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Just trying to put together a small batch of the All Bran Recipe today but I don't have all the nutrients suggested. The wife has gone to town with the car to spend all my money so I won't be getting out any time soon either.

Looking in the cubboard in the bathroom, I came across some Eucalyptus Epson Salts and a bottle of Magesium-Calcium vitamins for Osteoporosis. I don't think I want to add a pinch of the eucluptus salts as I am quite sure the fragrance added would do something funky to my final product. And I'm quite sure there is a lot of fragrance in it as when the wife puts it in the bath the house is a smellin, even down to the basement.

What exactly I am looking to add from this mineral salt? Is it the magnesium and therefore a crushed Magnesium-calcium table will provide what it's looking for? Or does it have to be magnesium sulphate. I'm no chemist so I really have no clue what it's all about. I know I can leave it out but I would really like to see how fast I can get something to finish fermenting.

Tomato paste is a good neutrient.

I have that for sure. Used some last night on my Birdwatcher's Sugar wash. Will it take off like the space shuttle like the epson salts seem to create?

I usually make a sugarwash for neutral, gin etc from sugar, tomato paste lemon juice and baking soda, it takes off straight away and ferments vigorously for the first 24 hours and slows down from there, your all bran should provide a good neutrient for your yeast anyway, just subsitute baking soda for the epson salts and it should be OK.

Thanks, I will give this a try.

Making a good wash is a bit like baking a cake, you need food for the yeast: sugar, Neutrients to keep the yeast healthy, and a healthy enviroment for the yeast to multiply and ferment: the PH level. The acid: lemon juice etc, and the alkaline: epson salts, baking soda etc, provide the correct enviroment for the yeast to live in (PH 4.5 - 5). Like baking a cake, ingredients like all bran, gerber, cracked corn (UJSSM) can be varied to bake a different cake as long as the basics stay the same.


OD

The All Bran recipe will ferment just fine with just water, sugar, All Bran, and yeast... It will ferment faster with the added ingredients, but is still quicker than most without... If you just boil some yeast with the cereal or sugar that will help increase the fermentation speed... The cereal itself actually has all of the nutrients the yeast needs... You can also increase the cereal proportion to help move things along...

LOL, did I call them Epson salts in the beginning?