RACCOON BUSHCRAFT
Bushcraft, Hunting, Fishing, Cooking & [SHTF] Survival
BASE CAMP AND TRAIL FOODS
Corvus
Corvus is a widely distributed genus of birds in the family Corvidae. Ranging in size from the relatively small pigeon-sized jackdaws (Eurasian and Daurian) to the common raven of the Holarctic region and thick-billed raven of the highlands of Ethiopia, the 40 or so members of this genus occur on all temperate continents except South America, and several islands. In Europe, the word "crow" is used to refer to the carrion crow or the hooded crow, while in North America, it is used for the American crow or the northwestern crow.
The crow genus makes up a third of the species in the Corvidae family. The members appear to have evolved in Asia from the corvid stock, which had evolved in Australia. The collective name for a group of crows is a 'flock' or a 'murder'.
Recent research has found some crow species capable of not only tool use, but also tool construction. Crows are now considered to be among the world's most intelligent animals with an encephalization quotientapproaching that of some apes.
In medieval times, crow were thought to live abnormally long lives. They were also thought to be monogamous throughout their long lives. They were thought to predict the future, to predict rain and reveal ambushes. Crows were also thought to lead flocks of storks while they crossed the sea to Asia.
Columbidae
Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae that includes about 310 species.
Pigeons are stout-bodied birds with short necks, and short, slender bills with fleshy ceres. They feed on seeds, fruits, and plants. This family occurs worldwide, but the greatest variety is in the Indomalaya and Australasia ecozones.
In general, the terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably. Pigeon is a French word that derives from the Latin pipio, for a "peeping" chick,[1] while dove is a Germanic word that refers to the bird's diving flight.[2] In ornithological practice, "dove" tends to be used for smaller species and "pigeon" for larger ones, but this is in no way consistently applied, and historically, the common names for these birds involve a great deal of variation between the terms. The species most commonly referred to as "pigeon" is the feral rock pigeon, common in many cities.
Doves and pigeons build relatively flimsy nests – often using sticks and other debris – which may be placed in trees, on ledges, or on the ground, depending on species. They lay one or two eggs at a time, and both parents care for the young, which leave the nest after seven to 28 days.[3] Unlike most birds, both sexes of doves and pigeons produce "crop milk" to feed to their young, secreted by a sloughing of fluid-filled cells from the lining of thecrop. Young doves and pigeons are called "squabs".
FOUL FEATHERED TRAIL FOOD
Wild Turkey
The wild turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) is native to North America and is the heaviest member of the diverse Galliformes. It is the same species as the domestic turkey, which was originally derived from a southern Mexicansubspecies of wild turkey (not the related ocellated turkey). Although native to North America, the turkey probably got its name from the domesticated variety being imported to Britain in ships coming from the Levant via Spain. The British at the time therefore associated the wild turkey with the country Turkey and the name prevails.
Adult wild turkeys have long reddish-yellow to grayish-green legs. The body feathers are generally blackish and dark brown overall with a coppery sheen that becomes more complex in adult males. Adult males, called toms or gobblers, have a large, featherless, reddish head, red throat, and red wattles on the throat and neck. The head has fleshy growths called caruncles. Juvenile males are called jakes; the difference between an adult male and a juvenile is that the jake has a very short beard and his tail fan has longer feathers in the middle. The adult male's tail fan feathers will be all the same length.[5] When males are excited, a fleshy flap on the bill expands, and this, the wattles and the bare skin of the head and neck all become engorged with blood, almost concealing the eyes and bill. The long fleshy object over a male's beak is called a snood. When a male turkey is excited, its head turns blue or white when it is most excited; when ready to fight, it turns red. Each foot has three toes in front, with a shorter, rear-facing toe in back; males have a spur behind each of their lower legs.[6]
Male turkeys have a long, dark, fan-shaped tail and glossy bronze wings. As with many other species of the Galliformes, turkeys exhibit strong sexual dimorphism. The male is substantially larger than the female, and his feathers have areas of red, purple, green, copper, bronze, and gold iridescence. Females, called hens, have feathers that are duller overall, in shades of brown and gray.
Duck
Duck is the common name for a large number of species in the Anatidae family of birds which also includes swans and geese. The ducks are divided among several subfamilies in the Anatidae family; they do not represent amonophyletic group (the group of all descendants of a single common ancestral species) but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered ducks. Ducks are mostly aquatic birds, mostly smaller than the swans and geese, and may be found in both fresh water and sea water.
Ducks are sometimes confused with several types of unrelated water birds with similar forms, such as loons or divers, grebes, gallinules, and coots.
Canada Goose
The Canada goose (Branta canadensis) is a large wild goose species with a black head and neck, white patches on the face, and a brown body. Native to arctic and temperate regions of North America, its migration occasionally reaches northern Europe. It has been introduced to Britain, New Zealand, Argentina, Chile, and the Falkland Islands Like most geese, the Canada goose is primarily herbivorous and normally migratory; it tends to be found on or close to fresh water.
