Half pint/pint sized canning jars?

[Ace]

High guys/gals,

Any suggestions as to where one might find the canning jars used in the PF Tek? Would these be attainable in your average shop like Kmart or elsewhere? Sorry if this has been asked before, I know, I'm hopeless

[Fenris]

I think there are a number of threads discussing exactly this, however I was in my local small IGA recently and saw that the 2.8L olive jars from the deli section had been cleaned and re-sold for either 50c or $1 each so I bought 2 because I have the ability to sterilise a 30cm high jar with a 10cm wide mouth. Its a big jar and at that price you cant go past it.

Think big

[Ace]

thanks for the tip fenris, I'll keep searching. do you have any troubles with the myc not fully colonising in the bigger jars, or do you just let it sit longer? and are they wide mouth jars so you can make cakes?

[Hyphal]

If you are tkinking the pf tek, just use those small empty vegemite glasses or any other drinking glasses with a foil lid.

If you are thinking grain - Kmart sells canning jars perfect for the job, but any jar that will fit in your pressure cooker will work fine.

[Ace]

If you are tkinking the pf tek, just use those small empty vegemite glasses or any other drinking glasses with a foil lid.

If you are thinking grain - Kmart sells canning jars perfect for the job, but any jar that will fit in your pressure cooker will work fine.

Thanks for the hints Fusion

I have got a really old-school PC that has no guages or dials, so would I be able to use this? How would I be able to tell if it reaches 15PSI (or relevant temp/pressure)? It only has one of those little metal weights that sits over a little opening to release too much pressure. Would this suffice? I really cant afford a brand spanker and would much prefer to get away with this one. It isnt huge - about the same size as your average large cooking pot, but it's heavy stainless steel and has a lock-on lid with a rubber seal. its also painted a nice retro orange...

So would your average drinking glass be ok for making PF cakes or even to break up these cakes for a casing tek? Does the foil work well in reducing contams?

Sorry for all the questions folks - just trying to get my head around it all

[Hyphal]

Follow this guide to the letter -

http://www.fungifun.org/English/Pftek

The foil works fine to keep out contams when combined with a dry vermiculite layer.

Your pressure cooker sounds ok as well, no harm in experimentation.

Good luck!

[Ace]

Thanks for your help Fusion. But how will I tell if the pressure cooker is at the right temps? Just by watching the jiggler? This is directly copied from the above site - sorry for any copyrights, just thought I would save people the hassle of finding it (all credits to http://www.fungifun.org/English/Pressure-Cooker-Use). Would this method suffice? It seems to cover it all.

Pressure cooking step by step

Put 1 inch of cold water in the PC. Some pressure cooker manuals will tell you to use more water. You need to use as much water, that by the end of the pressure cooking there is still some water left at the bottom of the pressure cooker. If you are unsure, you can test drive the pressure cooker without jars first to see the 1 inch of water will fulfill this requirement or not. Never run the pressure cooker dry! Place filled jars on the rack. Fasten PC lid securely.

Leave weight off vent port or open petcock. Turn the heat on at a setting from 2/3 to the highest setting until steam flows from the petcock or vent port. You don't want the pressure cooker heat up too fast, since this can cause certain types of jars to break. Adjust the heat so that it takes around 15 minutes for the steam to begin to come out of the vent. The bigger the pressure cooker, and the more filled it is, the higher setting you can use.

Exhaust steam for 1 minute and then place weight on vent port or close petcock. The PC will pressurize during the next 5 to 15 minutes, depending on the size of the PC.(the bigger the PC, and the more jars are in it, the longer it will take).

Start timing the process, depending on the pressure cooker type

- when the pressure reading on the dial gauge indicates that the recommended pressure has been reached or

- when the weighted gauge begins to jiggle/rock or

- when the valve comes up to the of second or third (last) ring or

- when the steam is starting to get released from the pressure setting dial.

Adjust heat lower to maintain a slow, steady rocking motion, or the pressure indicator staying at the proper ring, or there is no steam coming from the pressure setting dial, depending on the pressure cooker type.

When timed processing is completed, turn off the heat, remove the PC from heat (if electric range), and let the PC de-pressurize at room temperature. (dial needle moves back to "0" or no steam escapes when weight is gently nudged). Do not force-cool the PC under water or force the steam out! The depressurazation can take anywhere from 5-20 minutes, depending on the size of the pressure cooker and the amounts of the jars in it.

After the PC is depressurized, remove the weight from the vent port or open the petcock.

If you are preparing whole grains(rye, millet, birdseed...), you will now want to wait around 30 minutes and then take the hot jars out and shake them to distribute the wetter and drier kernels.

If you are preparing PF jars it's best to leave them cool down in the pressure cooker over night.

[Green Osiris]

But how will I tell if the pressure cooker is at the right temps? Just by watching the jiggler?

Don't worry about it - whatever maximum temperature you get it up to will be fine as long as your seals are intact and the bell starts dancin'.

K-Mart sells cucineware canning jars, but really, you can simply use old salsa jars and spoon the substrait out when you're ready to encase. No need to spend money on fancy jars.

[Bongchitis]

If you are doing PF tek then you need tapered jars so you can actually get the cake out but if your doing grain then 500ml spaghetti sauce jars are the shit!

