2
stephen.hogwood@optusnet.com.au twitter.com/1910bc Please check out my blog -
http://the1910bottlingcompanyblog.com/
Self Sufficiency & Sustainability
MAGAZINE January 2014 Number 2
Inside this issue - No 2 Basic Blacksmithing Part 2.
Collecting your own seed Part 2.
Home Preserving.
Composting Natural fertilizers for the garden
MMMarmalade!!
w
ELCOME back to the second issue of the 1910 Lifestyle online magazine. Over 1,400 people from around the world viewed or read the first issue, which is truly amazing - thank you! This is a special place where you’ll find all sorts of stuff about self sufficiency, sustainability, organic farming, growing your own veggies, the old forgotten crafts and stacks of links and resources. Comments and feedback is most welcome!
Once you’ve collected and saved your seed, you’ll grow the best veggies, herbs and flowers ever!
&
growing your own k
seeds
part 2
Collecting
a
k
s mentioned last month, in part one of this article of ‘Collecting Your ‘ Own Seeds’, it’s an enjoyable past time that’s fun for the whole family and very cost effective.
1
Above - A beautiful, healthy crop of organic sweet corn, grown from seeds saved from last years sun dried cobs. Right & Above Right - The cobs once dried were stripped of seed and then kept in paper seed bags (discussed last month)in a dark dry drawer until ready to sow into open ground.
You may not be aware of this but in recent decades, (all very scarey), there’s been a major shift to gardeners purchasing seed every year from commercial seed suppliers, who unfortunately hybridize, genetically modify patent and or clone plants that do not produce seed that remains “true to type” (*please refer to definition in the open box on this page)
retaining the parent’s characteristics from seed - the seeds are also preserved in a selection of interesting chemicals. Hence much of the grassroots (heritage) seed-saving activity today is the work of seed saving organiza-
tions, a few Government initiatives, enlightened individuals and home gardeners. Please see the end of this article for resources re heritage
k
Above - Pictured is crop of green plums for Japanese pickling. these contain seeds too, which you can grow, but be careful, most commercial fruit trees are grafted! That is a cultivar of grafted material is either budded or grafted to a more resiliant rootstock. Sometimes the seed from fruit such as this may not be true to the parent or revert to the rootstock - We will cover this topic off next month.
seeds, if you wish to compliment your seed saving activities with purchasing heritage varieties for future seed saving - because buyer beware! While saving seed and even exchanging seed with other grower for biodiversity purposes has been a traditional practice, these practices have become illegal for the plant varieties that are patented or
otherwise owned by some entity (often a corporation). That is the “planting, harvesting, saving, re-planting, and exchanging seeds of patented plants, or of plants containing patented cells and genes, constitutes use” and is prohibited by the intellectual property laws and the legal profession flexing their muscles OS and unfortunately in this country
on this matter. So, stay with the heritage and or heirloom varieties and use the links and resources outlined at the end of this article to help you avoid all commercial seeds that could possibly be patented and illegal to exchange and are genetically modified so as not to produce viable seed.
k
*TRUE BREEDING ORGANISM - True type. So what are heritage A true breeding organism, sometimes also called a pure-bred, is an and heirloom varieorganism that always passes down a certain phenotypic trait to its offspring. An organism is referred to as true breeding for each trait to ties and why should which this applies, and the term “true breeding” is also used to describe I plant these in my individual genetic traits. In Mendelian genetics, this means that an garden? organism must be homozygous for every trait for which it is considered true breeding. Apomixis and parthenogenesis, types of asexual Continued on the next page reproduction, also result in true breeding, although the organisms are usually not homozygous.
