata smells lovely, even though I have no devices to control the humidity and temp in place yet. (The nights are cold here) WIll take a PH measure as soon as I get batteries for the meter.
Ursula

Post by **redzed** » Sat Aug 10, 2013 16:59

Hi Ursula,

Which PH meter did you get?

And inoculating your salami with mould from other products should work. I have had success even after I saved mouldy salami skins, froze them and used tthem 3 months later. Just be aware that some commercial products are rolled in rice flour to give them the appearance of mould.

crustyo44 · Post by **crustyo44** » Sat Aug 10, 2013 22:04

Hi Red,
I never heard about the rice flour being used but I suppose manufacturers are interested to make their products looking attractive for the masses.
I have a salami manufacturer not far from me, Italians, nice people I hear.
So I will ask them next time I am in their shop what they use for mould and also about the rice flour.
Cheers,
Jan.

Post by **redzed** » Sun Sep 01, 2013 18:19

My wife Vicky is as passionate about mushrooms as I am. Yesterday she went on a hike and came home with the season's first chanterelles (Cantharellus formosus). I was surprised at her luck as I thought that we needed more rain before anything significant would pop out of the ground. This morning I prepared omelettes with those golden gifts of the forest, and they tasted magnificent! Vicky also found several perfect lobster mushrooms (Hypomyces lactifluorum) and these will be going into a pasta dish for dinner.

Hopefully we will get more rain and then a mushroom season well into November!

ssorllih · Post by **ssorllih** » Sun Sep 01, 2013 18:28

Red, Those are magnificent!! How do you preserve that bounty?

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Mon Sep 02, 2013 02:33

Absolutely gorgeous!

Post by **redzed** » Mon Sep 02, 2013 07:21

Yes, the chanterelle is an aristocratic mushroom. It is easy to identify, rarely infested with maggots and has a unique flavour that to me tastes earthy, nutty, peppery with a hint of dried apricots. The mushrooms retail for 20 dollars a or more a pound and are in demand by top restaurants.

We are fortunate to live in an area where each fall we can collect as many as we want. We spend many days in the forest checking our favourite spots, and always exploring new areas. It's quite exciting to find a large flush of chanterelles on a hill side where they glow like orange Halloween lanterns in beds of moss!

Ross you asked how we preserve them. Well to begin with, we give a lot to our friends. That way we don't have to clean and process as much after each foray.

We also make sure we eat some fresh ones as well. Chanterelle omelettes, sauteed on toast, cream of chanterelle soup, with pasta and as an accompaniment to meat. I also make a Swedish style chanterelle pate. Chanterelles can be dried, but they don't so very well. They become rubbery when reconstituted and lose most of their flavour. We found that the best way is to dry saute them to remove some of the water, and freeze themin small portions. That way they they can be preserved for up to a year and taste just like fresh mushrooms. Each year we also pickle a couple dozen of small jars, using the small perfect specimens. They make great appetizers.

And, guess where I we all day tomorrow?

el Ducko · Post by **el Ducko** » Mon Sep 02, 2013 21:55

redzed wrote:...easy to identify, rarely infested with maggots... unique flavour... earthy, nutty, peppery with a hint of dried apricots...

Yeah, that's our ol' buddy, RedZed, to a "T". ...hope you never change (other than, perhaps, your clothing).

Post by **redzed** » Tue Sep 03, 2013 07:50

el Ducko wrote:
redzed wrote:...easy to identify, rarely infested with maggots... unique flavour... earthy, nutty, peppery with a hint of dried apricots...
Yeah, that's our ol' buddy, RedZed, to a "T". ...hope you never change (other than, perhaps, your clothing).

Hmm, never been compared to a mushroom before, but have been treated like one for a while in the distant past. In one particular organization where I was a lower level manager, upper management continually fed me manure and kept me in the dark!

And as to those adjectives above, I'll concede to them with the exception of one. The "nutty" one can only belong our own nutty professor with the quack!

Post by **redzed** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 02:34

Another success foray! Four hours of bushwackin' with my significant other and 30lbs of chanterelles!

Probably will be up until midnight cleaning and processing. Definitely the worst part of the experience.

Chuckwagon · Post by **Chuckwagon** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 03:44

Ursula, you wrote:

I am just making your leberkaese recipe. It's ready to go into the waterbath.

You forgot to tell us how your leberkaese turned out (or not

).
Was it a success? Will you make it again? Hope you have sticky hands and a grinder that needs to be cleaned!

Best Wishes,
Chuckwagon

sawhorseray · Post by **sawhorseray** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 06:28

redzed wrote:Another success foray! Four hours of bushwackin' with my significant other and 30lbs of chanterelles! Probably will be up until midnight cleaning and processing. Definitely the worst part of the experience.

[url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v310/ ... 98f58e.jpg]Image[/URL]

Boy howdy, that's some quality pickin' right there! I sometimes manage to get a few during the months of November and December, but nothing like the take you accomplish. The best years we ever had for shrooms were the ones where there were no hogs on the ranch we hunted. We figured when they came back that most years the hogs got them before they broke ground. Geez, I can just imagine the sautee and soup! Good on ya Red! RAY

Post by **redzed** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 07:52

sawhorseray wrote:
redzed wrote:Another successful foray! Four hours of bushwackin' with my significant other and 30lbs of chanterelles! Probably will be up until midnight cleaning and processing. Definitely the worst part of the experience.

[url=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v310/ ... 98f58e.jpg]Image[/URL]
Boy howdy, that's some quality pickin' right there! I sometimes manage to get a few during the months of November and December, but nothing like the take you accomplish. The best years we ever had for shrooms were the ones where there were no hogs on the ranch we hunted. We figured when they came back that most years the hogs got them before they broke ground. Geez, I can just imagine the sautee and soup! Good on ya Red! RAY

Well, while it was a successful foray and a great start to the mushroom season, this batch of shrooms cost me a small bundle. I lost my GPS!

Somewhere while pushing through bush, the unit came off the clip and ripped off the safety lanyard. Tried to look for it but it's worse than searching for a needle in a haystack. The GPS and the topo map will cost me $400 to replace.

Without the GPS our forays into the forest would be quite restricted. We'd have to stay close to roads and go in along creeks only. It is very easy to become disoriented and lose your way in the forest.

sawhorseray · Post by **sawhorseray** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 23:27

Bummer! Just last week I thought to check the batteries on my old Garmin 12. I used it for hunting and a back-up unit on my boat, we sold the boat 20 months back. Too late, the batteries leaked and the unit ended up going into the garbage. I'm sure things have improved over the last 15 years or so, I'll be finding out I guess. RAY

Post by **redzed** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 02:07

sawhorseray wrote:Bummer! Just last week I thought to check the batteries on my old Garmin 12. I used it for hunting and a back-up unit on my boat, we sold the boat 20 months back. Too late, the batteries leaked and the unit ended up going into the garbage. I'm sure things have improved over the last 15 years or so, I'll be finding out I guess. RAY

The one I lost was the Garmin GPSMAP 60sx. It was an excellent unit, compared to a Magellan I had before. The Garmin had good reception and was easy on the batteries. I'm getting the Garmin GPSMAP 62s. Similiar to the old one so it should be a gentler learning curve to operate it. I believe hunters use it as well. Check it out. Goes for 300 at Amazon. The thing that bugs me is that I also have to get new map software cause I did not have a copy!

WD Daily Chat - Talk about anything You Like

Cantharellus formosus!