Episode 7: Grab Bag Bonus; Patreon Questions & Holiday Gifting

Brandon and Lauren start by reviewing the important information: Meatsmith has 3 holiday gifts you can offer your loved ones this holiday season! Membership, the (spanking new) Knife Folio, and harvest classes.

The meat of the episode covers 3 questions offered by members of our intimate Patreon community.  The first is about vacuum sealers.  The second pertains to ruling out botulism in your cures.

The third is more rumination on commodity use and commodity value, which results in general admiration for the working tradesman.  They arrive at a solution (for the problem of exploitation in the food industries) of individual consumers educating themselves to further invest in and support (never altogether abandoning) local communal economies.

Show Notes

Topics Discussed

  • Introduction, What were you doing this morning Brandon?
  • Advertising for 3 big holiday offerings, 4:35
    • Membership! How is membership going for you Brandon?, 5:29
      • Lauren’s favorite membership area: The Harvest Journal; an excerpt 9:30
    • Knife Folio! Why does the world need a Meatsmith knife folio?, 22:40
    • Upcoming Classes! 33:05
  • First Question, 41:00: What are the virtues of Vacuum Sealers?
  • Second Question, 51:40: When is botulism a possibility in curing?
  • Third Question, 1:05:10: What prevents us from seeing the true cost of the exploitation of the land/animals/labor (in the industrial meat world)?…and how is it disconnecting us from each other and the world? How does this link to the ‘something for nothing’ mentality consumers have, and thereby the expected generosity people have for small businesses?  A commentary on commodification.

Links for Episode 7

– Submit questions to future Grab Bag episodes of this Podcast by becoming a Patreon member at Patreon.com/Meatsmith

Farmsteadmeatsmith.com, & our subscription membership

-Salami article: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/08/science/sausage-salami-bacteria.html

Our Meatsmith Knife Folio

– Teppei Teranishi, Leather craftsman who created the Meatsmith Knife Folio with Brandon: TeranishiStudio.com

Upcoming Meatsmith Family Pig Classes for Spring 2018

-Vacupack.com

-Reynolds food service film, 916: https://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss_2?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=reynolds+916

-Our The Butcher’s Salt e-chapters, in the ‘Resources’ section of our online Store: http://farmsteadmeatsmith.com/store/

-Temperatures to cook for preventing botulism (from https://pediatriceducation.org/2015/03/23/what-temperature-should-food-be-cooked-to-for-botulism-prevention/) : Heating to high temperatures will kill the spores. Temperature greater than boiling (212°F) is needed to kill spores so pressure cookers are recommended for home canning (reaching at least 250-250°F). The toxin is heat-labile though and can be destroyed at > 185°F after five minutes or longer, or at > 176°F for 10 minutes or longer. Boiling homecanned foods for 10 minutes or longer is recommended.

-Victoria’s fiber Instagram adventures: https://www.instagram.com/victoriouswool/

-Butchers, Slaughtermen and Farmers Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/groups/956486244401388/?fref=nf

Farmers for America documentary: https://www.leaveitbetter.com/farmers-for-america/