it has just gone in for the second drying ,although a bit "immature"and quite sticky at this stage it seems to have a good balance of sheep/salt/fruit/sweet
the second drying helps distribute the flavours and reduces the stickyness and moisture content
the nuts were chopped 3mm to dust and so add extra texture as well as adding to the binding which is important as there should be no air pockets when finally knocked up and pressed into blocks
the fruit leather,half pulp half whole fruit, has been turned over on it's silicone sheet to dry it from the other side
no not this time ,but try not to think too hard about the marinade of shredded sheep and pulped blackberries
it looks a bit like what i imagine a vulture's stomach contents would look like if it added ketchup and port to it's dinner.
i will do a photo shoot on the next batch
the stuff scott took to the pole was vile ,apparently it was half lard which went rancid on the boat trip(the maker had a recipe but used ingredients to hand )
my stuff is quite nice,one of the last batches was almost like fruit and nut chocolate and had just a hint of sheepyness to it after a couple of months maturing
those probably had more fat as they were made with mutton ,this batch is quite lean
using fruit pulp as an anti oxidant to preserve the fat seems to work well although most traditions suggest using lean meat and adding fat at the mixing stage.im still experimenting with this stuff but it is a very neat way to put a lot of long life tasty calories in a small space.as trail food it is adaptable and can be eaten off the block or used to make a stew or brew.
it is yum which is good in some ways but it is a bit moreish and an easy way to eat three days food in a morning which could be an issue for emergency rations
i must try to work out the calories per kilo but i recon it is up there with the best "high energy" foods and tis far nicer than biscuits brown or kendal mint cake
as it has fruit,nuts,fat and meat one could probably live on it long term and with a few forage greens etc i recon it would be a pretty good diet.
it is fairly low salt so would be ideal for a post nuke world as well as just general food in a bag times,salty stuff does not react well to neutron exposure.
a very rough calculation gives about 3000 k cal per kilo but it could be a bit higher for the mutton version
so tis up there with the best "pocket foods"in energy and tis far better for a balanced diet than most ,smaller than a day ration mre pack of similar calories and has none of the vile orange drink powder which seems to refer to the colour rather than the taste
using higher calorie fruit might work but i recon blackberries are very anti oxidant as well as rather tasty and available
the ten rack dehydrator could probable cope with 5 kg meat per first pass ,do that three times and then one go for the mix ,that would make quite a bit of a lamb or half a sheep into pemmican in four days
using the sun /wind /anti fly fire method outside it would be a matter of how big a rack one makes and how much flesh can one shred before it goes off or you get bored
tt was having a tidy in the kitchen and a lost block wrapped in greaseproof paper and clingfilm emerged from under lots of stuff in a basket
no hint of rancid, compared to "young" it has matured like a good wine
blackberry honey ground almond a bit of salt mutton
iirc it might be 7 and a bit yrs old and rather undocumented, but what environmental health would make of that does not concern me cos the half pound block in my pocket is mine
on a similar theme, in the dark rear of a cupboard there may be a box of vintage hot garam and there is a collection of mummified pig parts on the slatted shelf over the kitchen door
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