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Post by the light works on Oct 8, 2013 15:07:42 GMT
I know I've used a hand-crank ice cream maker when I was a kid visiting Dad's side of the family, but that was long enough ago that I'm not certain. It's definitely easier than sitting on the back porch cranking away, but these days most home ice cream makers are electric. And Update on Test 2I didn't run a full taste test; the friends I was cat-sitting for this weekend (and who are on Team Taste-Test) were a bit wiped when they got home. I took a quick scoop for myself, and while the flavor was good I did notice a little graininess to the mouth-feel. We'll run a full taste-test later this week and I'll see if the others notice this. I suspect the cocoa mix might not have completely dissolved in the room-temperature evaporated milk. I could probably improve this by heating the milk/cocoa mix, but if it goes into the freezer hot there's further for it to go to reach "frozen". Sticking the pot into the fridge to cool off isn't an option -- if that base had refrigeration, they wouldn't have been freezing ice cream in their warplanes. I might try putting the pan into a basin of cool water (which would have been available) to cool it off. Of course, if you'd handed some WWII soldiers in the Pacific Theater a bowl of something frozen and chocolatey, would they have cared about a little graininess? as I think I already said, assuming you have soldiers in wartime status at a base without refrigeration, they will be comparing it to standard rations and vague memories; which will lower the bar considerably.
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Post by silverdragon on Oct 14, 2013 9:54:29 GMT
How about access to Dry Ice....
I ask as I watched a thing last night and someone took a Co2 fire extinguisher, fired it into a bag, collected dry ice, and made ice cream that way....
I know, its off the main thread, but just throwing it in there.... when was Co2 fire extinguisher invented?...
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Post by Cybermortis on Oct 14, 2013 10:52:09 GMT
How about access to Dry Ice.... I ask as I watched a thing last night and someone took a Co2 fire extinguisher, fired it into a bag, collected dry ice, and made ice cream that way.... I know, its off the main thread, but just throwing it in there.... when was Co2 fire extinguisher invented?... CO2 extinguishers were in use in WW2 for vehicles. However, a front line base is unlikely to have had the facilities to refill them and using one to chill anything would not go over well. The officers on base would not ignore the misuse of safety equipment, nor would the crew/pilots of the vehicle. The former would put you in the stockade, the latter the hospital.
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Post by c64 on Oct 15, 2013 18:57:30 GMT
How about access to Dry Ice.... I ask as I watched a thing last night and someone took a Co2 fire extinguisher, fired it into a bag, collected dry ice, and made ice cream that way.... I know, its off the main thread, but just throwing it in there.... when was Co2 fire extinguisher invented?... CO2 extinguishers were in use in WW2 for vehicles. However, a front line base is unlikely to have had the facilities to refill them and using one to chill anything would not go over well. The officers on base would not ignore the misuse of safety equipment, nor would the crew/pilots of the vehicle. The former would put you in the stockade, the latter the hospital. Depends on the situation. In combat zones, equipment was often discarded or (re)captured so misuse couldn't be monitored like during peace. My grandpa had told me many stories from WW2. When stuck in Italy, they even stole an entire Fieseler Fi 156 Storch and converted it into a long range 8 passenger aircraft using lots of other "leftovers".
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Post by Cybermortis on Oct 15, 2013 19:26:49 GMT
Let me put it this way. The extinguishers would be part of the equipment that would be checked frequently, and is something that is there to help save not just the lives of the pilot and ground crews but also potentially the loss of an expensive bit of military equipment.
There is a limit to how far you can go with misappropriating military equipment, even under a fairly relaxed commander. Doing so in a way that risks the lives of other personal and expensive equipment is beyond what anyone on base will tolerate - and could well get you shot in wartime.
For ice cream the risks are simply not worth it. Besides, the Axis powers don't seem to have used CO2 extinguishers - at least Germany didn't, they used a type of power extinguisher.
