MetaChat - As the winner of the inaugural Metachat raffle,

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02 May 2011

As the winner of the inaugural Metachat raffle, I hereby proclaim it a tradition and start a new raffle.→[More:]

Though I never win anything, and the bunny pan was probably not what I would have chosen (Hello? New car please?), I WON THE DAMN BUNNY PAN RAFFLE. Whoopie!

I proposed in the thread that this become a habit, so I'm starting a new raffle.

More in next comment, since I can't include an image in a post.

post by: mudpuppie at: 22:08 | 36 comments

The items to be raffled:

≡ Click to see image ≡

Four pints of homemade pickles from last season: Spicy pickled purple heirloom beans, bread and butter pickles, sweet pickle chunks, and spicy chipotle salsa (which isn't actually a pickle, and does not contain cilantro). All products homegrown and organic.

I'm sorry that I don't think I can afford to ship all four jars outside of the US. However, if someone on foreign soil wins, I'd be happy to ship the jar of their choice, provided that Customs rules allow it.

I also encourage the winner to conduct their own subsequent raffle.

To enter, comment in this thread. Must comment by 5 p.m. Pacific time on Tuesday, May 10.

Good luck!

posted by mudpuppie 02 May | 22:11

Oh man, those look good.

I also encourage the winner to conduct their own subsequent raffle.

Great idea - it's a Rollin' Raffle!

posted by Miko 02 May | 22:17

They look amazing and now I'm thinking of what I'm going to raffle WHEN I win the pickles!

posted by gaspode 02 May | 22:20

They look yummy and crunchy!

posted by danf 02 May | 22:55

I feel kind of bad about the US-centric tone of this. Does anyone have any suggestions on how to make it more inclusive? Maybe it won't be an issue long-term, but for heavier things, like this collection of jars, it tends to be a significant concern. We have so many regulars who aren't in the US, I don't want this to be unfair to them.

Maybe we need a discussion about it outside of this thread so that this thread remains one big raffle ticket purchase?

posted by mudpuppie 02 May | 23:12

The pickles and salsa look massively impressive. They will put to shame everything in my fridge and pantry but I have a neighbor who has been growing some veggies and I need something to give back to her for the best tomato I've put on a burger in years...

If the Raffle Stick is passed onto me, I have been going through all of the knick knacks my parents had in the house where I grew up and which my father kept safely all the years after my mother died. I'll have to decide... brass, glass or boat paintings? Or maybe all three? Or maybe even if it isn't my turn officially, there are some things here I'd want to find loving homes for (especially the glass pieces in non-earthquake-zones). And nothing too heavy to ship to far-flung-bunny-hatches.

If I haven't done enough to influence mudpup to 'fix' the drawing in my favor, aren't you just up the Left Coast from me? Zone 2 USPS shipping should be a bargain!

posted by oneswellfoop 02 May | 23:18

I don't like pickles. If I win, I'm raffling... um. Either four straw sun hats, or everything you need to DIY bookbinding.

posted by aniola 02 May | 23:24

I tried pickling olives once and it didn't work because I was following my roommate's instructions and she gave me perfect instructions except for she left out the bit about sterilizing the jars first. Oops. Anyway, so pickles may not be tasty, but they sure does impress me!

posted by aniola 02 May | 23:26

*** Didactic Interlude ***

There's a difference between actual pickling and quick pickling. Real, honest-to-god pickling involves submerging foods in a salty brine. Lactic fermentation takes place, making the brine and the food in it acidic. Below a certain pH -- beyond a certain acidity -- harmful bacteria can't survive and long-term preservation becomes possible. Real pickling, more properly called fermenting, requires some pretty special skills. Not only do you need to dedicate yourself to sterilizing everything, you need to live in a place where the good bacteria can conquer the bad bacteria. (This is one reason why San Francisco sourdough tastes so good -- SF has some kickass tasty bacteria.)

Quick pickling uses vinegar to immediately acidify the food, making the product IMMEDIATELY inhospitable to bad bacteria that cause off flavors. Most of the "pickles" we eat today are pickled in vinegar, and are therefore 'quick' pickles.

Of the three pickles mentioned above, only the sweet pickle chunks are fermented pickles. They sit in a brine for a couple of weeks to develop beneficial bacteria that will lower the pH of the brine, and are then canned in that brine. No vinegar.

Olives aren't quick pickles -- they're fermented pickles. They also take at least a year to cure. You have to constantly skim off the scum -- a normal part of the process -- to ensure that the bad bacteria don't overtake the good bacteria and thus spoil the flavor.

All this is to say, it's not a good idea to base your opinion of pickles on a failed attempt at curing olives -- which is a difficult, time-consuming process.

