The Pressure Cooker Thread
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Kai
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You could probably cook a turkey in one too.
proudscum
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I got a pesto 23QT for $200 delivered last December and am more than happy with it.Can get all my flasks in it including a 2lt one.I will quite often can wort at the same time so that it is ready to go for the next yeast step up.
punkin
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I use pressure cookers for sterilising my mushroom growing media.
I have a Presto 23l i use inside for small quantities and a converted keg i use in the shed for larger quantities.
The presto was under $150 delivered from amazon (can't remember exactly but i think around $125) and i bought some presto parts from the states and had a mate over there ship them over for my large cooker..
I had an 8 inch triclover ferrule welded into the top of a keg by a boilermaker.
A stainless plate was turned up and then a cage to stop anything in the canner blocking the vents welded to the bottom.
The presto relief valve, toggle weight ect was attached before the cage. Also a ball valve for filling or bleeding.
I use it for sterilizing 1.7kg bags of grain for mushroom spawn, fits a dozen in comfortably and sits on 15 psi for about 3 hours to do it.
I have a Presto 23l i use inside for small quantities and a converted keg i use in the shed for larger quantities.
The presto was under $150 delivered from amazon (can't remember exactly but i think around $125) and i bought some presto parts from the states and had a mate over there ship them over for my large cooker..
I had an 8 inch triclover ferrule welded into the top of a keg by a boilermaker.
A stainless plate was turned up and then a cage to stop anything in the canner blocking the vents welded to the bottom.
The presto relief valve, toggle weight ect was attached before the cage. Also a ball valve for filling or bleeding.
I use it for sterilizing 1.7kg bags of grain for mushroom spawn, fits a dozen in comfortably and sits on 15 psi for about 3 hours to do it.
thelastspud
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Growing mushrooms is something I'd like to have a go at one day. Do you need much gear?
pdilley
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If you are at the stage in your brewing where you are making yeast slants or using petri plates with yeast and have a stir plate you have most of the gear already and even the stir plate is optional unless you want mass liquid mycelial slurries created.
A little handy work and you could build a sterile glove box with as simple a set up as rubber gloves, large plastic see through container and germ killing aerosol spray (watch out for flameable sprays if using open flame to sterilise scaples and loops.)
You can even use your malt with agar to make a solidified growth medium to pour into slants or petris.
Just one of many ways you could transfer from beer only to beer and mushroom production.
Large pressure cookers help but you could get by with large pots and steam sterilisation at atmospheric pressure if you accept greater possible infection rates.
Cheers,
Brewer Pete
A little handy work and you could build a sterile glove box with as simple a set up as rubber gloves, large plastic see through container and germ killing aerosol spray (watch out for flameable sprays if using open flame to sterilise scaples and loops.)
You can even use your malt with agar to make a solidified growth medium to pour into slants or petris.
Just one of many ways you could transfer from beer only to beer and mushroom production.
Large pressure cookers help but you could get by with large pots and steam sterilisation at atmospheric pressure if you accept greater possible infection rates.
Cheers,
Brewer Pete
punkin
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http://www.shroomery.org/forums/postlist.php/Board/13
Lots of info here, although a lot is conflicting.
Best resource i found is a series of videos called 'Lets grow mushrooms' can probably be downloaded if you were into that stuff
Gear is like brewing, you can get by with real basic gear but to do it properly, efficiently and comfortably you need to spend some big $.
That's why i supply bags of grain spawn, to short cut all the glove box and other sterile work.
You can grow lots of oysters with a few buckets or basket, some straw and a bit of humidity control once you have the spawn kits.
Mods you are welcome to split this thread, i can talk mushrooms all day, but it wouldn't be fair to the intent of the thread, and i meant to only show my pressure cooker. :unsure:
MMMmmMushroomsPunkin
Lots of info here, although a lot is conflicting.
Best resource i found is a series of videos called 'Lets grow mushrooms' can probably be downloaded if you were into that stuff
Gear is like brewing, you can get by with real basic gear but to do it properly, efficiently and comfortably you need to spend some big $.
That's why i supply bags of grain spawn, to short cut all the glove box and other sterile work.
You can grow lots of oysters with a few buckets or basket, some straw and a bit of humidity control once you have the spawn kits.
Mods you are welcome to split this thread, i can talk mushrooms all day, but it wouldn't be fair to the intent of the thread, and i meant to only show my pressure cooker. :unsure:
MMMmmMushroomsPunkin
Scored a thick base 6L aluminium Hawkins, with original instruction book, from op shop for $9.50. So far I have sterilised beef casserole, a few whole chickens, beef vindaloo ......
