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Beg to differ Bernard - in Oz at least the Aussie grown branded products are markedly better than the self branded and than the imported brands - but we do pay more for them OK... but what makes the manufacturers' brands "better"? They use more salt, fat and sugar (SF & S) ? I suspect (but I don't ...

The foodbanks I am familiar with in both the Bronx NY and upstate NY where I live most of the week much prefer we donate money rather than food. Sure where food would otherwise be wasted (from local farms and farmers markets etc it makes good sense to provide fresh fruit and vegetables but from folk...

Can't speak so much about UK brands but here in the USA brands are typically no better than supermarkets' own labels. They are just much more expensive. My wife and I very rarely buy branded foods unless we know that the manufacturer is donating money or services to specific groups or charities that...

The jams don't have a long shelf life because you use very little added sugar or is there another reason that they tend to spoil unless kept frozen?

Are these all true fermented pickles rather than acidified vegetables? I currently have a one batch of lacto-fermented cucumbers in the fridge and another I just started a couple of days ago. But I have a question. Have you ever pickled mushrooms? Is there anything I need to consider before I pickle...

Interesting thought, Weedo, but my own hypothesis is not so much that the collectivity behaves like animals in a herd so much as our culture spells "we" as "me" and the only person people look out for is "myself" and that means that if I am not unwell then I can behave as if no one is vulnerable, no...

I am across the water and our "President" has no idea about how to mitigate and control this epidemic. That may be inaccurate. If he hears the experts he would know that contact tracing, testing and quarantining is the only effective way to prevent the continued spread of this (as yet) untreatable v...

Over here, in upstate NY, folk dislike mulberry bushes and trees because of the amount of staining fruit the trees drop and the birds help spread. I have yet to see mulberries being sold in the local farmers markets but between yesterday and today my wife and I were able to collect about 2 kg of ber...

A neighbor and I share a mulberry tree (black mulberry) and last year was the first time I tried to harvest the fruit to make a mulberry liqueur - quite lovely. This year I am harvesting the berries to make a mulberry wine. Has anyone made mulberry wine? Do I need to snip off the little green spike ...

I certainly get your point but if you are trying to get a 90% abv spirit (180 proof) down to say 45% ABV then adding a "flavorless wine" at any %abv will take far more liquid to dilute the spirit by half than simply adding "flavorless" water. True , the total volume you then have will be less if you...

Less expensive to dilute an overproofed vodka with water, or at least that's what I do when I make liqueurs. I use simple syrup to sweeten the flavored vodka. That's what I did for a violet liqueur I just bottled a few minutes ago. For something like horseradish vodka I used vodka at about 90 proof

Two quick and dirty thoughts. 1. You don't need to harvest the whole root. Dig it up and cut the few cm from the root and then replace the root. It will continue to thrive. 2. I just made another small batch of this horseradish vodka and strained the vodka after 24 hours. Much less intense than the ...

I routinely make mead and there is no reason why honey will not ferment brut dry if you know what you are doing. 1. The amount of honey to water can inhibit fermentation: you want a starting gravity of no more than about 1.100 or about 3 lbs of honey in water to make 1 (US) gallon. You can use less ...

Sour dough is essentially a mix of yeast and lactobactria but it is fairly easy to cultivate sourdough. If you make regular bread pull off a tablespoonful-sized piece of the dough and simply keep that fed every day with say, a tablespoonful of flour and a tablespoonful of non-chlorinated water. Keep...

Hi Brewtrog, Out here in upstate NY my yard is producing lots of dandelions. I don't use any chemicals on my grass and we have indoor cats so I am harvesting about a quart of the heads of these flowers every day and storing them in my freezer. Tonight my plan is to take a pair of scissors and snip o...