k2
&
growing your own k
seeds
part 2
Collecting
Continued from previous page -
munities”. These may have been commonly grown during earlier periods in human history, but are not used in modern large-scale agriculture. In some parts of the world, notably the European Union, it is illegal to sell seeds of cultivars that are not listed as approved for sale (just absurd!). The Henry Doubleday Research Association, now known as Garden Organic responded to this legislation by I live in the Southern Highlands of NSW and I can tell you from personal experience only a few of the many varieties of potato are commercially grown; others are heirlooms, although some of these are grown setting up the Heritage down here too. Yes I know Potatoes are not seeds, as such they’re tubas, but they still refer to them as seed Seed Library to prepotatoes for production. serve seeds of as many ties of each type of crop widely grown, for exam- of the older cultivars Before the industrialare grown. These vari- ple in the home gardens ization of agriculture as possible. However, of South and Southeast over the last 250 years, eties are often selected seed banks alone have Asia. a much wider variety of for their productivity, not been able to provide plant foods were grown their ability to withstand An heirloom plant, heir- sufficient insurance for human consumption. mechanical picking and loom variety, heritage against catastrophic cross-country shipping, fruit (Australia and New loss - so it’s up to us In modern agriculture Zealand), or (especialand their tolerance to in the industrialised all to rally and protect world, most food crops drought, frost, or pesti- ly in the UK) heirloom these original and in are now grown in large, cides. Heirloom garden- vegetable is an old culmost cases a far superiing is a reaction against tivar that is “still mainmono-cultural plots. or original cultivar. this trend that is growing tained by gardeners and Many heirloom In order to maximize consistency, few varie- world wide. For instance, farmers particularly in vegetables for instance heirloom plants are still isolated or ethnic comhave kept their traits
3
k
through open pollination, while fruit varieties such as apples have been propagated over the centuries through grafts and cuttings. The trend of growing heirloom plants in gardens is on the increase and now gaining popularity around the world, particularly in developed countries. The definition and use of the word heirloom to describe plants is fiercely debated. One school of thought places an age or date point on the cultivator. For instance, one school says the cultivar must be over 100 years old, others 50 years, and others prefer the date of 1945 which marks the end of World War II and roughly the beginning of widespread hybrid use by growers and seed companies. Many gardeners consider 1951 to be the latest year a plant can have originated and still be called an heirloom, since that year marked the widespread introduction of the first hybrid varieties. It was in the 1970s that hybrid seeds began to proliferate in the commercial seed trade. Some heirloom varieties are much older, some being apparently pre-historic. Another way of defining heirloom cultivars is to
use the definition of the word “heirloom” in its truest sense. Under this interpretation, a true heirloom is a cultivar that has been nurtured, selected, and handed down from one family member to another for many generations. Additionally, there is another category of cultivars that could be classified as “commercial heirlooms”, cultivars that were introduced many generations ago and were of such merit that they have been saved, maintained and handed down - even if the seed company has gone out of business or otherwise dropped the line. Additionally, many old commercial releases have actually been family heirlooms that a seed company obtained and introduced.
k
practices. While there are no genetically modified tomatoes available for commercial or home use, it is generally agreed that no genetically modified organisms can be considered heirloom cultivars. Another important point of discussion is that without the ongoing growing and storage of heirloom plants, the seed
companies and the government will control all seed distribution. Most, if not all, hybrid plants, if regrown, will not be the same as the original hybrid plant, thus ensuring the dependency on seed distributors for future crops.
k
Continued next month -
Resources I love what these people have done, it’s an amzing story and resource - http://diggers.com.au/
http://www.heirloomseeds.com.au/ http://www.thelostseed.com.au/ http://www.edenseeds.com.au/ http://www.au.gardenweb.com/ http://www.abc.net.au/ http://www.greenpatchseeds.com.au/ https://www.succeedheirlooms.com.au
Regardless of a person’s specific interpretation, most authorities agree that heirlooms, by definition, must be open-pollinated.
