What "Traditional Knife" are ya totin' today?

Ellis Wyatt said:
Freeze dryer itself is pretty boring, looks like a black mini fridge. Here are a few pics of the rest of the process though.

15 eggs per tray, scrambled.
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Much easier to pour into the tray while it is in the machine than to try and carry a full tray from the kitchen to the machine.
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And the process begins. Freezing first, goes down to about -30 or so. Then the vacuum pump pulls a vacuum on the chamber. Once it gets down very close to full vacuum, the tray heaters kick on and the water in the eggs turns to gas through the process of sublimation. The gas then condenses into ice on the chamber walls. This process continues until all water is removed from the food, creating a shelf stable, dry, food in the trays. It will take about 48 hours for this batch to finish. Once done, quickly remove the food from the freeze dryer and store in Mylar bags or mason jars to prevent exposure to oxygen and moisture in the air. We have learned, based on volume of water removed vs volume of eggs added to the freeze dryer, that it is a close 1:1 egg to water ratio to rehydrate to their original state. Served side by side with scrambled eggs, I doubt many could tell a difference.

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I'm curious... How many chickens/ducks/dinosaurs do you have? How many eggs do you get per day/week/whatever? 🤔 My great grandmother used to pass out eggs by the dozens every week to the entire family. It seems odd now that I think about it because I don't recall her having a ton of chickens... Hmm...
 
321Bandaid said:
I'm curious... How many chickens/ducks/dinosaurs do you have? How many eggs do you get per day/week/whatever? 🤔 My great grandmother used to pass out eggs by the dozens every week to the entire family. It seems odd now that I think about it because I don't recall her having a ton of chickens... Hmm...
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Currently 12. Fluctuates during the year as we add a few chicks per year, and unfortunately lose a few hens to predators (hawks, snakes) every year. We have good fencing and a very protective coop, but the flying predators and large snakes are hard to guard against since the hens are free range during daylight hours.

The goal is to average around 10-12 hens all year. During good production times, we get 10 eggs per day. Lowest production I have seen is 5 per day. Keep the hens happy and they keep producing. We eat a lot of eggs, but we also pass them out to neighbors, coworkers, friends, family, etc. during the high production times. Long term storage for the surplus is just a bonus. Also, I haven’t seen a tick in the yard in years!
 
315 said:
Something told me my birthday carry needed to be a dandy…

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Happy birthday!!
 
Ellis Wyatt said:
Currently 12. Fluctuates during the year as we add a few chicks per year, and unfortunately lose a few hens to predators (hawks, snakes) every year. We have good fencing and a very protective coop, but the flying predators and large snakes are hard to guard against since the hens are free range during daylight hours.

The goal is to average around 10-12 hens all year. During good production times, we get 10 eggs per day. Lowest production I have seen is 5 per day. Keep the hens happy and they keep producing. We eat a lot of eggs, but we also pass them out to neighbors, coworkers, friends, family, etc. during the high production times. Long term storage for the surplus is just a bonus. Also, I haven’t seen a tick in the yard in years!
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Thanks for the info! Makes sense. I'm thinking she probably had +/- 20 birds which I didn't think was a lot, but maybe it is?! She kept her's in a coop/fenced in range area, but I do recall several guineas roaming the property that she claimed to be her burglar alarm and pest control! 🤷‍♂️
 
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Rufus1949 said:
You are getting your tomatoes worth Mitch.
Nice knife.👍🏻 I read where he began as a musician before his apprenticeship as a cutler. Adrien must be an interesting fellow.
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Thanks Bob.
Yeah I'm still getting tomatoes for a couple of reasons. Warm weather & high humidity. Also seen a couple of bees, not long ago they lifted various mite from red to amber can start bringing hives in the area.
Yep music's,s loss is our gain.
I can see you appreciating the quality of his work Bob
 
r8shell said:
For now, Spring has sprung:

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Is that wisteria vine?
JW225 said:
Just before Christmas, we fostered "Sam" as part of a rescue. When the time came, we couldn't bear to part with him. Just turned three, and we love him to death. Grandaddy Barlow will be in the pocket for today's walk with Sam. :)

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Good for you and Sam.
Not being able to part with the foster is why we do not. Once inside they are mine.
 
Boattale said:
Holy moly. Now that is a coffee pot!
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Haha it took me a few years to realise we take our coffee pretty seriously here! Fresh ground espresso is good coffee!

Are those pots that they have on American movies the typical way you guys have coffee?
 
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