Mabiki & Kaki
For those of you on the edge of your seat as to what is happening with my strep throat, I'm feeling much better after a shot or two of gin (I had no antibiotics to sooth my throat so I opted for the alcohol cleanse). Of course, that means no cutting wood with sharp tools today. Oh well, there is a lot of cleaning and storing to do for the winter (snow starts Thursday!).
This photo is of the carrots that Tomoe mabikied the other day. Mabiki literally means "middle pull" - or, to take the weaker sprouts from in-between the stronger ones to prevent the weaker ones from stealing all the nutrients and light from the stronger ones. In English I guess you would say "weed out", but they are not really weeds. They were delicious.
Next to her you see the kaki persimmons I am drying.
Drying kaki is one way to remove the astringents that make some varieties too bitter to eat fresh. This area is extremely humid at this time of year, so it is hard to dry them well. We hope the fire stove will help us, but just in case, we are planning to remove the astringents with booze this year. Another way is to put them in a plastic bag and let them suffocate. It helps to add an apple or banana, as both fruits release a chemical into the are which promotes ripening.
If we left these kaki on the tree long enough, they
We also hope to have a lot of persimmon vinegar in a few months. Making vinegar with them is the easiest, as all you have to do is wash them and thrown them into a bucket to ferment - no peeling or other processing needed.
Comments
I'm extremely interested in the various drying and other preservation methods you are using on some of your crops -- would you mind doing a post sometime about some of the resources are you using to learn the whys and wherefores of your efforts? I know you talk about some of the older neighbors in your community who are sharing their tacit knowledge, but what about formal sources? Books? It's all so inspiring!
Posted by: Josh | November 16, 2008 11:36 PM
'weeding out' I think is 'pricking out' but could be wrong...what TV show are you appearing on...will try and catch it if I can!
Posted by: akikana | November 17, 2008 02:40 PM
Good to hear you are feeling better, Kevin - there are some horrible bugs going round this year.
With your hoshigaki, how are you keeping the insects off them? I made some a couple of years ago, but lost about half to little black flies. Towards the end I found spraying them with shochu helped, but I'd love to know if there is a better way..
Posted by: Chris (i-cjw.com) | November 17, 2008 07:53 PM
Chris,
I am NOT feeling better. I still have the soar throat. It only feels better for about 10 minutes after a shot of shochu. Then it starts hurting again, so I *have* to drink shochu now in order to eat, otherwise I can't swallow sollid foods. What a terrible terrible thing to have happen! :)
As for the bugs, I have no problem with bugs yet, and last year I don't remember any. It will be quite cold here in a few days, and our biggest enemy is the humidity. If the shochu helps to keep the bugs away, I say go for it (and i will keep that in mind for my own).
Also, I don't know if spraying them has any effect on the speed at which they sweeten, but I guess it can't hurt since another way to sweeten them is to soak them in shochu.
AND, (this is for google) How to sooth a strep throat: How to sooth a soar throat: Drink or gargle a shoot of alcohol 20% or higher once every ten minutes. Or, I am currently experimenting with shochu coated dried persimmons.
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