30 replies to this topic

[Mycol]

I have seen a couple different threads saying different things about steeping oats so I thought I’d try and do a couple different times and post the results .
This past week I have steeped oats in a cooler for an hour with the anti microbial soap that has the correct acid in it . Those seem to be colonizing ok but maybe a little slow .

So today we are going to try a 90 minute steep and a 2 hour steep, with soap added. THen let drain for an hour . All the oats were started steeping together but one was taken out thirty minute before the other and jarred up after an hour . They were still moist to the touch when put in the jar .

The oat pictured was pulled after an hour and a half steep and I pinched it bw my fingers to see how hard it still was . Verdict_ still pretty hard .
I tried to upload another one from 2 hours but I’m at my limit. It was still fairly hard .

These will be in the pic at 15# for 90min.

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[Mycol]

Well they are about neck and neck after getting a couple ccs of PE LC .

[Mycol]

[Mycol]

It was neck and neck down To the end but he 90 minute steep won out . I am going’s to be trying different times of steeps and will update more as I go .

[Mycol]

Glad I have these notes here, after a hiatus I have lost my touch and my grain spawn colonization has been spotty . I’ve had a lot of jars with wispy, slow growth . Lc and even grain to grain have stalled . I’ve only lost a handful to mold contamination .

I don’t think I was letting them steep long enough And I might have been letting them dry too long .

I’ve got 3.5 qt with rolling boil poured about an inch over top of them with three squirts soap with salicylic acid in it . Going to let them steep for 90 minutes then let them dry on screens for an hour .

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[Mycol]

90 minute later the oats had absorbed enough water to bring the water level down below the top of the oats .

They’re spread out on a screen to dry for an hour . It’s windy but humid today so I’ll have to see how dry they are then.

EDIT : one hour later they were still quite wet to the touch . Contemplating putting one of the screens worth of oats into jars and letting the others go for another half hour or more .

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Edited by Mycol, 28 March 2021 - 02:09 PM.

[Mycol]

They are all jarred up and about to be put in the pc. They’re marked for a 90 minute soak and their respective dry times 1 hour and 2 hours .

Filled it just above the 2cup line .

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[Auhron]

I'm curious as to what kind of soap you are using, as well as why you are using soap at all?  First I've seen of this soap idea. I have seen mention of putting peroxide in a soak, but peroxide breaks down into oxygen and water.

 

The typical method I've read about for preparing grain spawn is Soak (overnight) / rinse / simmer (5-10 minutes depending on size of grain) / strain / sterilize (90min @ 15 psi, I personally PC for 120min but my PC only reaches 12psi).

 

If you could point me to the related reading/threads on the subject I would be interested in reading it.

[Mycol]

It’s an acne facial soap . I can’t remember who did it but I’m sure someone will chime in with it, if you read through some of the grain teks it’s in there somewhere . It may or may not help with bacteria but I’m going to use it anyway .

Maybe I’ll give that way a try thanks Auhron. I gotta dial back into my oats, I used to have a lot of luck with them .

[Auhron]

I'll dig around a bit see if I can find more info on it. My main concern would be what all the other ingredients in the soap are. How and if they break down during the sterilization process, and possible effects on the health of the mycelium.

[Mycol]

They just got done from their 90 run at 15 in the pc. I usually leave them in their to cool gradually, I take them off the burner though .

[jrh]

Soap would probably be used as a surfactant... it helps reduce the surface tension of water or some such so the water is "wetter."

 

With oats you want the grain to be thoroughly hydrated on the inside and I prefer mine to be completely or nearly completely dry on the outside. Can you smoosh through the oat with your thumbnail?

 

My oat prep is a thorough rinse and 14 mins in the instant pot.

 

I PC my oats for 2 hrs @ 15 psi.

[Mycol]

Yeah it takes a moderately hard pinch but yes .

Edited by Mycol, 28 March 2021 - 09:20 PM.

[jrh]

Sounds good to me then. :)

[Mycol]

I'll dig around a bit see if I can find more info on it. My main concern would be what all the other ingredients in the soap are. How and if they break down during the sterilization process, and possible effects on the health of the mycelium.

It was by Reverend Trip

[Mycol]

These guys have been in the pc overnight . Looks like the 1 hour dry jars swelled up almost a cups worth . I see some burst kernels in the 1hr dry jars more so than the 2 hour .

Going to give these guys some PE LC 1-2 cc each

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[Mycol]

I wonder how much of a difference there is in moisture levels betweenness jars that cool down in pc versus those that are taken out of the pc shortly after their run is done ?

I let mine stay in overnight usually .

[jrh]

I wouldn't think it would be that much of a difference. The only thing that would be pushing water into or out of the jar is the pressure differential. If you let the PC depressurize slowly, then there's no pressure differential. If you manually depressurize the pc right after your run and open it to remove your jars, then a little bit of humid air would leave the jars, but probably not much.

 

Which means I can just start my jars before I go to bed, and shake them in the morning (mine are still over 180 F in the morning). The only reason to open them sooner is if you wanted to do multiple batches in one day. Unless I'm wrong, of course. :)

 

I'm glad you asked the question.

[Mycol]

Oh no I leave the weight on and let it slowly come down . I do take the pc off the burner Right away though .

[rockyfungus]

I don’t know why I never heard of others doing this.

Drain your grain the best you can... then take an old towel and put the grains in the towel and cover with other half of the towel or another towel.

Move those grains into a thin layer between your towel gently press or move the oats around the towel.

All the water is in the grain none should be on outside