anybody help!
Ive recently read that any blueing is bruising and results in lose of potency..
I normally cut up my shroombuddies to increase fan drying time
(bruising occures, but drying time is usually 24 hours)
Is it more proficient (competent) to cut and have drying last a shorter period, or having drying last longer to withhold better potency? or is it the same in the long run?
seriously, i just picked a flush, and im really second guessing myself as to what to do here
Drying Question: Cut or dont cut ?
Started By
Guest_DaGoon_*
, Jan 03 2007 03:43 AM
13 replies to this topic
#2
akoutdoors
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Mycotopiate
Posted 03 January 2007 - 03:56 AM
Why do they need to dry so fast? I just place mine in an empty clean pizza box.
I keep the lid cracked for the first day flip them so they dont stick to the bottom, then I place the box in front of a fan for 2 days. They are cracker dry after 1 more day of just sitting and almost zero bruising.
I keep the lid cracked for the first day flip them so they dont stick to the bottom, then I place the box in front of a fan for 2 days. They are cracker dry after 1 more day of just sitting and almost zero bruising.
#3
Guest_DaGoon_*
Guest_DaGoon_*
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Posted 03 January 2007 - 04:02 AM
hm cool, i guess your right.. im just wondering which way preserves better.. I assume, the faster they dry, the more potent they are (im not very good at bioassaying) .. but if cutting them up CAN KILL the potency.. i dunno.. im just wondering if anyone knows which is more professional, as opposed to more aesthetic..
Also, im trying to get out of cutting up 5 zz's
Also, im trying to get out of cutting up 5 zz's
#4
fastfred
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Posted 03 January 2007 - 04:14 AM
It's definately more professional to leave them whole. It results in a nicer looking product.
As far as potency is concerned it's certainly better to leave them whole. If you cut them you'll end up with a quite blue product. All that blue is oxidized (destroyed) psilocin. Any cellular damage releases phosphatase enzymes which rapidly dephosphorylate the psilocybin into psilocin which then oxidizes to a blue product (psilocybeen).
Only cut them up if they are really big or you're really having a hard time drying them due to high humidity.
-FF
As far as potency is concerned it's certainly better to leave them whole. If you cut them you'll end up with a quite blue product. All that blue is oxidized (destroyed) psilocin. Any cellular damage releases phosphatase enzymes which rapidly dephosphorylate the psilocybin into psilocin which then oxidizes to a blue product (psilocybeen).
Only cut them up if they are really big or you're really having a hard time drying them due to high humidity.
-FF
#5
Guest_DaGoon_*
Guest_DaGoon_*
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Posted 03 January 2007 - 04:23 AM
great thanks!
the crop is quite varied from 6 inchers to skinny 2 inchers.. this batch has got like a zillion in between.. i only cut up the 3 biggest ones.. everything else just seems to be able to dry out about the same time.. ill give it 8 hours.. then ill clean off the dryed up case material and giver her a good lookin over..
Goes to show, just because you can produce alot of them, doesnt mean you know alot about them
the crop is quite varied from 6 inchers to skinny 2 inchers.. this batch has got like a zillion in between.. i only cut up the 3 biggest ones.. everything else just seems to be able to dry out about the same time.. ill give it 8 hours.. then ill clean off the dryed up case material and giver her a good lookin over..
Goes to show, just because you can produce alot of them, doesnt mean you know alot about them
#6
panaeolus
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Mycophiliac
Posted 03 January 2007 - 06:04 AM
if u care
i use a chamber ,a glasss and a heater
put the heater in the chamber then the glass and spread mushes abobe
cool way drying
if u want u can keep em fresh in zip log bugs and remove the air with a vacum
i use a chamber ,a glasss and a heater
put the heater in the chamber then the glass and spread mushes abobe
cool way drying
if u want u can keep em fresh in zip log bugs and remove the air with a vacum
#7
Mindzpore
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Mycophiliac
Posted 03 January 2007 - 07:04 AM
Back when i used to grow, i always cut them in half (lengthwise) before drying. sometimes i also removed caps from stems. never had any problems with low potency nor excessive blueing.