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Post by silverdragon on Oct 16, 2013 8:52:55 GMT
True, but a partially used extinguisher?... by the rules it must be either recharged or discarded immediately. ..From my own knowledge of RAF, and Hazard goods... used extinguishers must NOT be placed back into the rack where they can be mistaken for usable extinguishers**, and must be replaced immediately, or at the first opportunity (as in on return to base in transport vehicles) On some loads, use of a fire extinguisher that takes the number or weight of dry powder below the minimum weight can ground that vehicle where it is.... Typically, I went out with one extinguisher more than needed, just in case of small fires. But all That depends on the sensitivity of the load, of course. ...If that was say for instance Fuel (Petrol...) I could not carry on doing deliveries with a partially used extinguisher if it took the number of extinguishers below minimum weight.... . ** If no other suitable transport place is available, "Used" extinguishers would be placed back in the rack upside down, as it takes some effort to remove one when the handle is not available, and its easy to see that its perhaps not for use... Much better having one strapped down than rattling about loose somewhere. Back on the topic for ice cream....So a small fire, put out, and you now have a "To be thrown away" co2 extinguisher... Just a mo, before you chuck that, I have an idea for fresh ice cream........?... I wont believe NO ONE ever though of that in that situation?.... Plausible?... Power extinguisher?.. was it Turbo charged?... I presume you meant Dry pow Der... typo... I get thos as wool. The type much preferred by many places as its a "Cure all" thing, it can be used on most fires without causing injury to the person using it (I cite reports of frost-bite from some peoples inexpert use and miss-handling of co2 extinguishers...) Powder, co2 or Halon.... Halon gas, although a good extinguisher, displaces oxygen... and there is the problem, us humans need the oxygen, so we cant really use a hand held Halon?... Plus its a "Greenhouse gas"......... Co2, again, displaces oxygen. Powder does none of the above but does fight fires. There is a call for standardised fire fighting equipment... Now in the UK, all the extinguishers used to be different colours (BRIGHT colours) so you could tell what is what. Now they are all painted the same post-box red, with small stickers for what they are... I ask, just How is that better when your trying to grab a powder extinguisher from the "Group" to fight a electrical fire?... Therefore, the dry powder one is my favourite choice, 'cos I dont need to identify what it is, I just grab, pull pin, point-and-shoot.... Less thinking in an emergency. For that reason, my household is Dry Powder. All my kids have been educated... Using one that was past its best before date. Best before date, and that is something I hope by mentioning here may help someone... They all have a best before date on them.... Even with the best intentions, nothing is totally leak proof to 100% for the rest of your life. So therefore, fire extinguishers have a shelf life... Now that may be 10 yrs. But when was the last time you checked yours?... You all hove got one in your house(Kitchen) havnt you?... And a Fire blanket for stove fires?....
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Post by the light works on Oct 16, 2013 14:10:13 GMT
"I feel like ice cream, tonight, go start an engine fire"
next safety question: is the extinguisher next to the stove where the fire will prevent you accessing it, or under the sink where it will be buried behind the dish detergent; or is it on the way to the exit door, where you will be going, anyway?
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Post by Antigone68104 on Oct 16, 2013 14:58:20 GMT
Taste-Test 2
We finally got the full taste-test in.
I didn't notice the slight graininess this time. However, when I took that initial spoonful the ice cream was frozen rock-solid; last night, we were scooping four small bowls and it had softened a bit by the time anyone started eating. I suspect what I was noticing had more to do with being frozen rock-solid, not a problem with the cocoa mix dissolving.
The general consensus was that I got the amount of cocoa mix right. The flavor was nice and chocolaty. There's also no need to add any extra sugar, it's easily sweet enough.
I'd been a little worried about the lemon juice used to thicken the condensed milk. While I could smell it when I was mixing up the ice cream, there was absolutely no taste of lemon in the finished product.
The rest of the ice cream will be going to my Thursday night game to be finished off, assuming the two players who get VA disability checks aren't too busy swearing at their Congressidiots to play. If they have anything additional to say about the result, I'll post.
I think the only things left to test are 1) using whipped evaporated milk instead of cream and 2) a baseline on how long it takes this stuff to freeze. If it takes longer in an actual freezer than the average patrol flight would have been, odds are we're not getting usable ice cream out of this.
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Post by Antigone68104 on Oct 16, 2013 15:10:05 GMT
A friend found me an online copy of the US Navy 1945 cookbook. The ice cream recipes in there aren't going to be usable for anything but a control, because the ships had freezers and ice cream makers (with the beaters to constantly stir) available. However, the mere fact that "Ice Cream" has its own section of the cookbook should take care of any complaints about whether military personnel would care enough about eating ice cream to make their own. (Not that I'm expecting those complaints, but considering that episode feedback has moved to Facebook you have to assume a certain level of idiocy.) There's a discussion of powdered whole milk, which I didn't realize existed; all I ever see in the grocery store is powdered nonfat. I don't know if you can get cream by reconstituting powdered whole milk and letting it sit, the way people used to get cream from the top of a milk bottle. It may be a moot point, though, because the discussion also notes that powdered whole milk goes rancid if stored at 80F or higher, and we are talking Pacific Theater here.
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Post by Cybermortis on Oct 16, 2013 15:23:52 GMT
In the case of time, all the stories seem to indicate that the aircraft were sent up for a short 'test flight'. A rough guess would be that such flights would take around 20-30 minutes. That would be enough for a fighter, even the early model Spitfires, to get up to around 10-15,000 feet for a couple of minutes before having to drop altitude and turn back for landing. (Much longer than half an hour and someone is going to wonder what happened to you or what you were up to.)