Extremely successful at living in human-altered areas, Canada geese have proven able to establish breeding colonies in urban and cultivated areas, which provide food and few natural predators, and are well known as a common park species. Their success has led to them sometimes being considered a pest species because of their depredation of crops and issues with their noise, droppings, aggressive territorial behavior, and habit ofbegging for food, especially in their introduced range. Canada geese are also among the most commonly hunted waterfowl in North America.
Hand Made Pemmican
Pemmican is a concentrated mixture of fat and protein used as a nutritious food. The word comes from the Cree word pimîhkân, which itself is derived from the word pimî, "fat, grease" It was invented by the native peoples of North America. It was widely adopted as a high-energy food by Europeans involved in the fur trade and later by Arctic and Antarctic explorers, such as Robert Falcon Scott and Roald Amundsen.
The specific ingredients used were usually whatever was available; the meat was often bison, moose, elk, or deer. Fruits such as cranberries and saskatoon berries were sometimes added. Cherries, currants, chokeberriesand blueberries were also used, but almost exclusively in ceremonial and wedding pemmican.
Hand Made Farmer's Cheese
In the United States, farmer cheese (also farmer's cheese or farmers' cheese) is pressed cottage cheese, an unripened cheese made by addingrennet and bacterial starter to coagulate and acidify milk. Farmer cheese may be made from the milk of cows, sheep or goats, with each giving its own texture and flavor.
Hand Made Hardtack
Hardtack is a very hard flat cracker, that was often eaten by soldiers during the Civil War and sailors during sea journeys. Usually infested by weevils, larva, and grubs, the soldiers invented many ways to ingest these "edible rocks". Fortunately, that's probably not something you have to worry about. If kept dry, these crackers can and will last easily over 50 years. If you intend on going on a long backpacking trip, make a dozen or so, and take them with you. These will help keep your energy up for the length of the trip.
How To Make Indian Bannock
I’ve been reading a bunch of frontier history books lately, including Hampton Sides excellent Kit Carson overview, "Blood and Thunder." I’m always interested in what kind of vittles frontiersmen and explorers subsisted on as they pushed across the West. Certainly wild game made up an important part of their diet, but hardtack and bannock were also among the rations. While hardtack, a simple cracker made from flour, salt, and water, was much reviled, bannock bread was a welcome meal, and an easy one to prepare as long as some type of leavener was available. (Traditional bannock was often made without a leavening agent, but adding baking powder, buttermilk, or a sourdough starter made for a lighter, better tasting product).
HANDMADE CREATIONS GUIDE
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History
Humans have used chili peppers and other hot spices for thousands of years. Inhabitants of Mexico, Central America and South America had chili peppers more than 6,000 years ago. Within decades of contact with Spain and Portugal in the 16th century, the American plant was carried across Europe and into Africa and Asia, and altered through selective breeding. One of the first commercially available bottled hot sauces appeared in 1807 inMassachusetts. However, of the early brands in the 1800s, few survive to this day. Tabasco sauce is the earliest recognizable brand in the hot sauce industry, appearing in 1868 and becoming synonymous with the term hot sauce. As of 2010, it was the number 13 best-selling condiment in the United States preceded by Frank's RedHot Sauce in number 12 place, which was the sauce first invented and used with the creation of Buffalo Wings.
Ingredients
There are many recipes for hot sauces but the only common ingredient is any kind of chili pepper. A group of chemicals called capsaicinoids are responsible for the heat in chili peppers. Many hot sauces are made by using chili peppers as the base and can be as simple as adding salt and vinegar while other sauces use some type of fruits or vegetables as the base and add the chili peppers to make them hot. Manufacturers use many different processes from aging in containers, to pureeing and cooking the ingredients to achieve a desired flavor. Because of their ratings on the Scoville scale, Ghost pepper and Habanero peppers are used to make the hotter sauces but additional ingredients are used to add extra heat, such as pure capsaicinextract and mustard oil. Other common ingredients include vinegar and spices. Vinegar is used primarily as a natural preservative, but flavored vinegars can be used to attain a different taste.
How To Make Your Own Hot Sauce
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Mead is super easy to make.
And turns out GREAT!! (most of the time)
Depending on your Recipe. It can Take as little as a month, years, or even up to a life time for it to ferment.
The recipe I will post first is great for is GREAT for first starting out. And only takes a Month or so to ferment.
Also Mead is one cheep and easy ways to gift for the holidays.
If you have ever wanted to start to brew. This is something easy and fast to try, just don't hesitate, you only live once.
How to make Mead (Honey Wine)
PINE NEEDLE TEA
You may not realize that Pine Needle Tea contains 4-5 times the Vitamin C of fresh-squeezed orange juice, and is high in Vitamin A. It is also an expectorant (thins mucus secretions), decongestant, and can be used as an antiseptic wash when cooled. So not only does it taste good, but it's good for you!
