#Black: Fermented

[morethansalad]

Vegan Singapore Black Pepper Sauce Spaghetti

[petejj]

these rotting ruins

of my shame

ferment

in the corridors

of my mind

I am stagnating

fluid in

my fear

I am muted

I am immobilised

I am gulping

these

my breaths

my last hope

into

this nothingness

of my

dying

days

[llicorice]

either i have accidentally created apple juice wine or i am very. very sick

[nostalblue]

発酵器の製作

毎年4月下旬から5月上旬にかけては新茶収穫のシーズンで、自家消費する1年分の乾燥茶葉をこの期間に製造している（激務）。最近は加工プロセスを変えながら、煎茶のみならずいろいろなタイプの茶を作っているが、こと紅茶についてはこの時季の当地の気温が本発酵工程に必要とされる雰囲気温度に満たない為、適度に加温することで発酵を促進し、より香り高い紅茶を作りたいところである。

まずは既存の所有機器の利用を考える。ホームベーカリーには生地の発酵モードがあり流用できそうにも思ったが、生茶葉を入れるにはいかんせん容量が小さい。古い電気炊飯器は容量はデカイが保温モードでも加熱温度が高すぎるだろう。

身の回りに適用できそうなものもないので、都合良い商品がないかインターネットで調べる。発酵器で検索すると多用途可能な物から特定用途のものまで様々有り、グレードも値段もピンキリだ。う～む、複雑な機能はいらないので、そこそこの収納容量があって温い温度を維持できるリーズナブルな製品はないものか。。。いろいろ探し回った結果、部品を買って自分で作ってやろうと相成った。

まずは加温する為のヒーター。そんなに熱くする必要は無く、爬虫類飼育用のパネルヒーター（上の写真左）を調達した。サイズは28cm×28cmで消費電力は28W。ボリュームで出力強度が変えられることや、それなりに防水性があるのも有難い仕様だ。価格は1900円。

そして一定の温度になるよう制御するためのコントローラー（上の写真右）。基本的に2つの設定温度間でON-OFF制御するだけの物だが、温度センサーも付いて1000円は安いと思う。AC100V駆動タイプなのでAC/DCアダプターも不要だし、直接出力方式なのも簡単で良い。

スーパーマーケットで貰った発泡スチロール箱（無料）の内部にパネルヒーターを敷き、給電コードを箱の外側まで引き出す。逆に温度コントローラーの温度センサーは箱内部に引き入れる。

温度コントローラーは箱の外側に取り付け、その出力コードをヒーターと接続する。次に給電コードをコンセントに接続するとLEDパネルに現在の測定温度が表示されるので、出力ONとOFFの温度をそれぞれ仮設定してヒーター制御が正しく機能するかをテストする。結果問題無し。

発酵プロセスにどれだけの時間を掛けるかは仕上がりに影響する重要な要素である。なので温度コントローラーの給電をダイヤルタイマー経由にして所定時間経過後に自動で加温制御を停止させる。このダイヤルタイマーはもう30年ほど前に購入した物で、最近その存在を思い出し押入から引っ張り出して液体蚊取り器の自動停止に利用していた。まだまだ現役だね（笑）。

発酵容器はアルミ製の鍋を流用。内径33cmの大きさは我が家のガステーブルでは使いづらく、数年戸棚の奥で眠っていたが、平らな鍋底とその広さがヒーターのサイズに抜群にフィットしたのと、15cmの高さが蓋をした状態でこの発泡スチロール箱に丁度収まったため採用となった。伝熱性も申し分無いだろう。

底部から加温するため、側面は放熱緩和のためアルミ保温シートを巻いた。

制御部も発酵容器も準備が整ったので、発酵させる茶葉を入れていく。ちなみにこの茶葉は収穫後20時間ほど軒下に吊し萎調させた後、手で揉捻して発酵しやすく処理した物。温度センサーは写真では茶葉の上にあるが、実際には茶葉の内部に突っ込んだ。

