Technical writing, web content, newsletter and much more.

[Ben C]

Because it is not thick enough. I used to do this and added a
little gelatin to the matured yogurt. Too much messing about and
(no surprise) a slightly different feel and taste.

True it is not that thick. But I just took a leaf out of Mr Korpela's
book and stopped wanting that.

[...]

This is what I used to do and it does not work well. Sure it is
fine for the 2nd batch but trouble strikes soon enough.
Contamination! You hoe into the yogurt day after day and soon it
will get degraded and pass on off cultures...

That does happen, it's true, then it's time to start again.

 

[dorayme]

Because it is not thick enough. I used to do this and added a
little gelatin to the matured yogurt. Too much messing about and
(no surprise) a slightly different feel and taste.

True it is not that thick. But I just took a leaf out of Mr Korpela's
book and stopped wanting that.
[/QUOTE]
If you live on a farm or have a cow, not wanting thicker and
embracing hard work with the pans is perhaps the way to go. On
the other hand, if you have a cow, you can use the cream. Perhaps
Farmer Joe would like to come in at this point?

[...]

This is what I used to do and it does not work well. Sure it is
fine for the 2nd batch but trouble strikes soon enough.
Contamination! You hoe into the yogurt day after day and soon it
will get degraded and pass on off cultures...

That does happen, it's true, then it's time to start again.

Well, put it this way, I did not like the way things evolved last
time I did this. And after a couple of not altogether pleasant
batches, I reasoned that it is too hard to know in advance which
should be the last batch and better to avoid the problem
altogether (like absolutely positioned footers in tricky
surroundings). I waste less my way in the long run. But true,
your way is more adventuresome and I do admire risky kitchen
behaviour. The dorayme kitchen is just plain and simple, all css
is turned off, the better to get to grips with the content.

 

[Neredbojias]

Relax, Boji, you know how upset you get. I was just pulling your
chain. <g>

Well, I suppose I could get to like that...

 

[Ben C]

True it is not that thick. But I just took a leaf out of Mr Korpela's
book and stopped wanting that.

If you live on a farm or have a cow, not wanting thicker and
embracing hard work with the pans is perhaps the way to go.[/QUOTE]

I always used to use the microwave. My reasoning is the yoghurt
bacterium is probably weedier than most of the other 99% of known germs
in one's kitchen and you can't expect it to compete in a fair fight. So
I thought if you boil the milk up in the microwave, and then leave it
there to cool down to about 40 degrees _without opening the door_ then
it's in practically a sterile environment since any other bugs in there
have just been microwaved.

Then of course you whip it out, dose it, and shove it into the thermos.

Not sure if microwave radiation actually does destroy airborne bacteria
but you'd think it might, after all they are basically made of water.

 

[dorayme]

I always used to use the microwave. My reasoning is the yoghurt
bacterium is probably weedier than most of the other 99% of known germs
in one's kitchen and you can't expect it to compete in a fair fight. So
I thought if you boil the milk up in the microwave, and then leave it
there to cool down to about 40 degrees _without opening the door_ then
it's in practically a sterile environment since any other bugs in there
have just been microwaved.

Then of course you whip it out, dose it, and shove it into the thermos.

Not sure if microwave radiation actually does destroy airborne bacteria
but you'd think it might, after all they are basically made of water.

You might kill some bugs. If you zapped 1 litre with 5 Mwatts
then most likely you would kill lots of bugs by shaking the crap
out of them. Very high levels have been used to sterilise media.
In a domestic MW oven I don't know.

Anyway, about MW, I did and do use them a bit when I am feeling
cautious. After pouring boiling water into the jar as described
with the milk powder, the temp, of course, drops to the 80's.
Sometimes I then stick the jar with a bit of plastic wrap in the
MV, get a bright torch focussed onto the top of the jar and let
it roll. The water quickly boils and sends the white mass
bubbling up and you must quickly turn off. I do this a few times
and then whip it out, put fresh wrapper on top and leave to cool.

The problem with your using the MW to heat from scratch and then
cool is controlling the boil so it does not go everywhere and
knowing when it gets down to the 40s without contamination.