Each varietal of pine has it's own flavor to impart, so experiment and see which needles you like best. And feel free to mix and match! My personal favorite is a combination of 1 part white pine with 2 parts pitch, where Julie prefers straight balsam.
Medicinal Uses of Tinder Fungus (Chaga)
Rather than soft like a mushroom, chaga is hard, almost as hard as wood. It is unique, nothing like common mushrooms. In fact, chaga is the most nutritionally dense of all tree growths. Known by the Siberians as the “Gift from God” and the “Mushroom of Immortality,” this vibrant growth has been used by humans to support health for thousands of years. The Japanese call it “The Diamond of the Forest,” while the Chinese deem it “King of Plants.” For the Chinese that is saying a lot, since they have an immense history with countless plants. Now, you can get the great powerful secret of the Orient through North American Herb & Spice’s wild chaga supplements. Despite this exceptional status, most Americans are unaware of it.
To survive in harsh climates, chaga concentrates natural compounds for its protection, and that is why it is so powerful. To strengthen the tree, as well as heal, it makes potent phytochemicals, including sterols, phenols, and enzymes. Researchers have inoculated sick trees with chaga to strengthen them. People benefit by consuming these forest-source phytochemicals and nutrients.
Inonotus obliquus
Fresh Sugarcane Sticks
Sugarcane, or sugar cane, is one of the several species of tall perennial true grasses of the genus Saccharum, tribe Andropogoneae, native to the warm temperate to tropical regions of South Asia, and used for sugarproduction. It has stout jointed fibrous stalks that are rich in the sugar sucrose, which accumulates in the stalk internodes. The plant is two to six metres (6 to 19 feet) tall. All sugar cane species interbreed and the major commercial cultivars are complex hybrids. Sugarcane belongs to the grass family Poaceae, an economically important seed plant family that includes maize, wheat, rice, and sorghum and many forage crops.
Sucrose, extracted and purified in specialized mill factories, is used as raw material in human food industries or is fermented to produce ethanol. Ethanol is produced on a large scale by the Brazilian sugarcane industry. Sugarcane is the world's largest crop by production quantity. In 2012, The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates it was cultivated on about 26.0 million hectares, in more than 90 countries, with a worldwide harvest of 1.83 billion tons. Brazil was the largest producer of sugar cane in the world. The next five major producers, in decreasing amounts of production, were India, China, Thailand, Pakistan and Mexico.
Sugar cane juicer machine mill extractor press stanless steel gears manual power
All-stainless steel shell, beautiful appearance
Rollers made of stainless steel processing, head parts have been strict imitation rust corrosion treatment to ensure compliance with international health standards juice
Technical Datas Housing: stainless steel 430
The rollers : stainless steel 304
The base: cast iron with painting Handle wheel: cast iron with painting All parts touched with the food is stainless steel
The thickness of the rollers is 5mm
Roller width: 108mm
Roll diameter: F75mm
The weight of the machine: 31KG
The size of the machine:460*350*405mm
Capacity:50kg/hour
Gutting, Skinning and Preparing a Rabbit
The Survival Channel
Cooking rabbit over the fire
HIBISCUS TEA
Hibiscus (/hɨˈbɪskəs/ or /haɪˈbɪskəs/) is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species are often noted for their showy flowers and are commonly known simply as hibiscus, or less widely known as rose mallow. The genus includes both annual and perennial herbaceous plants, as well as woody shrubs and small trees. The generic name is derived from the Greek word ἱβίσκος (hibískos), which was the name Pedanius Dioscorides (ca. 40–90) gave to Althaea officinalis.
WHITE CEDAR TEA
Northern White Cedar (Thuja occidentalis): The Tree of Life
Other Names: Arborvitae, Eastern White Cedar
Wetland Indicator Status: FACW
Every plant book begins by telling you that this really isn’t a true cedar like those of Lebanon, it is closely related to cypress. I feel better now that’s out of the way, but the next thing they’ll mention is the plant is sometimes called Arborvitae, which means “tree of life.” It is believed to be given this name because a tea brewed from its leaves contains vitamin C and can prevent and cure scurvy. White cedar, most often under the name Arborvitae, can be found in all shapes and sizes at garden centers. In many areas of Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Michigan, Northern White Cedar is found growing along rivers and lake shores, and also forming dense stands in cedar swamps.
Wild Teas & Drinks for Survival
Provide Energy, Medicinal & Nutritional
WAX MYRTLE TEA
Wax Myrtle was the Indians’ minimart of the forest.
