Tales From The Wildwood BBC4

Latest Articles

Tales From The Wildwood BBC4
Page Previous 1, 2, 3

Downsizer Forum Index -> Reviews and What's On

Author

Message

robkb

Joined: 29 May 2009
Posts: 4205
Location: SE London

Posted: Wed Nov 14, 12 1:19 pm Post subject:
It's not broadcast until tonight, so you're safe for a few hours yet

Treacodactyl
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 25795
Location: Jumping on the bandwagon of opportunism

Posted: Wed Nov 14, 12 8:54 pm Post subject:

bulworthy project wrote:

We've just seen that there's a clip of us on Iplayer, but our mobile internet connection is not good enough to watch is so we still don't know if we come across as complete fools

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01nvwr0

Was that you with kiln then? If so how do you transport the kilns and is it usual to use wood that's only been felled for a few months or would you get better results if it has been seasoned for a year?

Mithril

Joined: 22 Jul 2011
Posts: 1755
Location: wessex

Posted: Wed Nov 14, 12 9:35 pm Post subject:
Really enjoying the series. In fact, all the family are, young and old(ish).

robkb

Joined: 29 May 2009
Posts: 4205
Location: SE London

Posted: Thu Nov 15, 12 8:48 am Post subject:
Another really interesting programme. It's great that this programme is actually taking its subject seriously - it's not just a bloke larking about in the woods, it's actually trying to look at the issues around woodland management. And BP - you came across really well and the whole charcoal-making bit was fascinating. Congrats

bulworthy project

Joined: 27 Jun 2011
Posts: 188
Location: Rackenford, Devon

Posted: Thu Nov 15, 12 1:37 pm Post subject:

Treacodactyl wrote:

bulworthy project wrote:

We keep our kiln in one place as you get better results from dry ground with no organic matter left to burn. The kiln that we used for Tales From the Wildwood was already there, we just had to get it into place.

We season our wood for a minimum of 6 months, but longer is better.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42207
Location: North Devon

Posted: Thu Nov 15, 12 1:40 pm Post subject:
I haven't watched this. I would just like to chuck in a quick plug for Bulworthy Project's charcoal though, consistently superior to all others.

Ty Gwyn

Joined: 22 Sep 2010
Posts: 4563
Location: Lampeter

Posted: Thu Nov 15, 12 2:08 pm Post subject:

Maybe BP can clarify the value of the charcoal in that kiln,

It was mentioned there was 150kg of saleable charcoal,worth £250,
He eventually recieved £4 per bag,
Are the bags only weighing 2.4kg?

Other than BP`s practical content to this series,i have found it a rather haphazard and starry eyed approach,esspecially his comment about the mountain bikers,``And you have`nt got to cut the tree`s down``,

I thought the whole programme was about woodland management,

At least he has`nt got to rely on it for a living.

Mithril

Joined: 22 Jul 2011
Posts: 1755
Location: wessex

Posted: Thu Nov 15, 12 5:58 pm Post subject:

Ty Gwyn wrote:

I thought he meant that it wasn't necessary for the mountain bikers, not that they wouldn't ever be felled. So, the recreational users were a side line that didn't interfer with long or short term plans for the trees.

bulworthy project

Joined: 27 Jun 2011
Posts: 188
Location: Rackenford, Devon

Posted: Sun Nov 18, 12 12:29 pm Post subject:

Ty Gwyn wrote:

Maybe BP can clarify the value of the charcoal in that kiln,

It was mentioned there was 150kg of saleable charcoal,worth £250,
He eventually recieved £4 per bag,
Are the bags only weighing 2.4kg?

We've been talking about this and neither of us can remember how many bags came out of the kiln.

The bags were a bit over 2.4 kilos but not as much as 3 kilos each. British charcoal is not as dense as imported, so they were probably the equivelant of 5kgs of rainforest charcoal.

It is a shame that the people who were cooking on the charcoal didn't realise that British charcoal only takes 10 to 15 minutes to reach a cooking heat unlike rainforest charcoal. By the time that they started cooking on it, they would have burned away quite a bit unnecessarily.

Also a shame that there was no mention of the chemicals that so much imported charcoal is impregnated with. This is one of the real benefits to those who like the taste of meat.

Pilsbury

Joined: 13 Dec 2004
Posts: 5645
Location: East london/Essex

Posted: Sun Nov 18, 12 12:42 pm Post subject:
It's really interesting to know UK charcoal gets to heat that quickly, I normally light my bbq about an hour before I need to cook and a few times I have struggled to get to the end before it wasto cool and thinking back they were the times I know I used charcoal I made in a weekend workshop in the uk.

Ty Gwyn

Joined: 22 Sep 2010
Posts: 4563
Location: Lampeter

Posted: Sun Nov 18, 12 1:17 pm Post subject:

Thanks BP,
like you mention Foreign charcoal being more dense than the UK product,
1.does that imply a lot of the foreign is made from hardwood waste
2.that the UK product burns a lot quicker than the Foreign
3.also,that if users are not educated to this fact, that food can be started to be cooked earlier with UK charcoal than the foreign product,users will be wasting the product,and thinking it does`nt last as long,like the example of the 2 chefs you highlighted.

Its also a shame the chemical content of foreign charcoal was not mentioned,as i dare say,a lot of the users know nothing of this.

bulworthy project

Joined: 27 Jun 2011
Posts: 188
Location: Rackenford, Devon

Posted: Sun Nov 18, 12 3:09 pm Post subject:

Ty Gwyn wrote:

1. The production of rainforest charcoal involves piling up vast amounts of hardwood (mahogony, teak etc...) often whole trees as even though the wood is more valuable as timber it is lighter to transport as charcoal. Earth is then piled on top and the wood set alight. This is a massivly inefficient method of producing charcoal, but the economics (no cost of illegal deforestation and a labour force on less than a dollar a day) add up. We had a woman from Kenya at our place learning about charcoal production using a ring kiln and she was supprised that the site was not covered with vast piles of ash as she has seen back home.
2. British charcoal does burn out quicker but this is more than made up for by the fact that it heats quicker. Not only can you start cooking earlier but if you need to add more you can add it a little at a time meaning that you only add what you need.
3. People who do not realise that British charcoal heats quickly will use more than necesarry. We say about the heating time on the back of our charcoal bags for this reason.

We did not realise the differences in quality and environmental impact between British and imported charcoal until we started making it. We now try to do all we can to educate people about this.

Ty Gwyn

Joined: 22 Sep 2010
Posts: 4563
Location: Lampeter

Posted: Sun Nov 18, 12 7:26 pm Post subject:
Shame the programme did`nt get someone like yourselves ,who do it as a living,and know what they are talking about,not someone who most likely will be turning his back on the woods when filming is over,and some of the drongo`s they pulled into the show.

robkb

Joined: 29 May 2009
Posts: 4205
Location: SE London

Posted: Thu Nov 22, 12 11:13 am Post subject:
Nice end to the series last night. It doesn't seem like Rob Penn will be walking away from wood - the narration explicitly stated that he was continuing to manage the wood with the help of the local woodland group. And the barbecued squirrels looked tasty!

Andy B

Joined: 12 Jan 2005
Posts: 3920
Location: Brum

Posted: Thu Nov 22, 12 12:42 pm Post subject:
They should release it on DVD.

	Downsizer Forum Index -> Reviews and What's On	All times are GMT Page Previous 1, 2, 3
Page 3 of 3

View Latest Posts