alright, can you cook the vermiculite mixture anything other than a pressure cooker? i can't go look on shroomery or anything, it's down..or just not working on my pc. so please don't tell me to go look there thanks
By using a pressure cooker you are able to 1) get the temp of the water/steam and anything inside higher than the boiling point of water 2) Due to the pressure generated by the steam it forces the heat deep inside whatever your cooking. Example cooking a roast in a pressure cooker will dramatically reduce the cooking time as well as produce a more tender roast than an oven would. For sterilization the main idea is the combination of high temp steam and pressure will definitely kill any microorganisms that may be present in the growing media.
you can grow them without a pressure cooker. but without one the risk of contams goes way up, and the initial risk of contams with a cooker is annoying as it is. http://www.mushroomvideos.com/ I think he demonstrates how to grow without a pressure cooker.
Not true. Fractional sterilization actually works better than PCing if done properly. Raz, look into fractional sterilization. It's a complete pain in the ass, as the time restraints are very strict, but it works very well. They use it at the local university for agar.
you can buy premade jars or i remember when reading the pf tek method you could use a pot on the stove
ive known someone to get away with fractional sterlization. She didn't have a real pressure cooker just this old pressure cooker pot that was the size of a normal pot just the lid locked in place. no pressure gage, just a hole in the lid. she did four pint jars at a time this way and "pc"ed at normal times. zero contams.
my friend may have one... i've asked numerous people if they have one and none of them do! i think it's crazy. i mean i've asked at least 10 people hahah. hopefully i just get one and everything falls into place correctly
When you get your hands on one cook up a nice pork roast or something like that. I just love using it for making "pulled pork" for sandwichs, comes out so tender it melts in your mouth. Pressure cookers aren't just for growing shrooms anymore.
Did she just steam the jars once? If so, that's not fractional sterilization, and it probably won't work with whole grains. To use grains, you should use the whole 3-day process. It is perfectly fine for PF cakes, but that's about it. People have gotten away with steaming grain only once before, but IMO, it was a fluke every time.
you dont need a PC all you need is a large cooking pot (for cooking corn on the cob pot).. make sure your jars dont touch the bottom of the pot, seal your holes with microfiber tape and wrap the tops in foil.. keep your air barrier for moving when you take them out the pot... Make a glove box when your going to inoc..
Just make sure to boil them 3 times at 22-24 hour intervals for whole grains. Cakes can be steamed once, but I always did the 3-day process anyway.
i have yet to use any other medium than bfr,, One day Ill grow up and quit pissing around and go monotubes..
Its worth it to invest in a PC even if you are only doing cakes. I have a 5qt for syringes, an 8qu for pints, and a 10qt for pints and quarts. But I'm about to get a 21 or 30 for a larger batch of quarts.