Thursday, 6 May 2010

Own Experimental Work

I have been experimenting with Straining various plants, vegetables, and things which have been traditionally used for dyes. By using muslin, this strains the mixture/dye gradually. This process highligts the theme of time, growth, staining and traditions.
The use of furniture such as tables and chairs has been traditionally used in straining all impurities.
Hanging animals to mature the meat and remove impurities is a technique which reflects the process of straining.
  • process

Hanging

http://honest-food.net/2008/11/27/on-hanging-pheasants/


Hanging

The real purpose of hanging game is to enable the fibres of the flesh to break down and decompose so that the meat will be more tender. It is very difficult to give exact times as it depends entirely on personal taste. Some prefer slightly tougher meat with a fresh taste, while others enjoy very tender meat with a decidedly 'high' smell and flavour. These times therefore are only very approximate, and are for average seasonable temperatures. If the weather is hotter than average, hang for the shortest length of time given, and if colder than usual, for the longest. The older the game, the longer it must hang. Birds are ready for cooking when the tail, inside leg, or breast feathers can be plucked out easily. Game birds are always hung by the neck (although some say you should hang a pheasant by its feet, until the body drops!). Overhung flesh will have blueish patches on it. Game should always be hung in a shaded place in a current of air, well out of the reach of cats, dogs or foxes.

Partridge: 5-12 days
Pheasant: 3 days to 2 weeks
Grouse: 3-10 days
Blackcock: 3-4 days
Ptarmigan: 3-4 days
Capercaillie: Bury it in the ground for a few days, or hang it until it is really tender.
Pigeon: 2-3 days
Quail: Can be eaten straight away, or hung for up to 2 days
Woodcock
And Snipe: Can be eaten straight away, or kept for up to 6 days, but remember that woodcock and snipe are often cooked with the entrails left in them, so They shouldn't be left too long.
Wild Duck
(Mallard, Teal,
Widgeon, etc): can be eaten straight away, or hung up to 2 days. If left any longer the flesh is liable to turn rank.
Wild Goose: 1-2 days
Hare: About 1 week without paunching, a little longer in cold weather. Suspend it by the hind feet with a bucket under the nose to catch the blood, which makes good gravy.
Rabbit: Eat straight away, with no hanging.
Venison: 3 days to 2 weeks. There is a great deal of difference between these times, but apart from taste, it depends on many factors. A young roe deer in perfect condition will only need about 3 days, while a tough old fallow or red deer could need a good 2 weeks to make it tender.
For the average taste, test the hung meat every day by running a skewer into the haunch.So long as the skewer has no unpleasant smell when withdrawn the meat is in good condition, but if it does get rather too "high", wash it in warm water and dry it well before cooking.
If there is no fly-free larder available, rub the carcase with a mixture of flour, powdered ginger, and pepper. The furrow of the backbone should be well dressed with pepper. Wrap the carcase in muslin before hanging in the larder, but inspect it every day and give it a fresh coating of flour and ginger when necessary. Wipe with a cloth to remove any moisture which may have formed.
http://www.thehuntinglife.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=24462
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By looking into the tradition of hanging game and referencing my experiments with this process, it mirrors what I intend to achieve with my muslin experiments. i feel as though the experiments with muslin will gradually mature and dry up in a similar way to the meat when getting more tender as time passes.

Tuesday, 4 May 2010

Wool




'Over the Brae'
I have to travel over the brae to get to the next village. This wool has been caught in the barb wire for a few months now. There is certain seasons when sheep lose their wool both naturally and unnaturally.
The sheep shearing season starts on the 25th of May and finishes at the end of July. Working around Dumfries and Galloway through my work allows me to travel places which I would never usually come across. Each farm marks their sheep to keep track of their livestock, the colours vary from farm to farm.
Markers are also used when the sheep are wounded when being clipped by the shearers, so the farmer can keep track and treat the wound.
The use of marking interests me and I want to explore this further. Each farm has their own and area and use different ways to make this clear.







Traditional Scottish Dyes



Colours- Which Plants to collect (page 17-18)

The chart below gives all the plants that produce a particular
colour. the colour which is required will depend on the time of
year and the plant's avaliability. The plants in itallics are the
easiest to find and the most practical to use.

Yellow
  • Adler
  • Ash
  • Bearberry
  • Birch
  • Bog Myrtle
  • Broom
  • Corn Marigold
  • Cow Parsley
  • Crab Apple
  • Crottle Evernia Prunastri
  • Dock
  • Elder
  • Heather
  • Knapweed
  • Marsh Marigold
  • Marsh Woundwort
  • Meadow sweet
  • Nettles
  • Polyganum Hyropiper
  • Polyganum Persicaria
  • Poplar
  • Ragwort
  • Whin
  • Weld
  • Yarrow
Green
  • Birch
  • Blaeberry
  • Bog Myrtle
  • Bracken
  • Bog Bean
  • Broom
  • Coltsfoot
  • Cow parsley
  • Elder
  • Heather
  • Ivy
  • Knapweed
  • Nettles
  • Onion Skins
  • Privet
  • Ragwort
  • Reed
  • Rush
  • Thistle
  • Whin
  • Weld
Brown
  • Blaeberry
  • Crottle
  • Black Crottle
  • Red Current
  • Dulse
  • Heather
  • Juniper
  • Knapweed
  • Oak
  • Peat Soot
  • Popular
  • Ragwort
  • Reindeer Moss
  • Sea Ivory
  • Sorrel
  • Tansy
Purple
  • Birch Bark
  • Blaeberry
  • Bramble
  • Cudbear
  • Crottle Xanthia Parientina
Black
  • Dock
  • Dog Rose
  • Hawthorn Meadow Sweet
  • Popular
  • Water Lily Roots
  • Willow
Red
  • Black Thorn Bark
  • Bramble
  • Cudbear
  • Lady's Bedstraw
  • St. John's Wort
  • Tormentil
Orange
  • Barberry
  • Bog Myrtle
  • Onion Skins
  • Hether
Pink
  • Bramble
  • Lady's Bedstraw
  • Crottle Xanthia Parientina
  • Willow
Grey/Blue/Violet
  • Blackthorn
  • Blaeberry
  • Bramble
  • Cudbear
  • Crottle Xanthia Parientina
  • Elder
  • Elecampane
  • Iris

Monday, 3 May 2010

Modern Terra - Glasgow International

29/04/10
Modern Terra
Alexis Dirks, Allison Gibbs & Christian Newby

Sunday, 2 May 2010

Jacueline Donachie - Glasgow International


(29/04/10)
Bellahouston Park

Glue Factory - Glasgow International


(29/04/10)
Kiss Of Life - Finn Collective
Glue Factory