Post by Paul on Jul 1, 2005 5:25:38 GMT
Bit of a grizzly subject this....
I was looking through the livefoods forum and I noticed a post by Sarah looking to obtain some Dermestes maculates beetles, real nasty blighters that strip carcass away. She wanted to find a way of cleaning the shells of dead snails without having to leave them outside for flies.
I'm currently doing that for 2 shells now, so I started to look into it further. The beetles aren't available (well I can't find them apart from mithering the NHM who have them for cleaning skeletons) so I looked into other methods and found this:
www.skullsite.co.uk/preparation.htm
I've summarised the interesting bits for our purposes:
"....boiling softens meat, and ten to thirty minutes, depending on size, will enable you to remove muscle sheets from the upper surfaces. It is the tough, gristly bits where the neck was attached which can cause problems, requiring such extended boiling that the structure of the bone is affected. Also, boiling does little to remove material inside the nasal and other cavities......Boiling works better if you allow the head to decompose for a week or so beforehand - like hanging meat to tenderise it - but more so..."
"...The subtlest, and best way to soften and dissolve protein (and remove fat) is with enzymes..."
"...Biological Washing Powder: The substances which ooze from our vile bodies are mostly fat and protein, so some types of washing powders contain enzymes which dissolve these substances very efficiently. (In the UK Biotex has been recommended to me as it is not alkaline like the others) So efficiently, in fact, that it is necessary to ensure, by frequent checking,that the skull spends the minimum time in the solution. The enzymes in washing powder remain active up to 50 or 60'C, so for quickest results, a device which maintained a quantity of water at around this temperature would be ideal..."
"...Most of the above treatments will leave you with a more or less clean skull, somewhat smelly,perhaps stained, with loose teeth and small bones..."
"...If there are still intractable bits of gristle attached, or if you know that material remainsinside some cavities, don't worry too much. Once absolutely dry, it will mummify and bacterial activity will cease, but specialist detritus feeders such as spider beetle can still cause problems. For this reason, treat finished skulls as you would skins - protect from damp, and perhaps use a deterrent chemical..."
The point is, we could use washing powder to dissolve the flesh. Much quicker and far less smellier. We don't wish to bleach them and perhaps it would. If this was the case, maybe they could be filled with soap-powder water, and kept in a warm room or airing cupboard to get the enzymes firing. Room temperature would be fine.
The only trouble is that the author seems to hint that this infamous Biotex is good because it is not alkaline. Whether that means it is acidic is anyone's guess. If it was, that obviously wouldn't be good depending on the length of time it takes to get the job done. Perhaps alkaline ones will do the job, just not as fast.
I was looking through the livefoods forum and I noticed a post by Sarah looking to obtain some Dermestes maculates beetles, real nasty blighters that strip carcass away. She wanted to find a way of cleaning the shells of dead snails without having to leave them outside for flies.
I'm currently doing that for 2 shells now, so I started to look into it further. The beetles aren't available (well I can't find them apart from mithering the NHM who have them for cleaning skeletons) so I looked into other methods and found this:
www.skullsite.co.uk/preparation.htm
I've summarised the interesting bits for our purposes:
"....boiling softens meat, and ten to thirty minutes, depending on size, will enable you to remove muscle sheets from the upper surfaces. It is the tough, gristly bits where the neck was attached which can cause problems, requiring such extended boiling that the structure of the bone is affected. Also, boiling does little to remove material inside the nasal and other cavities......Boiling works better if you allow the head to decompose for a week or so beforehand - like hanging meat to tenderise it - but more so..."
"...The subtlest, and best way to soften and dissolve protein (and remove fat) is with enzymes..."
"...Biological Washing Powder: The substances which ooze from our vile bodies are mostly fat and protein, so some types of washing powders contain enzymes which dissolve these substances very efficiently. (In the UK Biotex has been recommended to me as it is not alkaline like the others) So efficiently, in fact, that it is necessary to ensure, by frequent checking,that the skull spends the minimum time in the solution. The enzymes in washing powder remain active up to 50 or 60'C, so for quickest results, a device which maintained a quantity of water at around this temperature would be ideal..."
"...Most of the above treatments will leave you with a more or less clean skull, somewhat smelly,perhaps stained, with loose teeth and small bones..."
"...If there are still intractable bits of gristle attached, or if you know that material remainsinside some cavities, don't worry too much. Once absolutely dry, it will mummify and bacterial activity will cease, but specialist detritus feeders such as spider beetle can still cause problems. For this reason, treat finished skulls as you would skins - protect from damp, and perhaps use a deterrent chemical..."
The point is, we could use washing powder to dissolve the flesh. Much quicker and far less smellier. We don't wish to bleach them and perhaps it would. If this was the case, maybe they could be filled with soap-powder water, and kept in a warm room or airing cupboard to get the enzymes firing. Room temperature would be fine.
The only trouble is that the author seems to hint that this infamous Biotex is good because it is not alkaline. Whether that means it is acidic is anyone's guess. If it was, that obviously wouldn't be good depending on the length of time it takes to get the job done. Perhaps alkaline ones will do the job, just not as fast.
