Making Beer

When I was in KSA a few years ago, I wondered about the procedure how to make beer at home or in the kitchen until I read a post in jandrhanson blog about beer making. It is so simple you can do it yourself in your kitchen in about 15 minutes. You can modify this method, of course, you only have to remember that the more sugar, and if fruits are used; the brewing will create a stronger drink. Here is an excerpt for the Ginger Beer from jandrhanson's blog:

Ginger Beer Ingredients:

1 cup raw sugar
2-3 tablespoons freshly grated ginger root (luya)
Juice of 2 lemons (kalamansi)
Strips of lemon peel (balat ng kalamansi)
1/4 teaspoon fresh champagne yeast (from a home-brewer store) ( you can also use an ordinary yeast used in making bread)
Fresh, pure water

Procedure How to Make Ginger Beer:

For 1 liter of ginger beer: clean 1 liter plastic soft drink bottle with cap; it’s not a bad idea to pour a little hot water over and into them to sterilize, but be careful not to boil them! (you can also use smaller or larger bottle depending on size of batch; I prefer four 500 mL plastic bottles)

1) Gently boil the sugar in 1 cup of water with the ginger root and strips of lemon peel from one or more lemons (not the white pith, just the outer yellow skin), until thickened and syrupy - about half an hour. Let cool to about 90-100 degrees - about an hour depending on your room temp.

2) Dissolve the yeast in a little warm water and let sit for no more than 10-15 minutes.

3) When the syrup has cooled, remove lemon peels but leave in ginger. Add the yeast and stir well. Split the ginger syrup evenly between the bottle/s.

4) Fill the bottles with fresh water to about 1 1/2 - 2″ from the top. Put the caps on securely. Squeeze a bottle near the top to feel how it feels un-carbonated.

5) Place the bottles in a warm out-of-the-way place for 24 hours if it’s warm (80-90 degrees) - I put ours inside a cooler in the workshop, in case a bottle blows, to confine the mess. To check the bottle for carbonation, gently - gently! - squeeze and you’ll feel the firm pressure. If it’s cooler, it might take longer.

6) After the ginger beer has carbonated, refrigerate to stop the yeast action. It’s advisable to release a little of the pressure when it goes into the fridge - loosen cap slightly and let it “pish” just a tad.

7) To serve, pour through a strainer, and don’t pour all the way out or shake, as you don’t want the yeast sediment in the bottom.

Enjoy!

How to make onion, garlic, and chili powder

There are times of the year when certain spices are abundant and thus come very cheap. There even was a day in 2010 that a sack of onions would just sell for around 350 pesos in my province. For many farmers and entrepreneurs who got opportunity to invest on spice processing, it would be a good idea to invest on making powdered onions, garlic and chili and make a good business about it.

Here is a guide how to make powdered onions. You can try this for your home use, and scale it up commercially if you think it is feasible.

Ingredients you need:

* Onions

How to prepare:

1. Peel and finely chop the onions.

2. Spread the onion pieces out on a tray and heat in a 150 degree oven or in a food dehydrator until dry or even under the sun if it is summer. You will know the onions are dry and ready if you can easily crumble the chopped pieces in your hand.

3. Let the onions cool. When cooled, grind with a coffee grinder, spice mill, food processor or mortar and pestle until you reach your desired consistency. You can sift the material in a strainer to separate the chunks from the fine powder.You can use a much larger grinder or food processor if you decide to go do it commercially or in large scale.

4. Store your finished onion powder in an air-tight container in a cool, dry spot or freeze. If you do it commercially, you can ask for an advice for proper packaging from DOST including where to purchase packaging bottles suitable for the product.

Similar procedure can be done for garlic and chili.