But then i dried my shrooms inside a refridgerator, in a dual chamber drying box (one chamber for racks with shrooms, one chamber for dehydrant bags, and a fan exchanging the air between the chambers). they went cracker dry in about a day. if you are interested ill make and post a picture of how to make one.
cutting really speeds the drying. and imho the hot-drying methods kills more actives than the cutting.
But then i dried my shrooms inside a refridgerator, in a dual chamber drying box (one chamber for racks with shrooms, one chamber for dehydrant bags, and a fan exchanging the air between the chambers). they went cracker dry in about a day. if you are interested ill make and post a picture of how to make one.
cutting really speeds the drying. and imho the hot-drying methods kills more actives than the cutting.
#8
malefacter
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Posted 03 January 2007 - 07:48 AM
heat is always bad cutting is never needed unless you have some monster with humidity over 40% then id move the fan into a decasent box.
maybe with a monster you might want to split it
as long as you get it dry before it rots or molds your good
maybe with a monster you might want to split it
as long as you get it dry before it rots or molds your good
#9
Guest_greysRDbest_*
Guest_greysRDbest_*
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Posted 03 January 2007 - 08:09 AM
obviously ive never dried actives but i dry well over 250 lbs of edibles each year. personally i really prefer my AH dehydrator. its a 12 racker which dries about 5 lbs wet blewits etc. I have an old proofing rack i got from a bakery that has a plastic shroud you can zip onto it...i just lay a box fan under it and run a ceramic heater near the fan in the garage if the weather is damp or cold out. i can dry about 15 lbs wet this way. Alot of my friends who dont hunt as much as i do just lay a box fan down with an old window screen about an inch above it. there are tons of ways to dry mushrooms, be creative and cautious...make sure theyre dry and use a dessicant in the storage container. If faster is better to preserve the chemicals in cubensis... i recommend either the box fan method or buying a decent dehydrator from the store. I have had my AH for 10 years at least ( its an original AH...the company was bought out by nesco 8-9 yrs ago) it has variable settings for heat and airflow....stackable up to 2 racks high and will dry some pretty wet mushrooms in less than 24 hours....so dry you could make a fire with them.in the fall it sometimes runs non stop basically for 3 weeks. it sucks to have to buy a dehydrator but in my opinion anything that you labor over this much deserves to be dried correctly. thats the reason i bought the thing in the first place.....i had a few jars of dried morels go moldy on me.
#10
TVCasualty
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Embrace Your Damage
Posted 03 January 2007 - 08:34 AM
I say never, ever cut. To reduce drying time, tear them, don't cut. Mycelium is robust stuff, and will separate as whole cells if torn. When cut, cells are broken and exposed to much more oxygen than if intact (bruises far less). When I get some monster fatass, I split the stem up to the cap. When dry, you sometimes can't even tell it was split.
akoutdoors: I hear the air up there is very dry... a pizza box down where I'm at would leave me with a moldy mess. It sometimes takes mine 4-5 days to dry even when there's a fan on them and a dehumidifier in the room set to minimum.
And for those who use refrigerators (I am one) or are thinking about it, be careful about frost damage. Fresh ones put right in the fridge can turn dark, esp. the caps, and can look real ugly. It happens when the fridge's temp is set too low and/or the mushies are too wet. Covering them with a paper towel helps, just in case. So does fan-drying for an hour or two before refrigerating.
akoutdoors: I hear the air up there is very dry... a pizza box down where I'm at would leave me with a moldy mess. It sometimes takes mine 4-5 days to dry even when there's a fan on them and a dehumidifier in the room set to minimum.
And for those who use refrigerators (I am one) or are thinking about it, be careful about frost damage. Fresh ones put right in the fridge can turn dark, esp. the caps, and can look real ugly. It happens when the fridge's temp is set too low and/or the mushies are too wet. Covering them with a paper towel helps, just in case. So does fan-drying for an hour or two before refrigerating.
