Making Condensed Milk - By Mark Jaeger

[coastaltrash]

Re: Essence of coffee, axle grease, and a discovery

Michael,
Not to hijack this thread, but Essence of Coffee would be perfectly fine for a Confederate impression in certain cases, simply because it was a commercially available product on both sides of the conflict.

[GeraldDuval]

Re: Essence of coffee, axle grease, and a discovery

It would all depend on the scenario I suppose. If you're portraying a Rebel unit right after the capture of one big rail depot or another, I'm sure you could load yourself down with cans of essence...

That being said, I'll have to try the heat mixing method. Every time I've made it it's been relatively temperate, and mixing is a pain. My own personal nightmare is getting it from the mixing bowl into a can or jar though.

[coastaltrash]

Re: Essence of coffee, axle grease, and a discovery

It doesn't have to be a capture of anything, the stuff was sold in stores. Granted the coffee situation in the south was horrid but it was an item available for purchase.

[GeraldDuval]

Re: Essence of coffee, axle grease, and a discovery

That's defiantly a good explanation, I'm just trying to imagine a reb showing up at a scenario just after the capture of Manassas junction carrying nothing but 15 cans of essence and 9 pounds of canned anchovies or (substitute your own uselessly pilfered items here)

[Justin Runyon]

Re: Essence of coffee, axle grease, and a discovery

Not only was it commercially available then, it still is. Oh yes, there is your puzzle for the day. Go forth and find a modern day manufacturer and order yourself a case. (Charles Heath does not count.)

[celtfiddler]

Re: Essence of coffee, axle grease, and a discovery

Go forth and find a modern day manufacturer and order yourself a case.

Just a word of caution about some of the modern products--you may want to wear a pair of rubber gloves when pouring it into period correct containers. It may leave a nasty scent on the skin that takes a bit of time to get rid of if you spill any.

[RJSamp]

Re: Making Condensed Milk by Mark Jaeger

Camp Chicory & Coffee Essence has been around for a long time, still being made today.....my Grandfather on my mom's side was an Ace in WWI (Grim Reaper squadron).....they used it then (it was a British WWI ration issue?).

It's most Chicory, so it might be decent for a confederate impression.....it's about $11 a bottle.

RJ Samp

[Charles Heath]

Re: Making Condensed Milk by Mark Jaeger

Justin,

Before this veers offtrack any further....

To add in some useful information that past been posted a number of times before:

Chicory by the pound:

http://www.orleanscoffee.com/dyn.php...20Chicory.html

Roast, ground, chicory can also be found by the pound in many grocery stores.

Camp's in the 241 mL size:

http://www.wisechoiceuk.com/scripts/...?idCategory=68

Camp's in the 682 mL size:

http://www.britsuperstore.com/acatal...d_Chicory.html

The liquid (pourable) coffee "syrup" contatiners appear on ebay quite often, sometimes with intact labels; however, these are generally thought to be post war.

Gerald, transfer the axle grease from the pan to the tin while still hot. A frosting spatula, butcher knife, or a small putty knife works well for this, and you can head the tin deftly with any of these implements.