上部からの放熱も緩和するためアルミ保温シートを挟んでから鍋蓋を置いた。

発布スチロール箱の蓋も閉めたらダイヤルタイマーを回して加温制御をスタートする。

実際に茶葉を入れての最初の運転なので、温度がどのように変化するかLED表示を逐一観察した。ヒーターは最大出力設定で、停止温度は28℃の設定。スタートからじわりじわりと温度が上がっていくが、あるところから急に上昇スピードが増す。停止設定温度に達してヒーター出力はOFFになるもそのまま温度は上がり続け、さらに4℃ほど上がったところで落ち着いた。その後の温度下降はとてもゆっくりで、再びヒーターがON出力されるまでにはかなりの時間が経過した。ただ二度目は最初ほどの温度上昇に至らずに温度制御するようになった。これは最初の想定とは違っていたが、適温に至った時点で茶葉の発酵が一気に活発になって自己発熱が始まり、ある程度発酵が進むと発熱も終息するということが起こった結果だと推測した。

4時間後、ダイヤルタイマーが停止設定時間に達し加温制御が停止したため、蓋を開け茶葉の状態を確認する。先の状態と比較すれば多くの茶葉が��褐色に変化し発酵が進んだことが伺える。ただこれが最終的にどのような品質の紅茶になるかは製茶してみないとわからないし、どのような制御を掛けると理想的な品質になるかは今後設定をいろいろ変えて見極めていかなければならない。ちなみに可変要素は以下のようなところか。

・温度測定点（温度センサーの設置場所） 　　容器底／容器側面／茶葉内／茶葉上／容器空隙 ・制御温度（コントローラーの設定） 　　ヒーターOFFおよびON温度 ・ヒーター出力強度（ボリュームで設定） 　　高／中／低 ・加熱制御時間 　　2～6時間 ・容器の保温性 　　高／低 ・前処理との関係

毎年製茶作業は実質2週間ほど行うが、そのうち紅茶は3日程度なので試行錯誤に数年は掛かりそうだ。まあ焦らず気長に取り組んで参ります（苦笑）。その間に何か他の物の発酵に利用するかも知れないけど。

[auraeseer]

Other Life Choices . . .

I kombucha I probably won't be having this again . . .

[thehungrycity]

Lol I am regretting my life choices. Tea poll took off and now there is a lot of tea disk horse in my notes.

[ladygoofball]

I think it's well past time to post some of the sketchbook pictures I've got sitting around and build up this character a bit more.

Has it been so long that Luana forgot who Dumuzi is? Has she forgotten that she is a part of Inanna's story?

Yes, that's what happens when you ride the Pegasus for too long and the wild magic takes you out of your depth.

What happened? It's a long story, below the cut.

She's been resting in Evermeet after defeating the Netherbrain, last I checked. She goes by a new name, since she knows that she was not cast out by her family but rather she was manipulated into believing that they would never want her back in Evermeet. The reality of the realization (combined with an insane sequence of world changing events) shattered her psyche, and she remains fragmented after attempting to create a projection to be in two places at once.

Tanar'ri is a name given to those who have been abandoned, Ivae'ess is a title held dear in the Osirant clan to signify the next generation's Matriarch/Patriarch. When Luana embraced her Aasimar roots, she merged with her Divinity (Inanna) and became Luana Ivae'ess of the Osirant clan.

She has not found her family yet, but she knows where to start looking for them upon her return to Evermeet.

I don't think she's going to remember her past until she reunites with her Divine Self Inanna. That's how the story goes. Unfortunately, Inanna is still rising from the underworld after being released by Ereshkigal.

Inanna was about to ascend from the underworld When the Annuna, the judges of the underworld, seized her. They said: No one ascends from the underworld unmarked. If Inanna wishes to return from the underworld, She must provide someone in her place.

Inanna refuses to give up her little sun elf without a fight. The goddess demands to be reminded who was calling her the Queen of Heaven before she made the descent into the underworld.

Perhaps that will be enough to jog Luana's memory from the labyrinth that she has been trapped in for the past couple months. Dipping my toes back into this space after taking a break to focus on working again has wrecked me in the best possible way.

[morethansalad]

Stir-Fried Lotus Root with Garlic and Black Bean 豆豉炒藕片 (Vegan)

[chinesegreenteagoldentriangle]

Chinese medicine says tea, are you drinking it right?

