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How to Make Root Beer Posted: 13 Jan 2019 04:00 PM PST A seasonal treat to keep you perky during all your autumnal activities, homemade root beer is easy to make with the right supplies. On a stove, you can make the drink base yourself with ingredients, and ferment it with yeast and molasses for flavor. Alternatively, you can use a store-bought root beer extract to mix with water and sugar, and allow it to cool down with dry ice. EditIngredients EditBrewed Root Beer of water 1/4 oz. (7.08 g) dried sassafras root bark 1/4 oz. (7.08 g) dried birch bark 1/4 oz. (7.08 g) dried sarsaparilla root 1/8 oz. (3.54 g) of dried licorice root A piece of unpeeled ginger, sliced thin 1 vanilla bean, split of molasses 1/8 tsp. (0.6 g) of active dry yeast Makes EditRoot Beer Extract Method of cold water of granulated sugar, depending on how sweet you want it of root beer extract of dry ice, broken into pieces Makes EditSteps EditBrewing Root Beer Boil and infuse the aromatic ingredients to create your flavor base. In a medium sized pot, add 1/4 ounce (7.08 g) of sassafras root bark, 1/4 ounce (7.08 g) of birch bark, 1/4 ounce (7.08 g) of sarsaparilla root, 1/8 ounce (3.54 g) of dried licorice root, a piece of ginger, and 1 split vanilla bean. Pour of water into the pot, and then bring it to a boil.[1] Wait for the bubbles to just begin rising to the surface, but don't keep it boiling after that. Remove the mixture from the heat and allow it to infuse for 2 hours. After it's reached a boiling point, remove the pot from the heat and place the lid onto it. Leave it to cool down and infuse for a 2 full hours.[2] Steep the ingredients in the mixture without stirring them. Filter the liquid through a cheesecloth-lined sieve. Place the sieve over a container you can put the mixture into, and pour it through the filters. Once in the container, add an additional of filtered water, and stir thoroughly until it's mixed together.[3] After adding the extra water, allow it to cool to . Be sure to clean the container you're filtering the mixture into beforehand with soap and hot water. Add molasses and yeast to the mixture and let it ferment for 15 minutes. Stir in of molasses and 1/8 teaspoons (0.6 g) of active dry yeast into the root-infused liquid and place a cover on it. Set it aside, and allow it to ferment for 15 minutes.[4] Pour the root beer into clean, dry soda bottles. Use a funnel when adding the root beer to the bottles to avoid spilling. Fill the bottles to below the cap to allow for a pocket for the carbonation.[5] Clean out the bottles with warm soapy water, and allow them to air dry before pouring the root beer in them. Leave the bottles out at room temperature to ferment for 12 hours. Screw on the lids of the bottles tightly, and set them out on your kitchen counter or table overnight to allow them enough time to ferment.[6] Set the bottles upright instead of laying them on their sides. Chill the homemade root beer for 2-5 days to increase its flavor. After letting them sit at room temperature, place the soda bottles in your fridge to cool for several days. After 5 days, the yeast will have broken down the molasses for a milder flavor with a slight alcohol content.[7] For a stronger molasses taste, remove the root beer from the fridge after 2 days. Open the root beer bottles carefully before serving. Gas will have built up inside the bottles that may cause the root beer to erupt out if you shake it too much while opening it, or open it too quickly. Wait for the gas to stop hissing before continuing to turn it. Once you have it open, serve your root beer over ice. To store, simply place the lid back on the bottle and secure it tightly again. Drink the remaining root beer within a couple of days of you opening the bottle to enjoy it before it goes flat, or loses its flavor. EditMaking Root Beer with Extract Mix cold water, sugar, and root beer extract in a large pitcher. Use of cold water, of sugar depending on how sweet you'd like your root beer, and of root beer extract in a large pitcher. Stir the ingredients together until the water and extract have mixed well, and the sugar is fully dissolved.[8] Taste the mixture to see if more sugar or extract needs to be added. Cool the drink down with dry ice. Drop of dry ice chunks into the pitcher and mix it together with a spoon to cool it down and keep it from sticking to the bottom. Upon contact, the root beer mix should bubble, and the dry ice fog will spill over the side of the pitcher.