I'm not sure what the effective temperature at that altitude is, but I'm guessing that it is a lot lower than a domestic freezer - which are usually around -5C as I recall.
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Post by User Unavailable on Oct 16, 2013 16:28:29 GMT
Great report Antigone!
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Post by silverdragon on Oct 17, 2013 8:30:29 GMT
The holder is screwed to the wall next to the fire blanket which is next to the back door..... furthest wall from the stove.... I though that one through, and when we had a fire safety check (FREE by the local fire department who will even supply smoke alarms if needed....) they said it was perfect positioning, as long as I didnt allow the kids to use it as a coat hook.... One kid with coat evicted later, all is good.....
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Post by Antigone68104 on Oct 18, 2013 14:34:21 GMT
Handed out bowls of ice cream last night to the game group. One guy was able to taste a bit of the lemon juice, but he said it still tasted good. A couple of the others said it tasted like chocolate malted milk -- I don't normally order malts, so I'll take their word for it. It might have been the lemon-chocolate interaction, or something in the Swiss Miss cocoa. Either way, I don't think it matters, because I'm pretty sure malted milk was more popular in the 40s.
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Post by the light works on Nov 4, 2013 16:02:29 GMT
I stumbled across this picture. I make no claims as to the historical accuracy of the picture. it may be a modern picture taken by recreationists, or it may be a historic picture taken as a joke.
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Post by memeengine on Nov 9, 2013 22:51:06 GMT
I stumbled across this picture. I make no claims as to the historical accuracy of the picture. it may be a modern picture taken by recreationists, or it may be a historic picture taken as a joke. Could be true, it's difficult to tell with wartime photos. Many of them were deliberately staged for propaganda purposes or even completely faked. On the other side of the coin, since it was also common for the photos to be retouched to hide sensitive info, even genuine photographs can look fake. spitfiresite.com/2012/01/modification-xxx-beer-carrying-spitfires.html
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Post by Cybermortis on Nov 10, 2013 3:20:26 GMT
I ran across a reference to Hurricanes and Spitfires circa 1939 being fitted with an external 'pod' in which a pilot could put his kit when flying to a new station - This was used by pilots who were stationed in France in late 1939/early 1940.
It is possible that this was a standard fixture for aircraft of the time, and as such it is possible that either the pods themselves or just the hard points for them might have been reconfigured to allow for an ice cream maker to be fitted.
The Spitfire in the picture is a Mark IX, and the markings on the wings date the picture to June 1944 or thereabouts. At this time, and with this aircraft, there was the provision for carrying a bombs, and I *think* an external drop tank. The container in the picture is likely to be a drop tank, which I have no doubt could be filled with beer as long as no one was stupid enough to connect it to the fuel system*.
(*Although I'd guess any pilots from that date would probably say that adding gasoline to beer would probably improve the flavour.)
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Post by the light works on Nov 10, 2013 16:01:44 GMT
I keep coming back to the (British Revenue of Ministry and Excise? sounds to me like it should be the British Ministry of...)stepping in and saying, "you can't donate beer to the soldiers! who's going to pay the tax?"
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Post by Cybermortis on Nov 11, 2013 22:54:23 GMT
I keep coming back to the (British Revenue of Ministry and Excise? sounds to me like it should be the British Ministry of...)stepping in and saying, "you can't donate beer to the soldiers! who's going to pay the tax?" At the time it would have been HM Customs and Excise - it was merged with the Inland Revenue service (which dealt with direct taxation) in 2005 to create HM Revenue and Customs. I suspect that no tax officer during the war would have been suicidal enough to ask a large body of armed men for tax money on alcohol. In fact I think alcohol was effectively tax free for British troops, providing it was being officially issued - bomber pilots certainly had brandy as part of their survival kit circa 1941 and I think run was still officially issued on RN ships. Beyond that I suspect that beer that was donated to the gallant airmen would not have been considered worth taxing. Anyway. I'm going to see if I can get any official information on this, either from the Imperial War Museum in London or the US Air Force. I'm not holding my breath but who knows - and it would be ironic if the USAF was more helpful to a Brit than the IWM....
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Post by the light works on Nov 12, 2013 7:36:05 GMT
yeah - the official story may be different. but right now we are running into a situation where the US and state governments have are essentially on a course of action that stands to demolish volunteer fire departments by depriving them of the means to legally compensate volunteers for their efforts.
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Post by mrfatso on Nov 14, 2013 12:17:42 GMT
There are also this pictures of a Spitfire with beer Barrels slung under the wings, and a model kit made by Italeri of the same.
Th suggestion is that both these where propaganda images after operation Overlord.
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