Tapered jars can be bought in K-mart but when my friend wanted to start PF style some years ago he ordered 36 tapered jars with screw lids for ~$1 each from bulk canning suppliers on-line.

[Ace]

If you are doing PF tek then you need tapered jars so you can actually get the cake out but if your doing grain then 500ml spaghetti sauce jars are the shit!

Tapered jars can be bought in K-mart but when my friend wanted to start PF style some years ago he ordered 36 tapered jars with screw lids for ~$1 each from bulk canning suppliers on-line.

Great! Thanks everyone for the tips, but when using the 500ml spagetti sauce jars - are they tapered or do they have shoulders?

Also, when casing, is it possible to just break up the fully colonised cake inside a shouldered jar and pour it out into the casing tray?

[Hyphal]

Great! Thanks everyone for the tips, but when using the 500ml spagetti sauce jars - are they tapered or do they have shoulders?

Also, when casing, is it possible to just break up the fully colonised cake inside a shouldered jar and pour it out into the casing tray?

If you are doing PF tek then you need tapered jars so you can actually get the cake out but if your doing grain then 500ml spaghetti sauce jars are the shit!

K-Mart sells cucineware canning jars, but really, you can simply use old salsa jars and spoon the substrait out when you're ready to encase. No need to spend money on fancy jars.

You ask a lot of questions Ace - Read the answers properly man.... If you have to spoon the substrate out, then one would assume it has a shoulder, right?

Edited December 15, 2006 by FusioN

[Ace]

oh crap - my bad - off in another world at the moment. Thanks for the help guys - I'll shut up and read more thoroughly before I reply in future

[Hyphal]

Just start getting your hands dirty man - thats the best way to learn. You seem to have the basics down, time to start getting into it!

[Ace]

Just start getting your hands dirty man - thats the best way to learn. You seem to have the basics down, time to start getting into it!

Thanks for understanding Fusion. I've got the teks all pretty well read, but the expirience and tools are what I lack. As soon as I'm able to start, I'll probably hit you all up with a whole bunch of other hopeless questions though I'll try to avoid as many stupid questions as possible

Who was it who once said, 'there's no such thing as a stupid question, only stupid people'? I think I may fall into that category

[Green Osiris]

You ask a lot of questions Ace - Read the answers properly man.... If you have to spoon the substrate out, then one would assume it has a shoulder, right?

Yea man, just get into it. Experience is the best teacher. You have a PC, you must have some jars around the house. Vermiculite and brown rice flour is easily available, and spores are easily aquired for dirt cheap. So grab the bull by the horns, Ace !

[Ace]

Just ordered a couple things of SAB - syringes and swabs, so when I receive them and my 'non-active' prints, I'll be sure to start asap! I'll keep you posted and I'm sure you'll be sick of me in no time

[mescalito]

Hey there Ace

Keep looking in op-shops for Fowlers jars,they have no lip but usually come in one pint sizes so there's a higher chance of contams,though if you get one fully colonized,you'll be greatful

I just purchased a Fagor Duo 9.5L(10Qt) to replace my old trusty aluminium Tower PC which I fitted a pressure guage to so you can see when the steam comes out it is actually at 15psi (I'm sure I have a spare seal for it too).

PM me if you're interested in it:

[mescalito]

The new one!

[mescalito]

and 2 things you shouldn't be without:

[mescalito]

Rev's "rice-cooker tek" works great for beginners and you can fruit staight from the cake without verm or supplements with good results...even in a fish tank with moist perlite(just tilt the tank back a little)

Foil and verm or polyfill works a treat as a contam barrier during colonosation,then simply invert the jar onto a sterlile plate and place into the fruiting chamber.

Welcome to mycology!

[Hyphal]

Any links to this 'rice cooker tek'? Sounds intriguing...

[gerbil]

Nice setup mesc :D love the new PC.

Fusion, it's via the funky fungus methods page, this is a direct link, however browse the rest of the site!

http://home.iprimus.com.au/reville1/Method.../RiceCooker.htm

[Hyphal]

Thankyou Gerbil! Interesting read indeed.

Would the ratio for WBS be the same as the ratio for 'grain mixes' in that tek?

While I agree that its hard to get the right moisture content with the other methods, one way that works consistently well for me without a rice cooker, using Wild Bird Seed is this -

Measure out a predeterimned amount of grain. To determine how much you need, times the number of jars you have to fill by 0.7. Then add this many jars of dry WBS - eg. if you have 8 jars, you need 5.6 jars of dry seed. The seed will expand to a tiny bit over 8 jars (better to have slightly too much then slightly too little).

Bring a large pot of water to the boil. Turn off the stove. Wait until the water stops boiling, then pour in the seed. Stir well, and go to bed....

In the morning, strain the seed in a colander. Rinse the seed very very well, then shake well to get all excess water off, then allow to drain for 20 mins - if you shake well enough you dont have to wait for it to drain.

Spoon seed into the jars and your ready to rumble.

[Ace]

Thanks for all the help folks!

[spiders]

Got a cheap pc from kmart and I always use plastic tupperware jars - much easier to find and can handle autoclaving.