[9] Wear insulated gloves or use tongs when handling the dry ice. Add the dry ice to the pitcher in a well-ventilated room to avoid inhaling its fog. Continue stirring until the dry ice is mostly melted. Use the spoon to continually keep turning the ice around in the pitcher, cooling down the root beer. Keep this up until the dry ice is nearly dissolved, which should take around 10-15 minutes.[10] Serve the root beer with a ladle. Be careful to avoid placing any remaining large pieces of dry ice in the cups so others won't burn themselves with it.[11] Feel free to enjoy in front of a leaf-strewn yard, an open fire pit, or while greeting trick-or-treaters on Halloween. EditTips When brewing root beer, artificial sweetener cannot be used to replace the sugar. Actual sugar (in this case in the molasses) is required for yeast to generate carbon dioxide which carbonates the beverage. Without sugar, there is no carbonation. You might experiment with less sugar and add a substitute to make up for the lower sweetness. You can add 1/4 oz. (7.08 g) of corn sugar (dextrose) or cane sugar to carbonate the soda and sweeten with a substitute. Use bottled water instead of tap water to guarantee better freshness. There will be a sediment of yeast at the bottom of the bottle, so the last bit of root beer will be turbid. Decant carefully if you wish to avoid this sediment. EditWarnings There might be alcohol in this homemade soft drink. The alcoholic content which results from the fermentation of this root beer has been found, through testing, to be between 0.35 and 0.5 %. Comparing this to the 6% in many beers, it would require a person to drink about of this root beer to be equivalent to one beer. For people who cannot metabolize alcohol properly or have religious prohibition against any alcohol, consumption should be limited or avoided. Do not leave the finished root beer in a warm place for long. After a couple weeks or so at room temperature, especially in the summer when temperatures are high, enough pressure may build up to cause the bottle to explode!! EditThings You'll Need EditFor Brewed Root Beer Cheesecloth A sieve A funnel Measuring cups Measuring spoons 4 clean, dry plastic soft drink bottles with cap A pot with a lid EditFor Root Beer Made with Extract Measuring cups Measuring spoons A pitcher A Styrofoam cooler to store the dry ice A big spoon to stir with A ladle to serve Cups Gloves or tongs to hold the dry ice EditRelated wikiHows Make Root Beer Float Cookies Brew Your Own Beer Make Ginger Ale Make OpenCola Make Cream Soda [[Make a Fanta Float]} EditSources and Citations EditQuick Summary Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found

How to Dye Fabric with Beets Posted: 13 Jan 2019 08:00 AM PST There is a certain beauty to natural dyes that you just can't get with regular fabric dyes. Although the results aren't quite as color-fast as store-bought dyes, they are gorgeous in their own way. The process is simple, and once you know how to do it with beets, you can try using other natural products, such as red cabbage or turmeric. EditSteps EditPreparing the Dye and Fabric Peel 3 to 4 beets, then cut them into large chunks. The size of the chunks doesn't really matter, but something between would work great. Don't use whole beets, because they won't release enough dye.[1] You don't want to cut the beets too small. If you do, the pieces will be harder to remove later on. Place the beets into a pot, then fill the pot with water. How much water you use will depend on the size of the pot. Use enough water to fill the pot from the rim.[2] You will be boiling the water shortly, so the temperature does not matter. Place white cotton or linen fabric into a separate pot. The pot needs to be large enough for the fabric to be able to move around freely. For best results, use something made from white cotton or linen.[3] It would be a good idea to wash and dry the fabric beforehand. This will remove any chemicals that might prevent the dye from adhering. Natural dye does not stick well to synthetics, so use natural fibers, such as cotton or linen. You can use this method to dye articles of clothing as well, as long as they are made from white cotton or linen. Fill the clothing pot with a 1-to-4 ratio of vinegar-to-water. Fill the pot about a quarter of the way with vinegar first. Push the fabric into the vinegar to ensure that it's soaked through, then fill the remaining three-quarters of the pot with water.