DIY Cooking

[Andy Hall]

No, the stories are kosher, (to excuse an expression)....

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[Mary Fisher]

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

Yes, about fifty years ago.

Mary

[Huge]

From the supermarket?

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember "Dave Gibson" saying something like:

Handy for psoriasis, too.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember [e-mail] (Huge) saying something like:

You'd wonder at the mindset of the miserable rotten bastard who'd made that decree.

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember Andy Hall saying something like:

[Grimly Curmudgeon]

It was somewhere around Barstow, on the edge of the desert, when the drugs began to take hold. I remember [e-mail] (N. Thornton) saying something like:

Belle cement mixer for home-made muesli for a large family.

[Mary Fisher]

I have a purpose-made attachment for the power drill to agitate my honey to encourage granulation.

Mary

[Andy Hall]

One thing that I've always wondered. What is the difference between the clear amber coloured honey and the more cloudy stuff that looks like contact adhesive? Is it an issue of the plants that the bees use, the bees or the production afterwards? If so what is done and how does it work?

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[Mary Fisher]

How long have you got? Shall I mail you directly?

Mary

[Mary Fisher]

I'm off to wash up now but shall be back after lunch for a bit.

Mary

[Huge]

Cloudy bee vomit? Clear bee vomit? Who cares? It's all bee vomit.

[Andy Hall]

I'd be pleased for you to mail me directly, Mary, although wasn't looking to put you to a lot of trouble. I was just thinking in terms of a few short notes or URLs. Perhaps others would also be interested. You do seem to do some quite creative things.......

Many moons ago, I used to help two elderly sisters (they were in their mid nineties then) with some of the harder work in their garden. One of them kept bees and had, IIRC, about a dozen hives. The various paraphernalia was kept in a large shed and included what I imagined to be some kind of centrifuge. It was something like an old fashioned laundry copper with a lid on the top and some mechanics and a big handle rather like a mangle. It appeared that the wooden frames that held the combs would be slotted into these. At any rate, it looked like very hard work, but she certainly managed it. Apart from that, she was very secretive about the whole process. She would always manage to produce the most excellent honey....

.andy

To email, substitute .nospam with .gl

[Mary Fisher]

It's no trouble. You know I like posting.

OK then, but brief notes aren't adequate. URLs aren't always to be relied on as I'm sure you know.

That sounds as though you've been looking at our website.

You're right on all counts although I'd be surprised if it were copper - at least if it were it would be tinned inside. Copper is reactive and honey would attack it. These days we're only allowed to use stainless steel (expensive but strong and the best) or food grade plastic (cheaper but not as durable) to come into contact with honey.

It's not really hard work. Gearing helps. Although I suppose that if you're in your nineties ... Hmm. But last Monday I went to the funeral of a 91 year old beekeeper who first showed honey in his teens in the Crystal Palace. I believe that he was still beekeeping last year, when he suffered a stroke.

That's a shame and totally unnecessary. I don't like secrets of any processes - that way skills are lost. Not honey extracting but in other areas. It's daft - this ng is about sharing skills which is why I enjoy it. I'll tell anyone about anything I do. The sad thing is that most people can't be bothered.

No - the bees do that!

Lecture will follow. Make sure you have time to sit back and enjoy :-)

Mary

[MB]

My hubby was cutting down some pine trees some years back using a Stihl chain saw. A neighbor lady came outside and asked him if he could possibly cut a large joint of lamb in two, as she didn't want to cook all of it at once. So he did.

[MB]

An unusual use of a home appliance in cooking: an acquaintance of ours was making pastry cake bases on a large scale at home and then delivering them to bakeries. To speed up cracking the eggs, he used a quick spin of a washing machine to separate the shells and eggs. Of course, the washing machine was just for that, and not washing.

[Mary Fisher]

Oh - we bought a spin drier with a gravity drain (not a pump) to extract heather honey. Not used for anything else in this house but some beekeepers have confessed that they also use theirs for their socks ...

We don't wear socks.

Mary

[S Viemeister]

No!! Some of the rest of us are interested in what you have to say!

Sheila

[Set Square]

Then read Mary's interesting post of yesterday entitled "Different Honeys". That will tell you all (and possibly more!) that you want to know.