#11
Guest_DaGoon_*
Guest_DaGoon_*
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Posted 03 January 2007 - 06:01 PM
Awesome, thanks guys..decided not to cut them. yeah they really arent super monsters, but it is going to take about 3-4 days to have the bigger ones cracker dry, but i really dont think thats long enough to waste any potency. And i just recently started cutting all my fruits (regardless of size) so i guess ill tear, if i do anything, from now on
Cant bring myself to work with heat, im sure i'd fumble something up that way
im DEFINATELY looking for a dehydrator, i just havent had any hit me in the face while ive been out shopping, and i dont really order online, you know anywhere i could go to pick one up?
And whats this about baking rakes and the shrowd? thats a good idea, i used to work in a bakery and i never thought of that, thats an excellent way to kinda air tight the drying space
Cant bring myself to work with heat, im sure i'd fumble something up that way
im DEFINATELY looking for a dehydrator, i just havent had any hit me in the face while ive been out shopping, and i dont really order online, you know anywhere i could go to pick one up?
And whats this about baking rakes and the shrowd? thats a good idea, i used to work in a bakery and i never thought of that, thats an excellent way to kinda air tight the drying space
#12
Guest_greysRDbest_*
Guest_greysRDbest_*
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Posted 03 January 2007 - 08:12 PM
i dont know if you used them but full sheet pans with the perforations all over them? they of course are designed to work with the proofing rack....the shroud is more like a chimney. put a fan on the floor facing up underneath and point a small ceramic heater at the fan....the heater makes sure the fan is blowing slightly warm very dry air up the shroud.....a hole in the top of the shoud lets the moist air out. ive dried morels and blewits and chantrelles in 15-18 lb batches to cracker dry in under 24 hours. the blewits in fact only took 8. Dagoon if you want to get a good dehydrator that wont let you down, a nesco american harvester is the best. a snackmaster pro has 4 racks and will dry around 3 -5 lbs wet depending on the mushroom, in 12-18 hours usually. you can add racks anytime and it has a variable control heat mechanism which you can shut off entirely. when i dry edibles i usually start at very low heat for the first 4 hours and then begin stepping it up from there.
#13
wtoad
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Mycophiliac
Posted 03 January 2007 - 10:22 PM
If you have a bit of free time you can make a damn decent dryer with a little aluminum window screen, a damp rid container, a rubbermaid container, some 3/4" PVC pipe, a bit of light diffuser, a 12 volt 600mlAmp power supply, and a computer case fan.
Damp Rid and container -> publix
rubbermaid container -> target
aluminum screen, light diffuser, PVC pipe -> lowes
12 volt 600mlAmp power supply -> ebay (or me I have a bunch - ask and I'll ship you one)
computer case fan -> ebay
Below is what I use, assembled. Drying time for bigguns is at most two days. No need to split or cut. Shrooms stay separate from the damprid, so no foul taste. I've put a good pound in mine with good results in two days - just need to refill the damprid.
Construction is simple enough. I place the fan on the bottom most shelf of the light diffuser for good air circulation.
If you need details, pm or request it and I'll get more descriptive.
Damp Rid and container -> publix
rubbermaid container -> target
aluminum screen, light diffuser, PVC pipe -> lowes
12 volt 600mlAmp power supply -> ebay (or me I have a bunch - ask and I'll ship you one)
computer case fan -> ebay
Below is what I use, assembled. Drying time for bigguns is at most two days. No need to split or cut. Shrooms stay separate from the damprid, so no foul taste. I've put a good pound in mine with good results in two days - just need to refill the damprid.
Construction is simple enough. I place the fan on the bottom most shelf of the light diffuser for good air circulation.
If you need details, pm or request it and I'll get more descriptive.
Attached Thumbnails
#14
malefacter
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:P
Posted 04 January 2007 - 12:04 AM
i have a setup kinda like that but i have found that unless your room air is more than30~40% humidity your better faining them out of the box and then finish them in the box.
try testing the humidity in your box when loaded
try testing the humidity in your box when loaded