Today, I shared an article from the overseas edition of People's Daily, which featured a personal experience of drinking tea by Dr. Zhang Dong, the Chief Physician of the Cardiology Department at Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences. After reading Dr. Zhang's experience, it may challenge some of our perceptions about tea drinking. In popular belief, it has always been considered improper to drink tea on an empty stomach as it can cause discomfort, especially when drinking green tea. However, it seems that the reality is not entirely as we thought.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to share my personal experience with tea drinking. I have been a tea enthusiast for over 30 years and I have some digestive issues, including gastric ulcers and excessive stomach acid. Nevertheless, I can be called a 'tea addict.' I don't smoke or drink alcohol, but I am addicted to tea. I am the kind of person who would rather give up meat than give up tea. I remember starting to enjoy tea when I was in my teens, and my favorite is green tea. I love green tea because it is mainly produced in my hometown, which is located in the core area of China's green tea production known as the 'Golden Triangle.' The ecological environment there is exceptionally good, free from industrial pollution. Therefore, the quality of green tea is very high. Almost every household cultivates tea, which is why I have a special fondness for green tea and its refreshing aroma and taste.

I have a daily ritual of 'three brews' when it comes to drinking tea. By 'three brews,' I don't simply mean changing the water three times. The concept of 'three brews' refers to the following routine: after breakfast, I must brew a cup (or a pot) of tea. I drink the tea before starting work or while working. The second brew is in the afternoon. If I take a nap, I discard the tea leaves from the morning brew and brew a fresh cup with new tea leaves. The third brew is in the evening. I have a habit of taking a walk after dinner, usually in the park for about an hour. When I return home, I brew another cup of tea and savor it slowly. This has been my tea-drinking habit for over 30 years.

I prefer strong-tasting tea, so the tea I drink is usually concentrated. It has been like this all along. If it's too weak, I feel it lacks flavor. Also, the water temperature for brewing tea must be above 90 degrees Celsius because if the water temperature is too low, the fragrance and flavor of the tea won't be fully released. Therefore, I don't like brewing tea with low-temperature water.

In the blink of an eye, it has been over 30 years of drinking tea. I can't claim that tea is a miraculous cure-all, but I rarely get sick, not to mention serious illnesses. Even common colds are rare for me. It has been like this for decades. I haven't even used my health insurance card once. I found that my immune system is robust. Even during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, I didn't get infected, not even once. Isn't that surprising? I wonder if my strong immune system has anything to do with my regular tea drinking. Of course, apart from drinking tea, maintaining good lifestyle habits is also crucial.

Drinking tea does have benefits for the body, especially green tea. However, it's important to remember not to treat tea as a miraculous cure-all. We should approach it with the mindset expressed in the ancient Chinese book 'Huangdi Neijing': 'Treat before illness manifests, and regulate before disorder occurs.' Because drinking tea not only promotes health but also nurtures the mind.

The following is a forwarded article：

When I was young, I only knew of two types of tea: 'big bowl tea' and 'Biluochun' (a type of green tea). It was later, when I studied traditional Chinese medicine, that I discovered tea is also a medicinal herb. For example, Chuanxiong Tea is mentioned in the book 'Compendium of Materia Medica': 'Tea leaves have a bitter and sweet taste. They enter the Hand and Foot Shaoyin, Taiyin, and Jueyin meridians. Its function is to clear the heart and lungs, cleanse the intestines and stomach. When combined with chrysanthemum, it treats headaches; when combined with ginger, it relieves water retention and can be consumed after drinking alcohol, entering the Bladder and Kidney meridians.' However, tea is inherently cool in nature, and I have a weak and cold spleen and stomach constitution. I remember one time when I drank Pu'er tea, I had to rush to the restroom halfway through. After that, I rarely drank tea. But one chance encounter changed my perspective.

Not long ago, I was strolling around the Wudaoying Hutong near the Yonghe Temple in Beijing when I came across a small shop. The owner of the shop was a good friend of mine who invited me to try Biluochun tea. It is a type of green tea. It was dinner time, and I hesitated to drink green tea on an empty stomach. So I politely declined. But my friend said, 'Give it a try, I guarantee it won't be cooling to your body.' She explained that this tea came from an 80-year-old tea tree growing on a sunny slope in the mountains near Dongting Lake. It was the first harvest of Mingqian tea, hand-picked and processed using firewood, making it different from other green teas. Unable to resist her persuasion, I sat down and tasted this Biluochun tea. After a few cups, to my surprise, my stomach and intestines felt slightly warm and comfortable, with no signs of diarrhea. I let out a few belches and felt quite at ease, and surprisingly, I felt a sense of fullness. I stayed until 8:00 PM, drinking tea on an empty stomach without any discomfort. I even felt a slight sense of fullness and didn't feel hungry. The warm tea entered my stomach, and I started to sweat slightly, feeling incredibly comfortable. Later, my friend gave me some Biluochun tea to take home, and every time I drank it, I had the same experience. It seemed far from being a mere coincidence.