k
They may also be open pollinated varieties that were bred and stabilized using classic breeding
4
k
blacksm
Basic 5
Here is a rare shot of two men striking the hot metal on the horn of the anvil - they were called ‘Strikers’. The Master Smith, in the cap is tapping his hammer on the anvil to relay instructions to the strikers on how to strike the metal. Shot courtesy of http://theblacksmithsanvil.com/
mithing How to set up your shop
part 2
w
elcome to Part 2. of Basic Blacksmithing,
practical information, links and resources for those of you who want to be more self sufficient and sustainable. Part 1. of this series has already touched on the major gear you’ll need, where we talked about the London anvil and what to look for when buying one (the king of tools).We also mentioned you’ll need some tongs and a forge of some description. If you want a free standing swage block, they’re a nice to have but for the beginner, possibly a luxury you could do without, as would be a witches hat or mandril. The Blacksmith’s leg vice however is another matter - every shop should have one - because the jaws are made to be struck with a hammer and are not cast like a normal engineers bench vice. In more advanced articles to come we’ll be talking more about different anvils and their history, swage blocks, all the different tongs, mandrils, bick irons, leg vices in detail, forges, fuel for the forges, drifts, the different cutters, punches, spring hammers and blacksmith anvil accessories, and of course hands on basic smithing. But for now Basic Blacksmithing part 2 is about just that, the basics to start things off - such as setting up your shop - setting your anvil and then introducing you to some of the basic hand tools for forging, such as forging hammers, anvil hardies, swages and fullers to help you make and repair simple items at home yourself with a little sweat and of course a bit of practice. You don’t need a large area to work in either but as we mentioned before, if you’re in a built up area please consider your neighbours and of course local Council bi-laws. PTO
k
6
k
blacksmithing
Basic P
Hand tools & setting up the shop
k
7
art 2. of this series on Basic Blacksmithing is touching on basic hand tools required in the shop. The most important hand tool you’re going to need is your forging hammer - I use a 3 pound cross peen sledge - see the shot to the left, as the cross pein is always ( 90 degrees) to the direction of the handle. The straight pein (also pictured left), has the peen the same direction as the handle. In fact, for everyday use I forge with a very nice 3 pound 1940’s Plumb ball pein. This is a good hammer to start with until you have practised your hammering - see the illustration on the opposite page re the correct stance and how to hold a forging hammer. Another way to practice your hammering is to get a scrap piece of wood fixed to a bench and practice hammering nails.
k
Blacksmith hammers from the left, double face, Rounder, 3 lb straight pein, 3 lb cross pein, 2 lb cross pein and a 1 1/2 lb cross pein. Below -When you set and secure your anvil on a stump or block - the right height to set your anvil is when you stand straight and your knuckles just rest on the face of the anvil.
k
These handled tools are used to hold above the work and then struck by a hammer. From the left, a top fuller, a small flatter without a handle, a large flatter, a large set, a small set and a cross pein.
http://www.brisbaneblacksmithsupplies.com/hammers
http://www.iforgeiron.com/
This a medium size shop, well set up, which is from an original shop in the USA. I’ve based my new shop on this design. You don’t have to start this advanced, the shop can be very basic to start with. The secret is to have the forge just three steps from the anvil and leg vice, as the steel cools quickly and to make sure your anvil is set correctly. You will also need a selection of your hand tools around or near the anvil - Also allow for a steel work bench and storage for coke, charcoal or coal and racking for stock.
The hammers from left to right are, ball pein and a large and small cross peins.
Practice hammerring - Power strokes - Use your arm and shoulder like a pivet, so as the hammer face is square to anvil as in fig C. You can also hammer using your arm, piveting from the elbow as in Fig B. for lighter strokes or for fine work, tapping or adjusting work, pivet the hammer form the wrist, as in Fig A. It all sounds a bit strange to start with but working with steel on the face of the anvil, you need to practice this style of hammering. Always making sure the face of the hammer lands square on the anvil face and use a hammer that is a suitable weight for the work..
k
sets corners and outside and inside edges of hot steel. The standard cross pein is also a good hammer to use when forging lighter work, as you have a fuller as the pein to stretch or work the metal. Next month we’ll be covering the forge, using for stretching hot metal out these hand tools, choosby fullering. ing the right second hand Another hand tool I use steel to use and forge all the time is called a hot welding. set - this hand tool Continued next month The other hand-tools we’ve touched on are tools that are struck by a hammer, as per the picture on page 7. These hand tools include the flatter, which flattens out imperfections on the face of a piece, or the top fuller for making impressions in the hot steel or
See resources and links below for more information. http://www.sustainlife.org/
http://www.anvilfire.com/
8
http://www2.altuit.com/
L
AST MONTH WE COVERED a little bit of the history and the10 Basic steps when preserving food using the Fowlers Vacola boiling method. Part 2 covers safety, tips, trouble-shooting and packing - we’ll cover all equipment required in part 3.
k sure to rinse them off to remove any chemicals,
TIPS AND WARNINGS When deciding on which fruit to preserve, it is also a good time to decide which liquid to use to fill the jars with. When jarring you can use fruit juices, honey syrups or plain water. Also use an apple corer, peeler or slicer to cut down on the steps of preparing the apples. If you blanch your apples before preserving, be
pollution and or excess citric acid on them. Having a towel beside where you are jarring will give you a safe and dry area for the jars, as they will be wet and hot to the touch. Remember to use care: There will be steam inside the Fowlers Vacola when preserving is finished. Take care to not hit the jars against
PRESERVE
ME k
9
part 2 - Fowlers vacola
any surface, as this can cause the seals to pop or even, in some cases, the jars to break. Always place the jars on a timber cutting board or bench or folded towel do not place the jars on a cold surface of leave the jars in cool breeze or draft, as the jars could break or crack.