Need some spice? Drop by the Wax Myrtle tree. How about a little something for the peace pipe? Drop by the Wax Myrtle tree. Are the mosquitoes bothering you? Drop by the Wax Myrtle tree. Want to see a Tachycineta bicolor? Drop by the Wax Myrtle. Tree Swallows in winter love it, eating the berries in a whirlwind. If you’re a birder other winged-ones that like the high-energy berries include the Bobwhite, Wild Turkey, Wablers, Vireos, Kinglets and the tiny Carolina Wren, which is more tail than bird.
Native Indians used the leaves for seasoning as we would a bay leaf. The berries were used for seasoning as well but sparingly as they are waxy. Grind them and use like pepper. Though used as a seasoning, that was not the wax myrtle’s main value: The berries when boiled yield a wax that is excellent for making candles. Indeed, that is reflected in the tree’s name Myrica cerifera, MEER-ih-kuh ser-IF-er-uh.
Cattails – A Survival Dinner
Cattails: Swamp Supermarket
The United States almost won WWII with cattails.
No green plant produces more edible starch per acre than the Cat O’ Nine Tails; not potatoes, rice, taros or yams. Plans were underway to feed American soldiers with that starch when WWII stopped. Lichen, not a green plant, might produce more carbs per acre. One acre of cattails can produce 6,475 pounds of flour per year on average (Harrington 1972).
It is said that if a lost person has found cattails, they have four of the five things they need to survive: Water, food, shelter and a source of fuel for heat—the dry old stalks. The one item missing is companionship. Of course, the other thing to point out is that no matter where the water flows, down stream is civilization in North, Central and South America. Remember that when you are lost in the Americas. This does not hold true in Africa or Siberia. Many rivers in Africa are largest near their source then dry up as the water is used or evaporates. In Siberia rivers flow north towards the uninhabited arctic.
Wild Edible Plants in your Backyard!
Provide Energy, Medicinal & Nutritional
Collecting Wild Edible Mushrooms
Provide Energy, Medicinal & Nutritional
WILD THISTLE, MILK THISTLE
For over 2,000 years people around the world have enjoyed milk thistle in their diet. Just about all parts of the plant have been used as food with no reports of toxicity. Although it can be used as food, milk thistle is better known as having medicinal benefits. It is a great tonic, increases appetite and aids in digestion. It is used by many people, including those who were addicted to alcohol to cleanse the liver. Milk thistle is used internally in the treatment of liver and gall bladder diseases, jaundice, cirrhosis, hepatitis and poisoning (including mushroom poisoning).
Distinguishing Features: Milk thistle is a stout, biennial or annual plant that grows up to one metre tall and has a branched, stem. This wild edible takes two years to complete the growing cycle. It is best known as having a unique shaped flower and leaves that are somewhat prickly to the touch if not careful. Each milk thistle flower can produce almost 200 seeds, with an average of 6,350 seeds per plant per year.
Bush Smoke - White Clover
Hibiscus (/hɨˈbɪskəs/ or /haɪˈbɪskəs/) is a genus of flowering plants in the mallow family, Malvaceae. It is quite large, containing several hundred species that are native to warm-temperate, subtropical and tropical regions throughout the world. Member species are often noted for their showy flowers and are commonly known simply as hibiscus, or less widely known as rose mallow. The genus includes both annual and perennial herbaceous plants, as well as woody shrubs and small trees. The generic name is derived from the Greek word ἱβίσκος (hibískos), which was the name Pedanius Dioscorides (ca. 40–90) gave to Althaea officinalis.
Sage
The soft, yet sweet savory flavor of sage along with its wonderful health-promoting properties is held in such high esteem that the International Herb Association awarded sage the title of "Herb of the Year" in 2001! Fresh, dried whole or powdered, sage is available throughout the year.
Sage leaves are grayish green in color with a silvery bloom covering. They are lance-shaped and feature prominent veins running throughout. Sage has been held in high regard throughout history both for it culinary and medicinal properties. Its reputation as a panacea is even represented in its scientific name, Salvia officinalis, derived from the Latin word, salvere, which means "to be saved."
Burdock
Burdock root is a underground tuber of greater burdock plant that found its use as a vegetable and medicinal herb. The plant burdock is a short biennial which believed to be native to Northern Europe and Siberia. In Japan, popular asgobo, it has been cultivated at larger scale as a major root herb since earlier times. In the nature, however, burdock sighted as a wild, easy-growing, hardy plant existing in almost any parts of the planet.
Botanically, burdock belongs to the family of Asteraceae; in the genus of Arctium, and known scientifically as Arctium lappa.
Greater burdock plant grows to about a meter in height. Its broad, heart-shaped, coarse leaves feature deep-green on the top and light green on underside, similar to that of in rhubarb. In the summer, its thick hairy stems of about 5 feet in length bear reddish purple tubular flowers, which subsequently develop into seed-heads or burrs with hooked spines. Close to its harvesting time, a deep taproot grows to a size measuring about 2-3 feet in length. It features slender browinsh root, similar in shape like that of carrot or parsnip.