I'll get round to using it for its correct purpose eventually.
Don't know how I managed all these years without one, you can do a whole chicken in Chinese Master Stock in 25 mins and it just falls off the bone.
I'll get round to using it for its correct purpose eventually.
Don't know how I managed all these years without one, you can do a whole chicken in Chinese Master Stock in 25 mins and it just falls off the bone.
Thirsty Boy
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It depends on just how fussy you want to be. i use a pressure cooker to sterilise slants and tubes and small quantities of wort. But eventually you have to put it all into something that is merely sanitised rather than sterilised.. For me the point at which that becomes OK is when its obvious that yeast is massively the dominant possible microorganism.
So... I will pressure cook my yeast slants and the gear I use to innoculate them etc, and i pressure cook the small amounts of wort that i use to initially start the cultures up. To whit, i use the same tubes as my slants for wort - they hold about 15ml and i fill and sterilise a bunch of them.
Each slant (i only use each slant once) gets about 5-10ml of sterile wort added from one tube... Its allowed to kick off and gurgle for 18-24 hrs. Then this is added to a small erlynmeyer that has usually been sterilised too (either in the pressure cooker or the oven, mostly the oven) and i add 2 or so tubes of sterile wort to it. After 24 hours, i am now happy that there will be more than enough yeast to hold their own in containers/wort that have just had the standard boil in place and cool under foil treatment.
The point of this description is that there is nothing in there that requires a "big" pressure cooker. I have a 6L jobbie my mum bought me from Myer or someplace, and its enough to do dozens of slants and tubes at once. Far more than you'll need i6 months of brewing.
Once you get up to an amount of wort thats too big for your pressure cooker... Well, IMHO you are already talking about a yeast cell count thats plenty big enough to manage in just "very nearly sterile" wort. So you just dont need a big pressure cooker for yeast work.
So... I will pressure cook my yeast slants and the gear I use to innoculate them etc, and i pressure cook the small amounts of wort that i use to initially start the cultures up. To whit, i use the same tubes as my slants for wort - they hold about 15ml and i fill and sterilise a bunch of them.
Each slant (i only use each slant once) gets about 5-10ml of sterile wort added from one tube... Its allowed to kick off and gurgle for 18-24 hrs. Then this is added to a small erlynmeyer that has usually been sterilised too (either in the pressure cooker or the oven, mostly the oven) and i add 2 or so tubes of sterile wort to it. After 24 hours, i am now happy that there will be more than enough yeast to hold their own in containers/wort that have just had the standard boil in place and cool under foil treatment.
The point of this description is that there is nothing in there that requires a "big" pressure cooker. I have a 6L jobbie my mum bought me from Myer or someplace, and its enough to do dozens of slants and tubes at once. Far more than you'll need i6 months of brewing.
Once you get up to an amount of wort thats too big for your pressure cooker... Well, IMHO you are already talking about a yeast cell count thats plenty big enough to manage in just "very nearly sterile" wort. So you just dont need a big pressure cooker for yeast work.
DJR
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I have one of these
http://www.victoriasbasement.com.au/Produc...ProductID=27349
It's not bad and has lasted me about 6 years now. I was using it ages ago to prep wort and specimen tubes, but now i just make lamb shanks with it and heat water for brewing
Watch out with some of the older units from the op shop, have a look to see if it has a safety release system to stop explosions - on a lot of the newer models there is a little rectangle hole in the side of the lid where the rubber seal can extend into if the pressure valve fails or sticks, releasing the pressure rather than blowing the lid off. Some of the older units didn't have safety systems like that and can blow up if the valve sticks.
http://www.victoriasbasement.com.au/Produc...ProductID=27349
It's not bad and has lasted me about 6 years now. I was using it ages ago to prep wort and specimen tubes, but now i just make lamb shanks with it and heat water for brewing
Watch out with some of the older units from the op shop, have a look to see if it has a safety release system to stop explosions - on a lot of the newer models there is a little rectangle hole in the side of the lid where the rubber seal can extend into if the pressure valve fails or sticks, releasing the pressure rather than blowing the lid off. Some of the older units didn't have safety systems like that and can blow up if the valve sticks.
JonnyAnchovy
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I splurged about a year ago on a 30 quart All American unit from Amazon - works perfectly and is bulletproof. I use it for producing sterile wort for propagation, for sterilising my plate heat exchanger, and a bunch of other small tasks around the brewery.
Yet to use it for any actual pressure canning, but looking forward to that too!
Yet to use it for any actual pressure canning, but looking forward to that too!
That takes the Russian roulette element out of drunken bain marie curry consumption. where is your sense of adventure?