k
So how does the system Vacola work? Boiling your Vacola bottles kills the food-spoiling bacteria. However, for the food to stay fresh, it needs to stay in a completely sealed environment - so that it cannot be re-infected. This is where the special Vacola vacuum seal comes in.
k
How does it work? Heating the bottles causes the air trapped under the lid to expand - the clip holds the edges of the lid up so the excess air can escape between the lid and the rubber ring. When the bottle cools down, the air shrinks, pulling the lid tightly onto the top of the bottle. This vacuum force holds the lid onto the bottle very tightly, and the clip can then be safely removed.
Pictured is a number 36 Vacola Jar on the left and a number 31. They have both been rubbered, clipped and are now ready for the boiler. Note I always use stainless steel caps when possible - as they’re about three times the price of tin lids.
10
Part 2
preserve
me
Safety tip 1: Can I reuse the rubber rings?
k
Sadly it’s not a good idea. The problem is that once you’ve pierced the rubber ring, it won’t make a proper seal on the bottle anymore... and it’s the vacuum seal that keeps your food fresh and healthy. So stick with the recommendations from Fowler’s and use your rings once only. Although rumour has it that Fowler may be remaking the reusable white rings they used to make in the 70s!
k
Step 1: Preparing and Filling the bottles To begin the bottling process, you have to fill your bottles and fit them out. Here are the steps you need to do to ensure the bottling works with the least fuss.
k
11
A - wash your bottles (optional) If you have just got your bottles (or they’ve been sitting in the cupboard
for some time), you may want to wash the dust out of them first. Wash them just the same as any other containers you’d use. To sterilise them place them in the dishwasher on the hot cycle, boil them form cold to boiling for 10 minutes or place them in a cold oven and bring up to 280c.
k
Don’t forget to wash and sterilize the lids too, but beware: if you don’t have the stainless steel lids, then they won’t go through the dishwasher - so you’ll have to wash them by hand. If your lids are new - then wash them especially well is hot, soapy water, as they tend to come packed in unpleasant mineral oil which if digested, is not very good for you.
k
B - Do any required cooking (optional) If your recipe calls for cooking the food first then do this now.
k
C - Attach the rubber ring, It’s best to attach the ring to the bottle first as it’s always easier to do this with an empty bottle than a full one. Learning how to do this can sometimes be “challenging”... as they are really just
a big rubber band that will fly off into a corner at any opportunity... but you’ll get the hang of it after the first couple. It doesn’t matter what “orientation” the squarecross-section is in, but make sure that any twists are untwisted. A twisty rubber ring will not seal at all!
k k With the tin lids check Safety tip 2: Lids
for pin holes or corrosion, as they usually only last a few jarrings. So I replace them regularly. Where as the SS lids will last you forever if you treat them with respect. If you have any of the old glass lids do not use them for preserving food, as research has shown sometimes small slivers of glass from the from the lids enter the food jar and that can be really nasty!!
k
D - Fill your bottles. Spoon or pack your food in bottles. Fill until it’s about a centimetre from the top of the bottle - this amount is important! You need to leave a bit of air-space or the bottle won’t seal properly, but too much will mean there’s a lot PTO -
12
Part 2
preserve
me
of air in the top of the bottle, which will cause the contents at the top of the bottle to oxygenate and discolour. De-bubble your food Look in through the sides of the bottle to see if there are any air bubbles. Trapped air will expand - which will degrade the quality of the vacuum seal and might push the food up in the bottle, causing the lid to pop off (not good!). Vacola have a special de-bubbling implement, but you can just use a skewer or a very long knife to release the air from the bottle. Just poke it down the side of the bottle and wiggle it a little bit near the trapped air. Repeat this action until satisfied. Clean the seals Use a damp cloth to clean carefully around the ring and lip of the bottle. Any food stuck here will mean you
13
won’t get a proper seal, and all your good work will come undone. It’s worth this little extra effort now.