Of the four species of Arctium, only greater burdock (A. lappa) and lesser burdock (A. minus) are cultivated for their herbal parts. In general, its roots are unearthed in the fall, slow-dried and stored for use during the winter. The burdock root has a flavor that closely resembles sweet taste of jerusalem artichokes or parsnips, and features crispy texture with gummy consistency.
Almost all the parts of the plant are being used either meant for culinary purpose or as a curative remedy for certain medical conditions.
Dandelions
Dandelions are often considered a pesky weed in Canada and the U.S. yet European and Asian nations have greatly benefited for years from the incredible nutritional value that this weed contains. Dandelions are a rich source of vitamins, minerals and it even has antioxidants. For example, one cup of raw dandelion greens contains 112% of your daily required intake of vitamin A and 535% of vitamin K. The common yellow dandelion has a long list of powerful healing abilities as well as other health benefits. Contrary to popular belief, the dandelion is a beneficial plant to have. It’s a great companion plant for gardening because it’s long taproot brings up nutrients to the shallow-rooting plants in the garden adding minerals and nitrogen to the soil. Dandelions attract pollinating insects which helps fruits to ripen.
Distinguishing Features: The dandelion is a readily identifiable, hardy, perennial weed. It has a rosette base producing several flowering stems and multiple leaves.
Leaves: Dandelions have a toothy, deeply-notched, basal leaves that are hairless. They are 5 to 25 cm or longer and they form a rosette above the central taproot.
Height: Depending on several conditions, dandelions can grow as high as 25-30 cm.
Habitat: Dandelions are the most common broadleaf weed in most lawns. It is found in virtually every kind of habitat, from openings in deep woods to cultivated fields, from rocky hillsides to fertile gardens and lawns.
Edible parts: Leaves, root, and flower. Dandelion leaves can be added to a salad or cooked. They can also be dried and stored for the winter or blanched and frozen. Flowers can be made into juice, or added into many recipes. The root can be made into a coffee substitute. The root and leaves can be dried, stored and made into tea.
Similar plants: Sow-Thistle, Agoseris.
Recipes: Baked Dandelion, Burdock Tonic Tea, Chicken Weed Wrap, Dandelion Banana Bread , Dandelion Fritters, Dandelion Syrup, Dandelion Vinegar, Dandy Pasta, Herbal Shampoo, Leek and Nettle Soup, Sesame and Wilted Green Saute, Wild Pizza
Hand Made Meat Jerky
AN EASY WAY TO PRESERVE PROTIENS
What exactly is "Jerk" cooking?
Jerk refers to a way that a meat, be it any red meat, elk, bear, venison, wild boar or just about any other critter you can hunt. I stick with beef such as top round steak, flank steak or brisket, chicken, pork, goat, fish, vegetables or fruit is seasoned and cooked. This style comes from Jamaica. The typical cooking style uses a marinade or paste that includes at least pimento, which is often called allspice, and scotch bonnet peppers, also known as habenero. The meat is then marinated and slow smoked over pimento wood. Pimentia o pimento is a Spanish word for pepper and early European explorers mistook this for black pepper, so they called it pimento.
According to most food history authorites, like Alan Davidson, and John Mariani jerk is a Spanish word that comes via the Peruvian word charqui, a word for dried strips of meat like what we call Jerky, in much of the world. The word started as a noun and then became a verb as in "Jerking" which meant to poke holes in the meat so the spices could permeate the meat. Jerk cooking experts like native Jamaican and author Helen Willinsky of "Jerk from Jamaica" says that the name Jerk also could have come from the turning of the meat in the marinade or from the way some folks will just jerk a strip from the roast on the BBQ. We just don't really know.
Most historians agree Jamaica was settled by the Arawak indians over 2500 years ago from South America. They used similar techniques to smoke and dry meat in the sun or over a slow fire, that were common in Peru. This was important as the dried beef could be taken on journeys and eaten as is or chopped and reconstituted in boiling water. This ancient technique goes on today and is known as jerky.
WILD TURKEY
AMERICAN HONEY
71 Proof
"Give 'em the Bird"
Sixty years ago, Wild Turkey Master Distiller Jimmy Russell had an idea. He took a chance — adding pure honey to the same bourbon he stubbornly kept consistent his entire career.
American Honey was born. Jimmy always knew Kentucky Straight Bourbon brings bold and deep flavors that play well with the sweetness of honey, and, by mixing the two, he could bring his beloved bourbon to more people, in more places and in more cocktails.
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Hot Brand Award (Impact 2012 & 2013)
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Hot Prospect Brand three years in a row (Impact, 2009, 2010, 2011)
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Best in Class Distinction at World Whiskey Awards (2010)
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Icons of Whisky Award (2009)
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Be Smooth. Drink Responsibly.
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Wild Turkey American Honey® Liqueur blended with Pure Honey and Bourbon Whiskey
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35.5% alc./vol. (71 Proof).