[4] You are only doing this for the pot that has the fabric in it. Don't add anything to the pot with the beets in it. The vinegar will act as a fixative and help the dye adhere better to the fabric. Alternatively, use 1/2 cup (150 g) of salt for every of water.[5] EditDyeing the Fabric Bring both pots to a boil on the stove. Set each pot down on a separate burner. Turn the heat up to medium or medium-high, then wait for the water to come to a boil. This may take a few minutes.[6] Wait for both pots to come to a boil before moving on to the next step. Reduce the heat to low, then let both pots simmer for 1.5 to 2.5 hours. Again, you want this to happen simultaneously for both pots. Turn the knobs for both burners to low, then wait for the water to reduce to a simmer. Set the timer for anywhere between 1.5 and 2.5 hours.[7] The longer you let the water simmer, the brighter the color will be. Empty the water from the fabric pot. Use a wooden spoon, or something similar, to hold the fabric in place as you pour out the vinegar water. Don't worry if there is some liquid left in the pot.[8] Don't empty the water from the dye pot. Remove the beets from the dye pot. You can use a regular spoon to do this, but a slotted spoon would work even better. Discard the beets or save them for a recipe.[9] Save the red dye leftover from the beets. Don't dump this out. Pour the dye into the fabric pot, then stir the dye. Be sure to pour the dye slowly so that it doesn't splash. Next, stir the pot to ensure that everything is submerged; you may have to poke the folds of fabric to get them to stay down.[10] You won't be able to fill the fabric pot all the way. This is because some of the beet water evaporated while you cooked it. Soak the fabric off-heat in the dye for 12 to 24 hours. There is no need to soak it for longer than that. Make sure that the fabric is fully submerged, however, or it may not dye evenly. If you need to, weigh the fabric down with a plate, bowl, or jar.[11] Take the pot off the stove for this. Don't let the dye bath keep simmering for these 12 to 24 hours. EditRinsing and Setting the Dye Remove the fabric from the dye bath and squeeze it. Do not rinse the fabric, or you may lose some of that beautiful, vibrant color. Just pull the fabric out and gently squeeze the excess dye from it.[12] It might be a good idea to wear plastic gloves for this step. The beet water may stain your hands for a few days.[13] If you don't mind a lighter shade of pink, you can rinse the fabric in cool water. Dry the fabric in the hot sun or in a dryer. Heat is key to setting the dye into the fabric. If you live in a warm, sunny climate, drying the fabric outside work the best. Otherwise, toss the fabric into the dryer, and dry it on a low-heat setting.[14] If you are drying the fabric outside, keep a pot or bucket under it to catch any drips of dye.[15] Iron the fabric for 5 minutes to further set the dye. Adjust your iron to a no-steam, low-heat setting. Place the fabric on the ironing board, then iron it for about 5 minutes. Not only will this help further set the dye into the fabric, but it will also smooth out wrinkles.[16] Even though your fabric is made from cotton or linen, you should still use a low-heat or warm setting on your iron. Don't use the cotton or linen setting. There is a chance that some of the dye may transfer to the ironing board. Consider covering the board with an old, clean cloth first. Hand wash the fabric in cold water only when necessary. Even with the added vinegar, this is a natural dye. It is safer for the environment than regular dye, but it is not permanent. To help preserve the color, hand wash the fabric in cold water only when necessary; avoid using a washing machine, if possible.[17] If you choose to use a washing machine, use a cold water setting. Wash the dyed fabric separately to avoid color transfer.[18] EditTips Use more beets for a brighter shade of pink. If you want a lighter shade of pink, add more water to the final dye bath, after you pour it into the fabric pot. Wooden spoons work great for this, but there's a chance that the dye may stain them. For a unique effect, tie rubber bands around the fabric first for a tie-die effect. EditThings You'll Need 2 pots Large spoon Slotted spoon White cotton or linen fabric Vinegar 3 to 4 beets Iron Rubber or plastic gloves (optional, but recommended) EditSources and Citations Cite error: <ref> tags exist, but no <references/> tag was found

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