I do recommend my recent discovery to you (the algorithm at
<http://tinyurl.com/ywvlg5> with some pictures now), the key
ingredient being the jar in the flask idea. I regard this
discovery as being in the same league in its own way as Kekule's
discovery by way of a dream of the molecular structure of
benzene.

 

[Ben C]

Anyway, about MW, I did and do use them a bit when I am feeling
cautious. After pouring boiling water into the jar as described
with the milk powder, the temp, of course, drops to the 80's.
Sometimes I then stick the jar with a bit of plastic wrap in the
MV, get a bright torch focussed onto the top of the jar and let
it roll. The water quickly boils and sends the white mass
bubbling up and you must quickly turn off. I do this a few times
and then whip it out, put fresh wrapper on top and leave to cool.

The problem with your using the MW to heat from scratch and then
cool is controlling the boil so it does not go everywhere

Once you've figured out how long it takes it always takes about the same
time, although you do still need to keep an eye on it during the last
few seconds.

and knowing when it gets down to the 40s without contamination.

I don't have a thermometer so that's all guesswork anyway. There again
once you have an idea of how long it takes to cool down by about the
right amount you just always leave it for that long.

I do recommend my recent discovery to you (the algorithm at
<http://tinyurl.com/ywvlg5> with some pictures now), the key
ingredient being the jar in the flask idea. I regard this
discovery as being in the same league in its own way as Kekule's
discovery by way of a dream of the molecular structure of
benzene.

Yes that is a clever idea, in particular because you can seal it all up
from contamination while it's still hot and not have to open the jar
again.

 

[dorayme]

The problem with your using the MW to heat from scratch and then
cool is controlling the boil so it does not go everywhere

Once you've figured out how long it takes it always takes about the same
time, although you do still need to keep an eye on it during the last
few seconds.

and knowing when it gets down to the 40s without contamination.

I don't have a thermometer so that's all guesswork anyway. There again
once you have an idea of how long it takes to cool down by about the
right amount you just always leave it for that long.[/QUOTE]

All this is fair enough. I like your practice. I do the points in
the distributor of my car like so, ie. by natural senses. When
things go wrong, I go all formal and get the feeler gauge and the
timing light and like that...

 

[Sherm Pendley]

All this is fair enough. I like your practice. I do the points in
the distributor of my car like so, ie. by natural senses.

Points? Distributor? What kind of museum piece are you driving?

sherm--

 

[dorayme]

Points? Distributor? What kind of museum piece are you driving?

I knew it! You young modern things! At least I can fix my own car
this way, who can roll their own with the latest?

Does a Ford XY mean anything to you? 1971. (What sort of car is
this, I hear you ask. The sort that makes me drill holes in the
floor so that the rain can drain out when it leaks because I am
fed up of putting newspapers there to act as sponges).

Points are contacts that are mechanically opened and let shut by
a cam that runs off the engine, the contact fires the spark plugs
in an <ol> sort of a way and the spark is distributed to the
cylinders depending further on the <ol> of the leads (each <ol>
being quite dumb to the other... but boy o boy, the engine only
likes one particular arrangement)

Look out soon for an uncle Ford XY page soon to compliment the
aunt cooking tips one.

 

[Sherm Pendley]

I knew it! You young modern things! At least I can fix my own car
this way, who can roll their own with the latest?

Does a Ford XY mean anything to you?

Nope - I've heard of Ford, of course, but never heard of an XY model.

Points are contacts

Oh, I know what points are - I'm older than you think. I'm just suprised
that anyone's still driving a car that has 'em.

sherm--

 

[dorayme]

Does a Ford XY mean anything to you?

Nope - I've heard of Ford, of course, but never heard of an XY model.[/QUOTE]

It is the most collected car in Australia. One went for about
$800,000 recently. Mostly owned by investors too scared to drive
them. Mine is worth $3.90 and is happily driven and left anywhere.

 

[Joe (GKF)]

If you live on a farm or have a cow, not wanting thicker and
embracing hard work with the pans is perhaps the way to go. On[/QUOTE]

. PerhapsFarmerJoewould like to come in at this point?

Ob Simpsons: "Don't have a cow, Man"
We used to have goats, but not for milking. I love goats.