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©2015 Campari America, San Francisco, CA.
RACCOON BUSHCRAFT'S BEST
TOP CAMPFIRE BUSH SHOTS
Elijah Craig 12 Year Bourbon
In the San Francisco World Spirits Competition of 2010, the 18-year-old Elijah Craig Single Barrel Bourbon was awarded Best Bourbon and a Double Gold Medal rating. In previous years, it had received a Double Gold Medal rating in 2008, a Gold Medal rating in 2004, and four silver ratings in other years (2003, 2005, 2006, and 2007).
Elijah Craig is a 12-year-old premium brand of bourbon whiskey produced by the Heaven Hill Distillery company. The company is headquartered in Bardstown, Kentucky, and its distillery (called the Heaven Hill Bernheim distillery) is in Louisville, Kentucky. The brand is sold as a straight bourbon. It is sold in glass 750ml bottles.
Elijah Craig whisky is made in both 12 "Small Batch" and 18-year-old "Single Barrel" bottlings. The 18 Year Old Single Barrel Bourbon was touted as "The oldest Single Barrel Bourbon in the world at 18 years . . ." made in oak barrels that are "hand selected by Parker and Craig Beam," losing nearly 2/3 of the barrels contents in Angel's share. 21-year and 23-year single barrel have also been released, but only in very limited quantities. The barrels are later sold to the Scotch Whisky industry or used by microbrewers for making Bourbon Barrel aged beer such as Goose Island Brewery's "Bourbon County" Imperial Stout (see Brewing methods).
The bourbon brand was named in honor of Reverend Elijah Craig (1738/1743 – May 18, 1808), who was a Baptist preacher, born in Virginia, who became an educator and capitalist entrepreneur in the area of Virginia that later became the state of Kentucky. The Heaven Hill company dubiously credits him with the invention of "true Kentucky Bourbon" by improving the locally made distillate from an un-aged corn liquor to the familiar reddish drink through barrel-aging in charred oak casks.Today, Elijah Craig is most widely known in association with this brand of bourbon produced by the Heaven Hill distillery.
RACCOON BUSHCRAFT'S BETTER
TOP CAMPFIRE BUSH SHOTS
Amish Deer Tongue Leaf Lettuce
Current Facts
Deer's Tongue lettuce, AKA Matchless lettuce, is an heirloom variety known for its hardiness, cold and heat tolerance and its resistance to bolt in summer months. Deer's Tongue lettuce should not be confused with Amish Deer's Tongue lettuce, which was first cultivated a century later than Deer's Tongue.
Description/Taste
Deer's Tongue lettuce grows in a tight formation with a connected base, its narrow pointed triangular leaves growing outward and upward wrapping themselves around each other to form a very distinct rosette of lettuce. Though the outer leaves are tender with a mild flavor, the white inner ribs are less palatable, though crunchy, often slightly bitter. Young Deer's Tongue lettuce is milder than its mature counterpart.
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Applications
Deer's Tongue Lettuce can be used as a single lettuce in a salad or as a garnish to sandwiches and burgers. It can also be added to a salad mix, its crunchy texture and sharp flavor adding depth to tender and lesser flavored lettuces. Common companion ingredients include bold and aged cheeses, bright fruits such as berries and citrus, succulent summer melons and stonefruit, crisp apples and pears, rich meats such as bacon, lomo and pork belly.
Turk's Cap
Scientific name: Malvaviscus arboreus
Abundance: common
What: flowers, fruit, young leavesHow: Flowers and young leaves raw or cooked; flowers can make pink lemonade type drink; fruit can be made into tea or preserves.
Where: shady areas, often used in landscaping
When: Flowers can appear all year long if warm enough.
Nutritional Value: Flowers high in antioxidants; seeds are high in protein & starch; leaves high in minerals; fruit high in vitamin C.
Plantain, Common
Description: It grows from a very short rhizome, which bears below a great number of long, straight, yellowish roots, and above, a large, radial rosette of leaves and a few Iong, slender, densely-flowered spikes. The leaves are ovate, blunt, abruptly contracted at the base into a long, broad, channelled footstalk (petiole). The blade is 4 to 10 inches long and about two-thirds as broad, usually smooth, thickish, five to eleven ribbed, the ribs having a strongly fibrous structure, the margin entire, or coarsely and unevenly toothed. The flower-spikes, erect, on long stalks, are as long as the leaves, 1/4 to 1/3 inch thick and usually blunt. The flowers are somewhat purplish-green, the calyx fourparted, the small corolla bell-shaped and four-lobed, the stamens four, with purple anthers. The fruit is a two-celled capsule, not enclosed in the perianth, and containing four to sixteen seeds.