k
E - Lid and clip. Put the lid on top (it’ll just sit above the seal) and make sure it’s resting fairly evenly all around. If it’s too skewed over to one side - it may break the seal with the rubber. Then add your clip on top, in whichever way is easiest for you. Make sure the clip comes down to the shoulder on both sides of the clip (not just sitting at the bottom edge of the lid) - or it may come off during the boiling process. Beware of getting your finger pinched! Clips can be nippy. Repeat until done Repeat the above process until all your bottles are filled.
k k If you are bottling fruit,
Step 2: Jarring liquid? Recipe tip: natural juice consider using natural juice to fill your bottles, rather than sugar syrup. Fruit juice is lower in sugar and higher in nutrients, so it’ll be far
better for you. It won’t drain the flavours out of the fruit like using either plain water, or honey water. Different honeys give you a huge range of flavours and they’re so subtle and taste great! However the juice or syrup you choose does depends on the fruit you’re bottling. For stone fruit I can recommend Pear juice (which is what the canned-fruit industry uses), or Pear and Orange juice or even grape juice. Otherwise, just match the two together however you like. You can even use some really interesting juices such as mango or guava to add an exotic flavour to your bottlings!
k
Step 3: Boiling your bottles to seal.
k
Boiling the bottles is what kills the harmful bacteria that cause food spoilage. That means the food will “keep” because it has nothing to cause it not to. This section covers all the steps involved in the boiling process. Stand your bottles in the pot. PTO -
14
Part 2
preserve
me
It’s best to put the bottles into the pot *before* you add the water... otherwise it’s really hard to tell how much water you need (and that just leads to wet floors to mop). Make sure there’s a bit of a gap between each bottle. You don’t want them too tightly packed. Apart from being difficult to get into or out of the pot, this will mean that the water won’t be able to move around - which will lead to uneven heating of the food.
Above - Jarred Beetroot in Raspberry vinegar, using stainless steel lids - 3” lids. These jars are cooling - please note the cooling mat and the spacing between the jars.
k
F - Add cold water You must add enough to cover the bottles with an extra centimetre or so over the lids. It doesn’t matter if the clips stick out, but you must have sufficient over the lids or the top of the food won’t be properly cooked. Add a half cup of plain cooking salt This is a bit of kitchen chemistry! Salt water has a higher boiling tem-
15
Above - Always pack the fruit tightly into the jars, leaving enough headroom when adding the liquid to the jar. note the pears in the other jars to the right of the shot, these were jarred in honey water.
perature to plain - which means you can keep the water at the required temperature without the water simmering as much. Turn the heat up Switch the stove on to medium/low and slowly bring the pot up to temperature. The recipe books all say this stage should take half and hour to an hour - so slower is better than fast. You don’t want to burn the food! Simmer well Eventually the water will get to simmer temperature. If you have a kitchen thermometer (e.g. candy thermometer), the water should be at around 92-95°C When it gets to this stage, turn the heat down so that it will just maintain this temperature. You may need to keep an eye on it and make several adjustments to keep it in the right place. Neither boiling the water, or having the temperature too low is not good.
k
Let the bottles simmer for at least half an hour. You can leave them for 45min if the bottles are quite large (or the food needs extra cooking).
Then switch the pot off. Allow bottles to cool naturally. Set up some heat-resistant mats on your bench (a wooden chopping board will do) otherwise the jars will crack if placed on stone or stainless steel benches. Also keep the jars out of the draught - this could crack them too. Using the special tongs, carefully lift out each jar.
k k Don’t grab the bottles Safety tip 3: Hot Jars.
by the lid or the lid may well come off (the seal is forming right now!), instead hook the jar around the neck. Be *very careful* when doing this, these things are as hot as boiling water, and will burn you badly!
k
(Note - we will be covering Fowlers equipment next month).
k
Stand each jar on the heat-resistant mat. Make sure you leave a little room between each one so they can cool down safely. Leave them to stand until they are completely cold (this will probably take a few
PTO -
Top - I always try and jar home produce or certified organic product, so only use the best produce, never jar over ripe or under ripe fruit. Above - These jars of Peaches are the ones the organic ones being packed on the opposite page. They were preserved in organic Pear juice & honey.