I've been rummaging through the kitchen looking for a wide-mouthed
vacuum flask. No luck yet, but when I find it, I'll definately try
this method (with skim milk powder) ... I wonder what an added
spoonful of malted milk powder would do ??

 

[dorayme]

On Jul 7, 8:17 pm, dorayme wrote:

I've been rummaging through the kitchen looking for a wide-mouthed
vacuum flask. No luck yet, but when I find it, I'll definately try
this method (with skim milk powder) ... I wonder what an added
spoonful of malted milk powder would do ??

One of the reasons I like making it is because sometimes it is
hard to get plain yogurt, everyone wants something extra in it.

In case you missed it, the jar idea is not just to save washing
up, it is to avoid disturbing the finished product too. If you
use a vac and spoon it out into a jar for fridging, you mess it
all up.

Yes, wide vacs are really good. But you can make do without.
There are any number of ways. Small esky, put also a bottle of
hot water inside.

When it is cold, and I want to keep my fermenting home brew
warmer, I use a small incandescent bulb under the tub. Now, home
brew, that is a nice Australian topic mate...

 

[andrew]

[...]

When it is cold, and I want to keep my fermenting home brew
warmer, I use a small incandescent bulb under the tub. Now, home
brew, that is a nice Australian topic mate...

Anything else you grow inside under an incandescent bulb? A more
modern Australian topic

Andrew

 

[dorayme]

[...]

When it is cold, and I want to keep my fermenting home brew
warmer, I use a small incandescent bulb under the tub. Now, home
brew, that is a nice Australian topic mate...

Anything else you grow inside under an incandescent bulb? A more
modern Australian topic

No, that was a topic of the 1970's.

 

[Adrienne Boswell]

Gazing into my crystal ball I observed dorayme

Nope - I've heard of Ford, of course, but never heard of an XY model.

It is the most collected car in Australia. One went for about
$800,000 recently. Mostly owned by investors too scared to drive
them. Mine is worth $3.90 and is happily driven and left anywhere.
[/QUOTE]

Pity you can't bring it to Glendale. We're having Cruise Night on the
21st of July - no cars younger than 1973. One year there was a steam car
from 1905 and a muscle car (1969 or so) waiting to leave the show, and
the muscle car was reving its engine in anticipation. When Glendale's
finest gave the ok to leave, the muscle car died (and had to be towed)
and the steam car just kept chugging along.

 

[Blinky the Shark]

Pity you can't bring it to Glendale. We're having Cruise Night on the
21st of July - no cars younger than 1973. One year there was a steam car
from 1905 and a muscle car (1969 or so) waiting to leave the show, and
the muscle car was reving its engine in anticipation. When Glendale's
finest gave the ok to leave, the muscle car died (and had to be towed)
and the steam car just kept chugging along.

Yeah, but look how long it took them to get the boiler up to a usable
level of pressure.

 

[dorayme]

Gazing into my crystal ball I observed dorayme


Pity you can't bring it to Glendale. We're having Cruise Night on the
21st of July - no cars younger than 1973. One year there was a steam car
from 1905 and a muscle car (1969 or so) waiting to leave the show, and
the muscle car was reving its engine in anticipation. When Glendale's
finest gave the ok to leave, the muscle car died (and had to be towed)
and the steam car just kept chugging along.

Hmmm... first time I have heard of the term "muscle car". It's
ok, I get it. Somehow, I think my car would be too much of a joke
in any show for me to bear. I can painfully anticipate the
inevitable _open_ derision at any show.

 

[Synapse Syndrome]

What happened to your website? I was marvelling (gobsmacked) at how, er,
retro, it looked the other day. Looked just like what the web looked like
when I first encountered it with Netscape when I stated at university in
'94.

ss.

 

[Blinky the Shark]

What happened to your website? I was marvelling (gobsmacked) at how,
er, retro, it looked the other day. Looked just like what the web
looked like when I first encountered it with Netscape when I stated at
university in '94.

I just checked in, and they are both rendering the way I wrote them.

A few days ago my host's PHP wasn't running, and all of my pages are
dependent on that, so much stuff was missing and there was no CSS in
effect. Perhaps you were there while that was down, before I called them
and had them get it working again.

Or perhaps you just don't like my simple and
quick-even-for-dialup-users sites. I can deal with that, as well.