And that's all the pedantry I have in me tonight, I think.

posted by mudpuppie 02 May | 23:49

Yum. Pickles.

If I win the pickles, I'd probably raffle off some bunny magnets or something. They'd be light enough to be sent anywhere.

posted by julen 03 May | 00:30

One thing about my Year In ~~Hell~~ The Fresno Area was living next door to somebody who worked for the Lindsey Olive Company in Lindsey, CA, 25 miles down the road. Learned a lot about how intense the olive-curing process was; I even went from actively disliking olives to being generally disinterested in them, which was the best you're ever going to get from me.

posted by oneswellfoop 03 May | 00:46

I think considering the weight it's fine to be US centric (^_^). Also Australian customs is hell to please.

posted by gomichild 03 May | 02:28

Beautiful jars of pickles!

posted by Kangaroo 03 May | 05:25

RAFFLE ALL THE THINGS!

posted by JanetLand 03 May | 05:35

Oh my god, this is awesome. I'm going to spend the rest of my day deciding what I'd raffle if I win.

posted by punchtothehead 03 May | 07:12

I would be happy to receive instructions on making my own pickles (Poland feels like the land of cucumbers!) in lieu of accepting these beauts! :)

posted by mdonley 03 May | 07:54

Fun! I am not sure what I would raffle...maybe some jewelry or some of my aloe babies or some homemade baked goods.

posted by rmless2 03 May | 08:42

I want, I want, I want!

posted by ThePinkSuperhero 03 May | 08:45

RAFFLE ME FANTASTICAL

posted by stynxno 03 May | 08:46

I would very much enjoy winning stunning pickles. Thank you for the opportunity.

posted by rainbaby 03 May | 08:57

Like many folks above, I've no idea what I'd raffle, but I'd totally raffle in return for mudpuppie's jars of pickles!

posted by crush-onastick 03 May | 09:29

Once again, I'll abstain from entering this round of the raffle (neither of us is a pickle-eater, so it would be a shame to send us such lovelies!), but I think the idea of a recurring raffle is a GREAT idea!

Also, I wanted to coo and admire mudpuppie for being able to perform the magic of canning. Canning is so very impressive!

posted by Elsa 03 May | 10:09

Hahaha. I base my opinion of pickles on not being a fan of vinegar-pickled cucumbers, or really over-salty things in general. It probably also has something to do with me being a one-ingredient kind of person (for example, strawberries for lunch), and pickles being a two-ingredient kind of food (for example, pickles and rice).

...but the didactic interlude was interesting. I knew there were different kinds of pickling, but hadn't given much thought to why we would do one kind over the other.

posted by aniola 03 May | 10:11

My olives story was to explain how I appreciate the idea of pickles.

posted by aniola 03 May | 10:13

I'm with you, aniola: the whole idea of pickling is so interesting, especially when you get into the various techniques and chemical interactions! I could sit here, chin on hand, and listen dreamily to didactic interludes about pickles all day.

posted by Elsa 03 May | 10:16

Yum, homemade pickles!!

posted by youngergirl44 03 May | 10:41

If I win, I'll raffle off a car.

posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson 03 May | 10:49

If it's pickled, I'll eat it.

IHOPEIWINIHOPEIWINIHOPEIWIN

posted by initapplette 03 May | 11:21

Oh oh oh I love pickles of all kinds.

I am ransacking my brain to come up with something I could raffle if I won. I want to win :)

posted by galadriel 03 May | 11:50

I will eat all the pickles! And raffle awesome stuff because we will be moving soon; anyone interested in the mister's collection on TMNT dolls?

he would kill me
they're not dolls, they're "action figures"

posted by rhapsodie 03 May | 13:28

WANT. And have some ideas in case I win. Which I REALLY want to do.

Do I have to do anything besides express greed in this thread and promise to find something raffle-able if I win?

posted by bearwife 03 May | 14:13

Abstaining again (stupid geography) but man, those look delicious. I don't think I've had bread and butter pickles since my mum and I made some thirty years ago.

posted by deborah 03 May | 16:57

Consider yourself entered, deborah. If you win, I'll send you a jar of B&B pickles.

posted by mudpuppie 03 May | 17:01

Woo hoo! I am in for this one!

posted by TrishaLynn 03 May | 17:16

Also, I promise that if I win the raffle, and the item I choose to raffle off in the next round is too cumbersome to mail outside the U.S., I will come up with something awesome to send abroad, purchased and shipped from within the person's country of origin.

posted by TrishaLynn 03 May | 17:21

We are past 5pm Pacific time on May 10!

(tap tap tap)

:)

posted by galadriel 10 May | 21:00

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