Reddit mentions of Winco MS3A-8D Strainer with Double Fine Mesh, 8-Inch Diameter, Medium, Stainless Steel, Tan

That is not a colander.

This is a colander - large holes, used for pasta or veggies.

This is a sieve - small wire mesh, used for sifting flour and the like.

This is a strainer - wide wired mesh, used for anything too small for a colander, but not requiring the finesse of a sieve (like spaghetti)

Well, I have used many good ones, but this is probably the best.

I know food processors are nice, but half the budget? I'd work on my knife skills and spend that money on a saucepan (non-stick for eggs, though a saucepan isn't ideal), maybe a strainer, and whatever else suited one's personal cooking style (I don't think my kitchen would feel complete without a rice cooker/steamer, for example).

Okay, so a while ago I said I was going to make a gummy bear tutorial and I never did so I thought it was about time I at least made a write up for them. This recipe will get you right around 200 gummy bears.

Tools:

• Small non stick pot with a lid
  
• medium non stick pot
  
• 60ml Syringe - Here
  
• stiff silicone spatula - Here
  
• 2 small pyrex dishes - Here
  
• Candy theremometer - Here
  
• Fork to stir with
  
• Gummy bear molds (or any other you like) - Here I also just found these
  
• Measuring Cup
  
• Measuring Spoon
  
• Strainer - Here
  
• Medium/large bowl
  
• Partchment paper
  
• A few large tupperware containers
  
• Dram droppers for the flavorings - Here
  
  Ingredients:
  
  
• 1 Package of Jello (85 grams if you have a scale) in the flavor of gummies you want
  
• LorAnn oils concentrated flavorings - Here
  
• LorAnns oils mold Inhibitor - Here
  
• LorAnns oils Preserve-it Antioxidant - Here
  
• 5 Tbsp plain gelatin powder - low quality / less chewie here High quality / more chewie here
  
• 1 tsp of Soy lecthin powder - Here
  
• 1/2 cup of Real Fruit juice of the flavor you want to make, get creative here, needs to be cold. Cold water can also be used but the flavor is not as good.
  
• 1/4 cup of sugar
  
• Glycerin - Here
  
• 6 grams of Concentrates (AKA: BHO, Shatter, Wax, Oil, Hash oil, etc)
  
• 1 Tbsp Coconut oil
  
• Cornstartch
  
  Decarbing
  
  Pre-heat your oven to 250F - 260F, use the digital theremometer to keep an eye on the temp to make sure it stays around there and does not get above 260F. I like to place my concentrates into the small pyrex dish and decarb in that. Put the dish with your concentrates in the oven for 30 minutes. You can check it around the 30 minute mark and see if it is fully decarbed. Look for it to be pretty clear of all little "carbination" like bubbles. When those are mostly gone you are done decarbing. It will take around 30 minutes. Go a little longer if you want couch lock / sleepy time gummies.
  
  When it is done decarbing pull it out and set it to the side for a minute.
  
  Infusing the coconut oil
  
  Grab your medium sized pot and put a few inches of water in it. get it to a boil then turn the temp all the way down to a very low heat. When the water is ready place your dish with the freshly decarbed oil into the water bath and add the 1 Tbsp of coconut oil to the dish.
  
  Let the two mix for a few minutes until they are nicely combined. It shouldn't take long maybe 10 minutes max.
  
  Grease your molds
  
  At this point if you dont have silicone molds (I do and I still grease mine for precautions) grease your molds so you don't forget to do it before adding your gummies.
  
  Preping fruit juice (or water)
  
  In the second small pyrex dish pour your real fruit juice / water or whatever base liquid you are using for your gummies. I havent tried much besides fruit juice and water but you can experiment with other liquids, but don't do an experiment on a batch with THC in it just in case something doesn't work out.
  
  To the fruit juice / water add 1 tsp of soy lecthin and stir with the fork. Place the dish in the fridge for 5 minutes or so and stir again. Let it sit in the fridge stirring occasionaly until the soy lecthin is fully desolved.
  
  This liquid mixture NEEDS TO BE COLD for the blooming process to work so make sure to keep it cold.
  
  Mixing the dry ingredients
  
  In your small non-stick pot mix the following together: 85 grams of Jello, 5 Tbsp of Gelatin, 1/4 cup of sugar. Completely mix them all together and dont let any of them get wet yet. Stir and stir until they are completely mixed.
  
  Blooming
  
  Take your mixed dry ingredients and pour in your friut juice (water) soy lecthin mixture. Stir it and get everything evenly mixed and make sure there are no lumps. When everything is evenly mixed place the lid on the small pot and let it sit for 10 minutes.
  
  This is called "blooming" the gelatin and allows the gelatin to absorbe the water. The water needs to be cold because gelatin activates at about 120F and after that will start to set when it cools. We don't want it setting right now.
  
  

A mesh sieve? You could probably find one at your grocery store, or at bed bath and beyond. Here's an Amazon link with good reviews and a picture, in case you have no idea what I'm talking about, lol.

