Finishing the Mortar and Pestle and Parching Corn | CABIN BUILD | HOMESTEAD | PIONEER LIFE

Peter finishes burning out the center of the wooden mortar and scraping it clean as it was done traditionally in the 1700's. He finishes off the bowl using a gouge and wooden mallet. He forms the pestle from a sugar maple limb with a large gall. Drawing from his arboriculture background, Peter discusses the compartmentalization of tree wounds that causes the formation of galls. He roughs out the pestle with an axe and finishes it on the shaving bench with a draw knife. Using traditional methods, Peter parches the corn he dried from the fall harvest, on a trivet in the Mumford fireplace. He then grinds it to a powder in his new mortar. Parched corn was a valuable food source on military campaigns during the American revolution and the War of 1812. Peter then prepared a traditional boiled Irish meal, using vegetables harvested form the garden and stored in the root cellar.

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Featuring - Peter Kelly
Cinematography - Catherine Wolfe
Producer & Editor - Shane Kelly

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MUSIC
The amazing music in this episode is graciously provided by our friends - Richard Fortier and Al MacDonald

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#Warof1812 #Rootcellar #foodpreservation #pioneerlife