Homesteaders

[newbie32]

I would like to put my 2 cents in-take it or leave it:

We bought a juicer and honestly the cost just to make 2 cups of juice is pricey! You get only a little amount of juice from most things. Apples produce the most but still takes 10+ apples just to make a small quantity. Plus the fruit part of it is wasted. To me it just was not worth the price. It cost me more than $10 for a quart compared to the store bought $4.

I have wanted to make my own bread for awhile but I don't want to have to buy yeast. Just like for canning I don't want to buy pectin. They didn't need these things in the old days so why should we need them now?!

There are good and bad fungi and bacteria. Not all fungi is bad. Our bodies need larger populations of good fungi and bacteria so the bad ones can not take hold. Basically the bad ones don't have anywhere it live if the good ones are already there. Buy a Microbiology text book online. just make sure it is a newer version. I kept mine from college because of the information it contains.

 

[boskelli1571]

Newbie - did you give the apple remnants to the chickens?? Mine love apples!
You know you can make flat breads without yeast if you so desire. They are always yummy just out of the oven. As for pectin - I hear ya! I have moved away from Sure-jell and use much more Pomona brand now. It's a bit more fiddly but works just as well and requires less sugar added, Sue

 

[Raech]

I would like to put my 2 cents in-take it or leave it:

We bought a juicer and honestly the cost just to make 2 cups of juice is pricey! You get only a little amount of juice from most things. Apples produce the most but still takes 10+ apples just to make a small quantity. Plus the fruit part of it is wasted. To me it just was not worth the price. It cost me more than $10 for a quart compared to the store bought $4.

I have wanted to make my own bread for awhile but I don't want to have to buy yeast. Just like for canning I don't want to buy pectin. They didn't need these things in the old days so why should we need them now?!

There are good and bad fungi and bacteria. Not all fungi is bad. Our bodies need larger populations of good fungi and bacteria so the bad ones can not take hold. Basically the bad ones don't have anywhere it live if the good ones are already there. Buy a Microbiology text book online. just make sure it is a newer version. I kept mine from college because of the information it contains.

A friend of mine uses a steam juicer, she steams the apples to a certain point for the juice, then uses the pulp for apple sauce, and its really good, she just watches to make sure she doesn't get all the juice out. That's the kind of juicer I would love to find in a yard sale, I found a lady who had 5 dehydrators and 2 juicers, I was hoping she would be selling one of the juicers but instead she sold me 300+ jars so called it good. I can wait for a steam juicer till I get more money together and can find it for cheap. Another friend got a different juicer that pulverizes it, and she didn't get much juice, as far as I could tell, but I'm sure her chickens would love the pulp/seed/skin mixture that it produces when she uses it next.

 

[Raech]

Newbie - did you give the apple remnants to the chickens?? Mine love apples!
You know you can make flat breads without yeast if you so desire. They are always yummy just out of the oven. As for pectin - I hear ya! I have moved away from Sure-jell and use much more Pomona brand now. It's a bit more fiddly but works just as well and requires less sugar added, Sue

Isn't there a way to make jelly without pectin? I thought I had read somewhere that you can get it to a certain point, something like it starts to stick to the spoon, and then its good to go. I could be perfectly wrong, but can't hurt to ask. Makes me wonder what the women used to use way back when.

 

[boskelli1571]

Isn't there a way to make jelly without pectin? I thought I had read somewhere that you can get it to a certain point, something like it starts to stick to the spoon, and then its good to go. I could be perfectly wrong, but can't hurt to ask. Makes me wonder what the women used to use way back when.

I'm sure there is, just haven't discovered it yet!
So, to change the subject.........I just bought myself a Christmas present! I have ordered my chicks for next year - I'm so excited

I have ordered 3 each Delawares, Welsummers & RIRs'. Also 3 Barred rock, 2 Australorps & 1 Delaware rooster. Shipment due early March...

Assuming they all survive, that will give me 25 birds all told. My good friend Matt gave me 2 Maran chicks last week. I must post pix. soon...Sue

 

[Raech]

I'm sure there is, just haven't discovered it yet!
So, to change the subject.........I just bought myself a Christmas present! I have ordered my chicks for next year - I'm so excited

I have ordered 3 each Delawares, Welsummers & RIRs'. Also 3 Barred rock, 2 Australorps & 1 Delaware rooster. Shipment due early March...

Assuming they all survive, that will give me 25 birds all told. My good friend Matt gave me 2 Maran chicks last week. I must post pix. soon...Sue

That's exciting...what do you have right now?

 

[boskelli1571]

I have 3 Delawares, 2 RIRs', 2 Welsummers & 1 Dominique, plus the 2 Marans - 1 is a blue splash and the other is a 'mutt' Maran

 

[rancher hicks]

Isn't there a way to make jelly without pectin? I thought I had read somewhere that you can get it to a certain point, something like it starts to stick to the spoon, and then its good to go. I could be perfectly wrong, but can't hurt to ask. Makes me wonder what the women used to use way back when.

No you can't make jelly without pectin because it's the pectin that helps it set. Now if you mean store bought pectin then the answer is yes.

I have recipes that call for no added pectin, because some fruits have their own, apples being one. You can also make your own pectin with apples for other uses. I've never done it but you're can if you'd like. There may be other recipes out there.

1. Make Homemade Apple Pectin
   
   • 1​
     Cut 4 lbs. of tart, green apples into large chunks and put them into a large (5 qt. size) saucepan. Cut a lemon into 1/3-inch slices and add the slices to the apples. Leave the peels, seeds and cores; you need the whole apple and lemon. Barely cover with water. Place over medium heat and bring to a boil, stirring every 10 minutes or so.
   • 2​
     Check your saucepan after 45 minutes; your fruit should be quite soft and your liquid should have reduced by about half. Place three or four layers of cheesecloth into a large bowl or pan and secure it to the rim, to form a bag. Or, place your jelly bag into a bowl that fits.

Read more: http://www.ehow.com/how_5106059_make-pectin.html#ixzz2lR1WrH5u

 

[kentuckychicks]

Sorry guys we had some tornado damage to deal with plus life so I haven't been on!

Newbie I started juicing the first of this year due to some health issues and I wasn't a fan of the waste either! But I got online and found you can make fruit leather with your fruit scraps and crackers and things with your veggie scraps so your not actually wasting anything. If you factor that in you get much better savings plus you cut out all the junk in store bought juices.

I agree with rancher hicks on the homemade pectin as my grandma made her own too. I think that's what they did in the "olden days."

 

[sepaditty1]

I thought that all the pectin was for was to keep it from turning color, not help it set. I figured that in the old days they cooked it until the sugars reached the soft ball stage & didn't worry if the color changed. But of course that's just my assumption, I wasn't there.

As for bread, I know sour dough can rise without yeast. Not sure what else can.