Medicinal Action and Properties: Refrigerant, diuretic, deobstruent and somewhat astringent. Has been used in inflammation of the skin, malignant ulcers, intermittent fever, etc., and as a vulnerary, and externally as a stimulant application to sores. Applied to a bleeding surface, the leaves are of some value in arresting haemorrhage, but they are useless in internal haemorrhage, although they were formerly used for bleeding of the lungs and stomach, consumption and dysentery. The fresh leaves are applied whole or bruised in the form of a poultice. Rubbed on parts of the body stung by insects, nettles, etc., or as an application to burns and scalds, the leaves will afford relief and will stay the bleeding of minor wounds.
Pinto Beans
Combine the creamy pink texture of pinto beans with a whole grain such as brown rice and you have a virtually fat-free high quality protein meal. Dried pinto beans are generally available in prepackaged containers as well as bulk bins; both canned and dried pinto beans are available throughout the year.
Pinto beans have a beige background strewn with reddish brown splashes of color. They are like little painted canvases, à la Jackson Pollack; hence their name "pinto," which in Spanish means "painted." When cooked, their colored splotches disappear, and they become a beautiful pink color.
Peanut Chikki (Peanut Brittle)
Chikki is a traditional ready-to-eat Indian sweet generally made from groundnuts and jaggery. There are several different varieties of chikki in addition to the most common groundnut chikki. Each variety of chikki is named depending upon the ingredients used, which include puffed or roasted Bengal gram, sesame, puffed rice, beaten rice, or Khobara (desiccated coconut).
Peanut chikki or peanut brittle is a delicious homemade candy. This recipe is super simple and easy with very few ingredients, peanuts, sugar and touch of ginger and salt. Ginger adds a very nice tanginess to the chikki.
Summer sausage
Summer sausage is any sausage that can be kept without refrigeration. Summer sausage is usually a mixture of pork and other meat such as beef or venison. Summer sausage can be dried or smoked, and while curing ingredients vary significantly, curing salt is almost always used. Seasonings may include mustard seeds, black pepper, garlic salt, or sugar.
Summer sausage, like many sausages, uses leftover scrap meat and organ meat that would otherwise be wasted. However some brands of summer sausage do not use scrap meats.
Traditionally, summer sausage is a fermented sausage with a low pH to slow bacterial growth and give a longer shelf life, causing a tangy taste. The distinctive taste can be copied using citric acid as a shortcut to keeping cultures to ferment the following batch.
In Spain, summer sausages include salchichón, chorizo, and other types of embutido.
Red Beer "Red Eye" (Beer 'n Tomato or Clamato Juice)
I love beer 'n tomato juice cocktails! You can vary this recipe to your own personal taste, too. Some like barely any in there at all, just a shot, and some like as much as half and half! Other ingredients can be added as well as garnishes! Just have fun and enjoy!
Pour beer slowly into small pitcher. Add as much tomato juice as you like. (Taste as you go.) Stir in any extra ingredients of choice and pour into salt-rimmed glass with a lime or lemon wedge if desired. Keep extra chilled.
Ingredients
1 Ice Cold Beer, Coors Light is wonderful.
Tomato Juice, Clamato Juice or V8 origin
al, low sodium or spicy hot
OTHER ADDITIONS:
Celery Salt
Hot Sauce or Cayenne Pepper
Salt and/or Black Pepper
Lemon or Lime Wedge, Garnish Glass
1 Celery and 1 Dill Stalk
RACCOON BUSHCRAFT'S
CAMPFIRE DRINK CLASSICS
How To Make A Michelada
Tomato Beer Cocktail
May Apple, American Mandrake
May Apple Herb Uses and Medicinal Properties
American Mandrake, or May Apple, is medicinal and edible (fruit), used extensively by Native Americans. The fully ripe fruit is eaten raw, cooked or made into jams, jellies, marmalades, and pies. It is very aromatic, and has a sweet peculiar but agreeable flavor. May Apple seeds and rind are not edible, said to be poisonous. The root and plant contain valuable constituents Quercetin, Kaempferol, Podophyllin, Isorhamnetin, Gallic-acid, Berberine, Alpha-peltatin, that are being studied for their healing, anticancer and other properties. The root is used as a medicinal herb, it is antibilious, cathartic, cytostatic, hydrogogue and purgative, it should only be used by professional Herbalists. It is a most powerful and useful alternative medicine. A possible treatment for cancer is being tested as it contains podophyllin, which has an antimiotic effect (it interferes with cell division and can thus prevent the growth of cells)
May Apple is also known by these names: Mayapple, Devil’s Apple, Hog-apple, Indian Apple, American Mandrake, American May Apple, Racoonberry, Wild Lemon
Indian Cucumber-Root
Medeola virginiana Lily family (Liliaceae)
This perennial wildflower is 1-2½' tall, consisting of an erect unbranched stem and 1-2 whorls of leaves. Plants without flowers produce only a single whorl of leaves, while flowering plants produce 2 whorls of leaves. The central stem is medium green, terete, and woolly-pubescent to glabrous; it becomes more glabrous with age. In a flowering plant, the lower whorl of leaves occurs near the middle of the central stem; this whorl has 5-10 leaves that are 2½-5" long and ½-2" across. The upper whorl of leaves occurs underneath the inflorescence; this whorl has 3-5 leaves that are 2-4" long and ½-2" across. All of these leaves are elliptic to ovate in shape, smooth along their margins, and sessile. The upper leaf surface is medium green and glabrous, while the lower surface is pale green. Individual leaves have 3-5 parallel primary veins and a fine network of secondary veins.
