SC - Help on an Adventure (slightly OT)

[Par Leijonhufvud]

On Fri, 19 Jun 1998, Michael P Newton wrote:

> (since I don't know where else to ask) is how does one tan/cure a pig's
> bladder? Getting the bladders shouldn't be a problem since our shire
> seems to be in a pig roast mood lately.

ISTR seeing a bladder (from a sheep or deer) that was tanned with bark.
Here's my stab at the procedure.

1. Rinse and inflate the bladder, and hang up to dry. I suppose you
might get away with just rinsing if you plonk it in the tanning solution
straight off.

2. Place in a tanning solution made from any tannin containing plant
matter. Simply boil or steep the material at hand until it is as strong
as tea that has been left to draw _way_ too long, and is undrinkable.
Let the solution cool to body temperature before putting your bladder in
it. Possible materials: bark from oaks, salix (willow, etc), or even
plain tea (finally, a use for Liptons Yellow Label Crud^H^H^HTea!).
Tannins are in lots of plants, and you can't really mistake the taste.
Some plants add a color to the skin, but that might not be an issue in
this case.

3. The bladder needs to be in there (possibly with some changes of
solution) for anything from a week to months, but most likely a week or
two would be quite sufficient, thinking of how thin it is.

4. In order for it to dry soft you need to work it while it dries.
Either work outdoors, or spread a towel over your lap and do it while
watching TV. Just roll, stretch gently, and bend until it is thoroughly
dry. If you need to take a break place in a plastic bag in the fridge,
or freeze if it is more than a couple of hours involved.

/UlfR

- -- 
Par Leijonhufvud                           parlei(at)algonet.se
http://www.algonet.se/~parlei
"Stop! Think! There must be a harder way to do this"

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