Making charcoal with open fire

We made charcoal on the bonfire last night! What a neat project to do while drinking small mead (yes, I made that, and it was great!) and eating many different kinds of pie...

The procedure, as shown by Bedwyr:
- poke a small hole (~ 1/8th, or a nail) through paint can lid
- fill a new paint can tightly with (dry) wood.
- add lid and put on tightly
- place paint can on embers near the fire
(not too hot, not too cold)

- after a bit smoke will come out (1-2hours)
that's the from water of the wood evaporating

- then a blue flame will come out (30m-1h)
those are the combustibles burning off

when the flame gets real small, pay attention:
- because when the flame goes out, remove can from fire

- and immediate stick small piece of wood through hole in lid

this is to prevent air from coming into paint can, while the can is cooling down
When the paint can is cool to the touch, open lid, and enjoy your newly made charcoal!

You'll find the wood has shrunk to about 2/3rd of it's original size, but still looks identical to how it went in, knots and everything!

I've been told Grapevines make artist grade charcoal sticks, I think there'll be a bonfire in our near future I'm gonna check that out  

Soft goat cheese making, day 2

Soft Cheese making, day 2:
- sterilize cheese cloth by pouring boiling water over it

- take pot with cultured milk out of warming box (oven)
- the whey will have separated from the curds, which with this cheese looks like a large white pancake floating in watery greenish liquid.

- suspend a colander in/on a stockpot and line with the cheesecloth. 

- pour the whey off through the cheesecloth, and you'll be left with a spongy cheese mass in the pot.
- carefully dump the cheese into the cheesecloth, as not to spill any around the edges.

- tie the four corners of the cheesecloth together, to make two loops
- hang the cheesecloth by the two loops with a hook off a door handle or something similar

- let gravity drip out excess liquid (whey)

I stop when it only drips occasionally.

If you mix it with a standmixer it will become a cream cheese.
If you add herbs and salt while packing it in a mold you can make great herbed cheese (no mold? poke holes inside out with hot nail in small butter tub) - dill makes a good one, as does nettle.
If you mix in honey it makes marvelous honeyed chevre (also keeps longer).
If you keep it on the wet side, you can use it as a "kwark" substitute to make gelatin european sweet cheesecake.

It freezes well.

Soft goat cheese making, day 1

For our Heralds & Scribes dayboard next month I want to use herbed and honeyed chevre. For people not familiar with this insanely easy way of making goat cheese, here is my modern method.

- Heat the goat milk to circa 90 degrees F (or use body warm raw milk straight from the source, my preference).

 - measure out 1/8 tsp of culture (I use MM100) per gallon

 

- add 1 drop of rennet (for up to 5 gallons I think) (or calf's stomach)

- whisk calmly all around and up and down to incorporate culture & rennet

- put in oven, turned off but with (pilot) light on (insulated dough box)

- wait until the next morning...