16
Part 2
preserve
me
hours). Safety Tip : 4 double boiling - Safety alert!
k
If you are making a savoury or vegetable recipe (i.e. without fruit), unless it’s pickled, a chutney or jam - that is a high acid environment, then you will have use the Ball Mason system of preserving - as the double boiling method is now outlawed by the Health Authorities for alkaline environments. We will be covering all this in later articles on food safety - so for now only use Fowlers Vacola for high acid environments as per their advice on their website.
k k A half cup of salt added Bottling tip: salt
to the water will make the boiling point of water go up by a couple of degrees. That means you can easily simmer your pot
17
temperature at 95°C without it producing quite so many simmering bubbles. Fewer bubbles means that your bottles won’t rock around and fall over as often, and it’ll give you a little leeway in case your temperature edges up above 100 by accident.
quick rinse-down to get rid of any residual food or salty water. Then label the bottle well - and include the date on your label! Put the bottles in a cool, dark place and enjoy!
Step 4: Test the seals
You’d be surprised at how long well-bottled food will last. Without the disturbance of bacteria, food can remain unspoiled for years. However, over 12 months the contents will suffer a degradation of nutrients, colour and flavour.
k k For each jar, remove
the clip by sliding it sideways across the lid. if you pull straight up, it might bend the clip, and probably pinch your finger to boot. Test the seal on each lid by lifting the whole jar by the lid. Lift it a few centimetres off the mat (you don’t want to drop it too far if the lid isn’t on tight). If the lid can take the *whole weight* of the jar without coming off, then the seal is good. If you find that the seal didn’t hold, then the bottle is not able to be put away as a preserve. You can eat the contents now, or put the bottle back through the bottling process again - with a new rubber seal. Otherwise, you’re done! At this point you may want to give the bottle a
k
How long will the product last?
k
k
Flavour tends to go first. Food will become unpalatable long before it becomes non-nutritious. If there are air bubbles visible, or it tastes fizzy or bad - then the food had probably gone bad and should be discarded.
k k Your preserved food will Store in a cool dark location
react badly to direct sunlight and heat, rendering it less nutritious, so always store your bottles in a cool, dark cupboard. Beware of keeping them in cupboards near or
k
directly over the top of a stove - as these places can suffer considerable temperature differences over time.
k k Be aware that the food Air-dried
on the very top of the bottle may react with the small amount of air remaining in your bottle. That may cause the very top layer to discolour and possibly to dry out. This does not affect the healthiness of the food in the bottle - it is still quite safe to eat, it’s a purely aesthetic change.
k
Bottling fruit is a great way to start out. It’s easy, it’s delicious, and it’s far cheaper than what you can buy in cans at the store. You can also be assured of exactly what goes into your bottles, and you’ll have a ready supply of tasty fruit on your shelves all year round.
k
To be continued. See you all again next month!
This is a Vacola 65 with jarred organic rhubarb, a very large jar that has not been made by Vacola for over 25 years. The small jar is a commercial food, I will be covering commercial food jars later in the year.
k
18
Composting &
Natural fertilizers for the
F
garden EEDING your garden is very important, if you want healthy cut flowers, fruit tress and veggies and it’s easy to do - in fact your garden should be a micro ecosystem, recycling everything organic back to the soil. Chooks really help this process, as they eat all the scraps, delivering fresh eggs everyday and also supplying you with high Nitrogen fertilizer for your leaf vegetables, and remember a good compost and a little lime help the root vegetables to thrive, like carrots, parsnips and radishes. So it’s now time to build yourself a composting area.
k
BUILDING a composting area is easy, I just used stuff lying around the place, like parts of an old post and rail fence and some old exterior hardwood liner boards I ripped off the house when I was renovating at the time. I have two bins, one for cooking and one for using. To turn chook poo, garden refuse and fallen leaves into usable compost usually takes me about two months - pushing it along by turning it regularly and making sure the worm population is over the top. Worm casings are just brilliant in the compost heap and the little buggers are amazing at producing thick chocolate brown compost ready for the garden without batting an eyelid - I’m not sure if they have eyelids, anyway
without worms and a nice warm heap not much will happen. In winter time to keep the heat in the compost heap up, I cover the heap with old wet card board. In fact steam comes off mine early in the morning when its cold - don’t worry it’s all natural it just the micro organisms doing their job breaking everything down - they’ve been doing it for millions of years I’m told, so I’m
very confident they know what they’re doing. It also constantly amazes me how much stuff the compost heap breaks down, just the shear volume of stuff we recycle every year is mind blowing. When I think most people in the cities around this vast land of ours don’t recycle any organic material and it just becomes land fill - not good! So build yourself a compost bin or two, some chooks ( no roosters in built up areas please folks because the neighbours and the local Council tend to get nasty) get a bucket scraps bucket for the kitchen to feed to the poo machines in the garden and viola!!! FREE organic compost to grow really healthy nutritious food - makes a lot of sense doesn’t it?
