RE: the rye grain… yeah I agree that was way expensive! I’m not doing anything in bulk though and don’t really have the space to go crazy with all this, but at the moment I haven’t even been to the local stores to see what’s available. The popcorn should be real easy to come by, though. One thing I did see, though, was adding gypsum to the water while cooking, which is supposed to help prevent the grains from sticking to each other. It looks like they’re suggesting about one tablespoon of gypsum per 5 full quart jars of dry grain. I wonder if this would help with the popcorn too?
So a couple questions here about the popcorn… If you cook it in the pressure cooker, is that done inside the mason jars or just directly in the pressure cooker with some water? I have one of the big ones for canning, so it seems like cooking directly would be more efficient just in a regular pot, and I’m guessing since you are trying to cook them at this stage you’re talking about doing it this way.
And for either method, do you add enough water to completely cover the amount of kernels you put in the pot, or do you only put a little bit of water in the bottom? And while the kernels are drying afterwards, do you do anything to protect them from picking up any contaminants?
So this morning’s viewing of my cremini spawn… whatever is growing in there is definitely expanding. I’m seeing long white strands on all four sides of the container now. I think I’ll try to hit Walmart today to find a tub I can use to make a still-air box so I have at least a little control over contamination when I transfer my various spawn to the jars. Hoping to get some jars going this weekend.