The inflorescence consists of a sessile umbel of 3-9 flowers on pedicels about 1" long. These flowers are held either a little above or below the leaves when they are in bloom. Individual flowers are about 2/3" (16 mm.) across, consisting of 6 yellowish green tepals, 6 stamens, a 3-celled ovary, and 3 reddish purple to brown stigmata. The tepals are lanceolate in shape and recurved. The stigmata are large in size and recurved, spanning the width of each flower. The pedicels are light green and glabrous. The blooming period occurs from late spring to early summer, lasting about 1 month. Afterwards, the pedicels become more erect, holding the developing berries above the upper whorl of leaves. At maturity, these berries are dark purple, globoid, and about 1/4" to 1/3" (6-8 mm.) across. Each berry contains several seeds. The root system consists of a thick rhizome with fibrous roots. Small colonies of plants can develop from the rhizomes.
Garlic Mustard - Alliaria petiolata
Garlic Mustard is a biennial herb that has been labeled an invasive weed in many areas. Originally from Europe, this nutritious plant is found in many locations across North America. The flower of this wild edible only appears from May to June. Garlic Mustard is good for your weight, heart, lowers cholesterol, may help prevent cancer, as well as many other health benefits.
Distinguishing Features: Broad heart-shaped or kidney-shaped leaves, coarse, rounded teeth, petite flowers, onion or garlic odour, slender pods that contain the seeds.
Leaves: Leaves grow one to seven centimetres in diameter and are anywhere from kidney to heart- shaped, with large rounded irregular teeth. First year plants have just a rosette of smaller round or kidney-shaped leaves with scalloped edges. Leaves may be hairless or hairy to varying degrees.
Height: 10 cm. to 1 metre.
Habitat: Grows across many areas of Canada and the U.S. along fence lines, wooded areas, swamps, ditches, roadsides, railway embankments and takes advantage of disturbed areas. This plant is often found in open disturbed forests.
Edible parts: Flowers, leaves, roots and seeds. Leaves in any season can be eaten but once the weather gets hot, the leaves will taste bitter. Flowers can be chopped and tossed into salads. The roots can be collected in early spring and again in late fall, when no flower stalks are present. Garlic mustard roots taste very spicy somewhat like horseradish. In the fall the seed can be collected and eaten.
Recipes: Chicken Weed Wrap, Garlic Mustard Pesto, Sesame and Wilted Green Saute, Wild Pizza
Stinging Nettles
(Urtica Species,
Laportea Canadensis)
These annual or perennial native and European herbaceous plants are distinctive for many reasons, as you'd quickly discover if you ever encountered them wearing shorts.
Nettles are covered with tiny, nearly invisible stinging hairs that produce an intense, stinging pain, followed redness and skin irritation. The generic name comes from the Latin word, "uro," which means "I burn." Nevertheless, they're superb, non-stinging, cooked vegetables.
Nettles usually appear in the same places year after year. Look for them in rich soil, disturbed habitats, moist woodlands, thickets, along rivers, and along partially shaded trails.
They grow throughout most of the United States Here are a few of the most common species: Stinging nettle's (Urtica dioica) rather stout, ribbed, hollow stem grows 2-4 feet tall.
The somewhat oval, long-stalked, dark green, opposite leaves are a few inches long, with a rough, papery texture, and very coarse teeth. The leaf tip is pointed, and its base is heart-shaped.
This is a dioecious plant, with male and female flowers growing on separate plants. The species name, dioica, means "two households" in Greek: By late spring, some plants have clusters of tiny, green female flowers, hanging from the leaf axils in paired strands.
Tasty Teas from Trees: Black and Yellow Birch
Scratch and then sniff a black or yellow birch twig, and the pleasant aroma will likely put a smile on your face. What you are smelling is oil of wintergreen (methyl salicylate). This chemical compound is present in the inner bark in both species, although typically to a greater degree in black birch. In the trees, as well as several edible berries that grow in our region, the compound serves as a defense against herbivorous insects. Most people, however, enjoy the taste.
You can make a very nice wintergreen-flavored tea from peeled black or yellow birch twigs. I advise against trying to brew this the traditional way, though (i.e., steeping twigs in boiling water). The reason is that oil of wintergreen is volatile and easily driven off by heat, so if you attempt to make tea with hot water, your kitchen will smell great but there will likely be little if any flavor in your tea cup.