OPPOSITE PAGE BOTTOMI make a large tee bag of chook poo and fish emulsion and leave it a couple of old store jars filled with water - this I use as a concentrate mixed with water for seedlings and for pushing along leaf veggies. ABOVE RIGHT - Thick, rich brown compost from kitchen scraps, cow, horse and chook manure, ready to use on the garden. BELOW - Get some chickens, they’re great fun and highly practical and kids just love them I loose my nieces and nephews in the chook run all the time!!
RIGHT - My home made compost bins out of an old fence and old liner boards from the house.
20
M
aking Cardamon Marmalade is so and you can make it with any citrus. That’s right, what ever you have in the orchard, cupboard or what’s cheap at the market, but buy seedless oranges and make sure they’re ripe, juicy and sweat! I tend to buy organic seedless oranges from the organic markets in Sydney The spoon test is so when they’re a good price. importantre to check setting. I soak the whole rounds. I tend not to buy imported fruit, as it’s of dubious origin and I prefer our health laws - I also like to support this country and the people who are the backbone of the economy the farmers and producers!
“I remember recently seeing Slice and dice after soaking. some appalling pictures of 40 year old orange trees just being bulldozed because it was too expensive to pick or produce oranges, because of the avalanche of cheap imports into this country. So buy organic and buy I use lightly crushed lemon Australian - Please!!”
pips just to make sure the pectin content is off the Richter Scale.
Why do some jars set and others stay runny??
Firstly wash your oranges. Then top and tail them and discard these bits, then finely slice the oranges.
k
I’m lucky I don’t need to do this by hand, as I have a 100 year old Marmalade orange slicer from the UK, it’s brilliant! Although you can buy modern versions of the same thing.
k
Now it’s time to soak the oranges in half warm water and half honey overnight, in a container of your choosing and cover - place them somewhere cool. The next morning you can dice them up to the desired consistency, I prefer a chunky style marmalade, with lots of rind - if you like a less chunky marmalade, just remove a percentage of the rind to flesh and make sure you finely slice the oranges to start with, as preparation is everything here. Once you have the texture you like, the whole lot goes in deep pot with the honey mixture its been soaking
MMMMMM MA
21
C
in and then brought up to the boil. Once boiling pull back the heat and allow to simmer with the lid off the container - stir regularly. I like to place a muslin bag of bashed lemon pips in at this stage too to take the pectin level off the Richter Scale. When the peel is soft, and you’ll need to test it after about 40 minutes pour the contents, minus the honey mixture into a jam pan (that’s right leave as much moister behind as possible and remove the muslin bag). A jam pan is a wide shallow pan for making jam and marmalades. We then add the organic raw sugar and bring the mixture gently up to the simmer - add sugar until the sweetness is to your liking, if the mixture is too stiff just add a little water. I personally like a thick marmalade. Add a tea spoon of Cardamon and stir in. Once sweet enough bring up to the boil and really let it gallop for 10 minutes , while gently stirring. Then do your first tea
spoon test in the freezer to see if the mixture is going to set, if too runny, bring up to the gallop again for 8 to 10 minutes, gently stirring again - once the marmalade holds on the spoon and the surface of the marmalade creases it’s time to jar - pour the hot marmalade into washed sterilised jars and cap and allow to cool - label when cool - Just an inside tip. Once the marmalade has set on the spoon, let the pan sit for 5 minutes before hot jarring and keep gently
stirring when jarring otherwise the pectin falls to the bottom of the pan - that’s why some jars of the same batch can set and others stay runny - gently stirring the marmalade seems to stop this happening, and yes I know it goes against all the jam and marmalade recipes re stirring the mixture - but hey it works!!!. enjoy and have fun - please let me know how you all go and send me shots of your efforts please, cheers, Steve.
k
Here is my ancient Marmalde maker - citrus slicer - for a hand operated machine over 100 years old it works just fine and saes hours of work if your slicing oranges nice and fine.
k
NOTE Keep your batches of marmalde small, don’t try and double up recips - for some reason small batches of marmalde set far better than larger ones probably because the the jam pans are filled to high or they are too small for the batch.
ARMALADE
Cardamon
22