First of all I would like to thank everybody here at the
Shroomery. Without you all I would have had to do a lot of trial and error,
and probably still be at ground zero. Next, the reason I did this was because
a friend of mine wanted to know how to use popcorn so I put this together for
him, he used it and said it was really easy to follow and the pictures were
great, so I figured I would share with everybody else incase it was needed.
This is also why I only made 3 jars instead of my usual 7. And finally, I do
not claim that I figured out to use popcorn as a substrate. I’m not sure who
did really, I simply took the basics of using popcorn from a thread I found
here on the Shroomery and explained it in my own words and with pictures. If
you see anything that you have found to be better let me know, I like new ideas
and methods of trying stuff, and hopefully this will turn into a well rounded
tek. If you do know who came up with this method let me know so they can get
credit. Hope you all enjoy.
The first thing you need to do is find some popcorn. I use white popcorn, but
I’m sure yellow would work fine. As you can see from the photo I got mine from
Albertson’s. Popcorn there is only $1.49 for a 2lb bag. That’s about $0.047/oz.
One 2lb bag fills about 3 Quart sized jars.
Next pour the desired amount of popcorn in a pot (if you want 6-7 quart sized
jars use two bags (64oz). You will probably want to use a large pot if you are
going to make more then one bag.
Add water to the pot. Make sure that the water is at least an inch or two above
the popcorn. Some of the popcorn will probably float, so just push it down into
the water and it should sink. Let it soak for 24 hours.
After 24 hours add more water to the pot if needed. Bring to a light boil and
immediately turn down to a simmer.
Simmer for 45 – 60 min stirring occasionally (about every 5-10 min, otherwise
you might get burnt kernels on the bottom)
After the time is up, pour the popcorn into a strainer/colander and rinse with
cold water (I’m not sure if the rinsing is really necessary, but I still do
it).Shake the strainer/colander around a bit to rinse all the kernels. Turn
off the water and keep shaking until there’s only a few drips coming out.
This part is pretty important because you already have the right moisture content
in the popcorn by soaking and simmering, so you don’t need any more water. You
need to
Let the popcorn drain a MINIMUM of 30 min.
(*Note – If you want to now you can prepare your pressure cooker so that it
will be ready by the time you need to put the jars into it. I always put the
water in and heat it up so its ready for the jars and my pressure can immediately
start raising. If you put your jars in before it hot enough, you might loose
some moisture content in the popcorn because it will be cooking longer.)
After about 10 – 15 min, shake the strainer/colander to distribute the kernels
so that they can dry evenly.
Load popcorn from the strainer/colander into jars about ¾ full. I use quart
mason jars, but you can probably use something smaller if you needed to because
of your pressure cooker size.
Place a filter disc on top of the jars and put the metal band on. You can also
use lids with polyfil. I’ve never tried it with the lids that came with the
jars, it would probably work, it would just colonize slower due to no air exchange.
Then place a double layer of tinfoil on top of that.
OPTIONAL: If you add a little bit of white vinegar to the water in the pressure
cooker, the water wont leave a residue on the jars.
Caution: Please follow all directions that came with your pressure cooker.
Be very careful, serious injuries can occur if the directions are not followed
correctly.
Place the jars into the pressure cooker and cook for 1 hour @ 15lb. Start timing
when the pressure reaches 15lb.
W ait about 15-20 min just to make sure that all the pressure has been released
and to let the jars cool a little bit. The bigger the pressure cooker and the
more jars you have in it, the longer it will take.
After the 20 minutes open/remove the valve to make sure
that there isn´t any pressure remaining in the pressure cooker.
Take the jars out of the pressure cooker with a clean rag or oven mitt, they
are still VERY hot, and give them a good shake to distribute all the kernels.
Now you can either place back into the pressure cooker, the oven, or the counter
to cool completely. I usually just leave them on the counter with a rag or towel
underneath (you don’t want to burn the countertop).
After a few hours the jars should be cool to the touch and you can inoculate
with any method. I usually do an agar transfer into the jars.
And finally incubate @ 80-85 degrees until you start seeing mycelium growth.
Give the jars a good shake every 5-7 days so they colonize faster.
After the jars a fully colonized case as usual. Good luck.
by Deviant
