drying popcorn

[pippielongstalking]

is it a good idea to lay a large beach towell down on the table and spread my popcorn out after ive simmered it for 45 minutes pippies in a bit of a dilema im getting backed up my popcorn isnt drying fast enough so i can get it sterilized ive been leaving it colander and flipping it every so often but it takes a whole day for it to dry

[MrChen]

You could always add a scoop (1/8 to 1/4 cup) of verm to the jars before the PC run. That will help to absorb excess water. Good luck!!

[vinz]

you can towel dry where u put it in a towel and tap the kernels to dry it up.. just try to be clean but not too excessively clean because you will PC it again anyway..

[Soliver]

Originally Posted by pippielongstalking

is it a good idea to lay a large beach towell down on the table and spread my popcorn out after ive simmered it for 45 minutes pippies in a bit of a dilema im getting backed up my popcorn isnt drying fast enough so i can get it sterilized ive been leaving it colander and flipping it every so often but it takes a whole day for it to dry

lay a towel on the table, and spread the corn into it like you're rolling a giant
joint

With a friend helping, if you have one you can trust (my wife helps me), roll up the towel and
sling it in circles as you would with a jump rope. Before loading jars, put in about 1/4 to 1/2 inch
of straight vermiculite in the bottom of the jars; this will take care of any
excess moisture and also gives your corn more
spawning points when you shake it up

soliver

[bmad]

I just roll mine between two towels. has worked fine for me so far

[pippielongstalking]

ok i layed a towell down a couple of hours ago and spread my kernels 2 hrs and perfect so thats the way to go and yes i been adding about a half inch of vermiculite to qt jar before i load and it has definately eliminated the wet problems that i was having i also noticed something the ones that i didnot put the lid on colonize slower than the ones that after i loaded i then put aluminum foil on then i put the screw ring on then another wrap of foil for cover---these are the ones that are colonizing faster. im guessing the mycellium can breathe better with the aluminum foil instead of the lid thanks mycotopia this site just flat out rocks!

[Soliver]

Probably so - the trick is the right amount of clean air... I usually use a lid with one pencil-eraser
sized hole drilled in it over top of a layer or two of free postal service tyvek...



soliver

[pippielongstalking]

when you use tyvek when you sterilize do you have a piece of foil wrapped over top then once done and incubate you take foil off im guessing you cant just have tyvek when sterilizing wouldnt the jars get watery on the inside? how do you do it?

[Soliver]

Geez - I just spent a few hours in the new vaults, and things have changed a good bit
since I did this a few years ago...

Well, I used to PC with foil wrapped around the lids, I'd take it off to put it in the incubator, and it worked
just fine, but now it's all duct tape and silicone, it seems

So many ways to skin this cat - I'd suggest spending time in the vaults and seeing
what materials you have vs. which tek you can use...

I'm PC'ing corn jars tonight myself... I plan on sticking to my methods (simple), as they
worked for me before



soliver

[suckerfree]

wow yall are funny, rolling popcorn joints, i just leave the damn popcorn in a strainer and set it in the sink, go to sleep, in the morning scoop up into jars and PC, by the time evening comes around they'll be cool enough to 'noc' up.
when i'm in a hurry, i leave in strainer and put a small fan blowing on it, use your hands and mix it up every 15 minutes, you'll be good in about an hour.
if you are still worried you can put a dab of vermiculite in the bottom of the jars before PC...

kiss

for the record, i put foil over the jars before PC'ing. i inject the spores right through the foil, and remove the foil after 'noccing' or before a g2g transfer

[Soliver]

Originally Posted by suckerfree

for the record, i put foil over the jars before PC'ing. i inject the spores right through the foil, and remove the foil after 'noccing' or before a g2g transfer

Why innoculate through the foil, then remove it?

curious,



soliver

[suckerfree]

i don't have much room in the glove box, and big wads of foil get in my way... also it's an extra step when i can just inject go inject go inject go... i like to get in, do the job, and get out...

[blonthedl]

ok, so my 2 cents... as far as the drying out part, i've never had to wait more then an hour for it to be dry enough to load in jars. I like to mix my pcorn with brf in a bowl an then load it in the jars. I find that the myc. flies through it during incubation.

[highflyer]

I used to use the towel method, and even recommended it in some of the old vault posts. But my recomendations have changed slightly:

First, pressure cooking the corn is the best way to get the moisture content of the corn right. Another advantage is that the corn will be ready to use in 2 hrs instead of waiting for 24. Cook for 1 hr @ 15 psi.

The next key aspect is to begin washing the corn as soon as the pressure is down to 0, but the corn is still hot. At this point, most of the starch is still dissolved in the hot water. If you wash the corn at this point, you will have very few jars that get a starch buildup at the bottom.

Washing is generally done in strainers over the sink. Have enough strainers to be able to wash the whole pot at once. Wash the corn well. Also, you dont want to leave half of the pot of corn waiting to be washed for a few hours. A film will build up on the surface of the water, and the starch will begin to solidify.

Finally, I dont believe that the corn needs to be dried. It will be ready to be used 5-10 minutes after you are done rinsing it in the sink. As I mentioned, when the corn tek first came about, starch was the problem, and it worked well to dry the corn off, but if you pull it out of the pot right when the pressure is down, there should be few problems with starch buildup in jars.

Hope this helps and makes your lives easier.

[pippielongstalking]

how much brf do you put in a quart jar

[Soliver]

NO BRF in a popcorn jar, but about 1/4 inch of vermicuite...

I have no glovebox, SF, so I just rely on my small grow area and industrial amounts of
lysol. Sometimes I do it naked after a good shower, but that's just 'cause I like spraying
lysol all over while I'm naked

soliver

[suckerfree]

Originally Posted by Soliver

NO BRF in a popcorn jar, but about 1/4 inch of vermicuite...

I have no glovebox, SF, so I just rely on my small grow area and industrial amounts of
lysol. Sometimes I do it naked after a good shower, but that's just 'cause I like spraying
lysol all over while I'm naked

soliver

Showering before working is good, get's the dead skin flakes off ya.... i prefer the oust or whatever it is... the bottle says surface and air now instead of just air sanitizer. speaking of lysol, got some for the bathroom, new citrus scent... mmm

[blonthedl]

as far as the Brf is concerned, I've never really measured it out. After I simmer my popcorn, drain, rinse, drain for 30 minutes. the popcorn then goes in a mixing bowl where I'll lightly coat all pcorn with brf. its kind of a "add to taste" measurement. don't overdo it, just lightly coat. this is definatly not required, just my preferance.

[Soliver]

Hell, I've been away for a while... what's this about adding BRF to popcorn? Any links?

spanks,



soliver

[pippielongstalking]

another quick one can you substitute coffee filters for tyvek like put the coffee filter on first then a layer of foil seems like that would allow for more fae than tyvek or does the coffee filter just get wet during sterilization?

[Doctor D]

In my experience, tyvek provides all the FAE you need. Too much FAE in a popcorn jar and your popcorn may dry out. I cover the majority of my tyvek lids with duct tape, leaving only a space exposed the size of a U.S. quarter or two (see Faht-style lids in the Vault).

And as you mentioned, coffee filters will allow moisture through which may also contain contamination. Stick with the Tyvek; it works.