Never done that. Buy I use something like this.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001VZERX4/ref=mp_s_a_1_2?qid=1421270250&sr=8-2&dpPl=1&dpID=51Hf5PXB4cL&ref=plSrch&pi=AC_SX200_QL40

Would be really hard to make this mistake.

Well, out of curiosity, what are the space limitations you're running into?

When I strain stock, I first pick out the bones and large pieces with tongs, then fish out smaller pieces with a spider strainer. All of that goes straight in the trash, then I can strain directly into my destination vessel (through a fine strainer in a single pour.

So for a 10-quart or whatever stockpot, I really only need a foot of counter space, to hold the destination vessel. You could even put it on an inactive stove burner if you don't have that foot.

When you've established yourself as a homebrewer, make sure to pick up this book. Also pick up a spray bottle for sanitizer (good for sanitizing random surfaces) and a good strainer with a really fine mesh. I use this strainer and it works well. And be sure to check out /r/homebrewing.

The problem I have with Fage is that now it seems to be either 0% fat or 2% fat.

Apparently there is nothing magical about greek yogurt, it's just yogurt that has been strained of the whey, and the whey contains a lot of carbs (and some protein).

So I am trying, like a lot of people, to make my own greek yogurt.

I purchased this 7" mesh strainer:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001VZERX4/ref=oh_details_o01_s01_i00

and

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0042X9XAY/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00

(they arrived today)

and they each look like they can strain an entire 32 oz of regular full fat plain yogurt either by themselves, or lined with cheesecloth or a big coffee filter.

(I like yogurt, what can I say? When I went to college (early 80s), guys that liked yogurt were almost certainly gay, until one day when a very attractive biology professor started cranking out gallons every day and bringing it into the cafeteria.)

I would hate for low carb to mean I can't get my yogurt.

Also, spies like yogurt. http://www.hulu.com/watch/59977

You're gonna need a can opener I chose thus one because my wife can only use one hand.

You can never go wrong with a good sturdy measuring cup

Measuring spoons are handy to have too.

And lastly since its your first place so you'll probably be eating a lot of pasta if money is tight so you'll need a good strainer

I've tried probably 6 or 8 strainers in various plastics and metals, and this is the best I've found: https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B001VZERX4

They even come out easily from kefir that's nearly cheese and the super thick coconut stuff I make.

I make my own... you can Google it if you want, but here is the gist of it:

I buy a 3lb bag of raw almonds at Costco for 11 bucks (YMMV). I take about of cup of almonds at a time and toss them in my blender (one of those fancy looking Ninjas FWIW), and pulse it 3-5 times. Then I sift the contents of the blender into my container with a fine meshed strainer. Put a piece of wax paper under the container to catch the bits that don't make it into the container (I end up with an extra 1/4 cup+ for each pound of almond flour I make...)

The bits that don't grind up fine enough to make it through the strainer get put in a separate container as almond "meal". My almond flour is not as fine as the stuff at the store, but I've done some baking with it and it works great and is a hell of a lot cheaper.

Here is the specific strainer I use to sift out the almond flour: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001VZERX4/

Hope this helps.

EDIT: When I bought the strainer, it was 6-something dollars and shipped with Amazon Prime.

Keep at it, OP! Brewing is an awesome hobby. You will certainly refine your techniques as you continue getting into it. One thing that you could definitely do differently is to use a strainer from the boil pot to the fermenter, using something silimar to this: http://www.amazon.com/Winco-MS3A-8D-Strainer-Double-Wooden/dp/B001VZERX4/ref=sr_1_4?s=kitchen&ie=UTF8&qid=1348453474&sr=1-4 I find that this type of strainer is a big help since it has the little arms on it that allow it to sit right on top of the fermenter, it is stainless so you can sanitize the hell out of it, and the action of pouring it (from height if your aim is good) acts to aerate the wort and even cool it down a bit. Happy brewing!

As others have said, the grinder is probably the issue. While you're saving for a new one, I recommend getting a sieve (something like this) . After grinding, put the grounds in it and mix/shake them around. The fines will fall through.

Instead of spending all that time soaking your bud, why not try blanching instead? I've had really great results.

 

First, drop your avb into a pot of boiling water for five minutes, making sure to completely submerge

Second, remove herb from water (I use a mesh strainer) and spread evenly on a baking pan and leave weed in oven to dry for 30 minutes at 235 degrees


Third, pull your bud out of the oven.

 

If it's dry you're all set to start the canna butter fusion process!

Why do you need a sifter with moving parts? How about something like this: http://www.amazon.com/Chefn-Siftn-Sieve-Flour-Sifter/dp/B00DVGLJQO

I just use a fine sieve like this: http://www.amazon.com/Winco-MS3A-8D-Strainer-Double-Wooden/dp/B001VZERX4

You can use a strainer like this one to knock the fines out of a coarse grind. Just have to make sure the one you buy has a tight enough mesh.