This chance encounter changed my perception of tea, especially green tea, and reminded me of an elder who once said that his father, in his nineties, had been drinking tea his whole life and lived a long and healthy life. Now I realize it's not just due to constitution. Recently, I have been pondering on this and suddenly had a realization.

Although the nature of tea is generally considered cool, whether it ultimately exhibits a cold or warm property depends largely on two factors. Firstly, the growing environment plays a role, whether it is in a predominantly yin, cold, and damp location or a warm and sunny one. Just like grapes in the north differ from those in Xinjiang, Chinese medicinal herbs such as Achyranthes bidentata, known as niuxi, have different properties in Sichuan, where it promotes blood circulation, compared to Huai niuxi in Henan, which tonifies the liver and kidneys. Another example is ginseng, with ginseng from the northeast having a warm nature, while Western ginseng tends to be cooler. These differences are primarily attributed to variations in the places of origin, which encompass factors such as temperature, sunlight, soil, and cultivation methods.

Secondly, the processing method of tea plays an equally important role. Most teas undergo a process called "kill-green," which involves using heat for fixation. Traditional Chinese medicine recognizes that the heating process can alter the cooling or warming properties of medicinal herbs. For instance, raw licorice has a cool and clearing nature, while roasted licorice has a spleen-tonifying and qi-supplementing effect. Raw Rehmannia has a cool nature that cools the blood and promotes blood circulation, while steamed Rehmannia has a slightly warm nature and tonifies the kidneys. Most herbs that undergo heating processes tend to acquire some warm properties, although the specific methods of heating, including the use of firewood or an oven, can also make a difference.

Tea processing involves various steps, many of which involve heat treatment, such as roasting or steaming. These processing techniques determine the coolness or warmth of the tea. I used to believe that fermented teas like black tea or Pu'er tea were not cooling because I didn't understand the fermentation process. Fermentation in tea production often involves spreading the tea leaves and allowing them to ferment at around 25 degrees Celsius, which is different from the heating process. Therefore, in conclusion, the coolness or warmth of tea depends on the environment and processing techniques.

From this perspective, individuals with a cold constitution can still drink green tea, while some fermented teas, such as Pu'er tea, may not be suitable. It is important to find the tea that suits oneself and understand the principle of moderation in order to find the path to health preservation. (Dr. Zhang Dong, Chief Physician of the Cardiovascular Department at Xiyuan Hospital, China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences)

Article Source: People's Daily Overseas Edition via People's Daily Online

[littlepawz]

Just some teddy bears reclining on a bed of fermenting apples. Let’s hope they don’t have a hangover tomorrow :) 

[prussianmemes]

remember to put buckethead varg on the labels as you jar your melomel mead. it guarantees passable quality.

[foundationsofdecay]

trying a dif recipe for mapo tofu that doesnt use mushrooms so heavily (not at all actually, extra bonus) im stoked

[lizbertmegafig]

you cannot fathom the amount of genderfuckery i believe sigma overwatch is capable of. yes hes a woman and hes my girlfriend

[miss-kittys-kombucha-log]

Main brew flavoured & bottled

Early impression are mixed:

First time using kiwi and I really like it. I think it'd be a good one to pair with other fruits, especially berries or melons.

The jasmine flavour in the strawberry batch didn't really come through. I used 2tbs of dried jasmine flowers in 2L - which was perfect when I paired it with mango - but I think I should probably double it when its its paired with stronger flavoured fruits, like berries.

And the cinnamon flavour in the apple batch also didn't come through. I used 2 cinnamon stricks - next time I'll try 4

[b3crew]

Duck Amuck in Japan | Episode 24: Here Be Monsters | B3crew.com

On this week's Duck Amuck in Japan: Tetris Championships, Okitsune Gyaru no Katabami-san, Dead or Alive Xtreme 3, Paul McCartney, and Monster Hunter!