I need help with Irish Moss

[MarciaN]

I just got 3 packages of Irish Moss in the mail from Cafe Gratitude today. Yahoo! I have drooled too long over the recipes in their cook book. My questions are: how should I best store the moss until I soak it? In the cupboard, fridge or freezer???? And, as I don't own a kitchen scale, is there a way to guess-measure the moss after I soak it. I took the 8 oz package, and carefully divided the moss into 8 parts. So if I soak 1 ounce of dry moss, what will its weight be after soaking?? Will I be able to guess the soaked weight for the recipes, or do I have to buy a scale for accuracy? Also, would I get better results blending it in a regular blender or a Vita Mix?

Thank you for helping me out!

[Betsy]

It stores up to a year in a cool dry place because the salt acts a preservative.

Do you have to weigh the moss? I would just do a trial and error and use your best judgement.

[GlimR]

Wish I could be more helpful...I have made several things from the cookbook which are amazing....I just store it in the cubboard, in the fridge after soaking. I bought a cheap scale at the grocery store for under 10 dollars to measure it, drained, AFTER soaking...it is heavier of course when it has absorbed water. Wishing you the best....man are the recipes great!!!:)

[rawxstasy]

Sorry, which cookbook is this you are talking about?

[rawxstasy]

MarciaN

I just read this on the Cafe Gratitude site.

*please note: Irish moss needs to be kept refrigerated for optimum freshness! It is fine out of the refrigerator for a few days, which is why we can ship it to you. As soon as you receive it, make sure it goes directly into the fridge*

[MarciaN]

Thank you all for your help!!! My moss is soaking, and around supper time, it should be ready to be used. Can't wait. I'm going to try the Raw Chocolate Mousse first.

The book is "I am Grateful: Recipes & Lifestyle of Cafe Gratitude." The desserts in it look amazing! I have so many cookbooks, that I first got it from the library. My library didn't carry it, so I requested it through Inter Library Loan. So I got to look at it for free, to decide if I wanted to buy my own copy. I have ordered in tons of books this way through the library. Here is the info to get "I am Grateful" through your library: Authors, Terces Engelhart & Orchid. Copyright, 2007, and ISBN 1556436475. It usually takes the library 2-4 weeks to get the books in, but tons of raw food books and raw cook books are available! If any library in the whole United States owns it, you can get it. The only restriction, is some libraries won't lend a book out until it is a year past its publication date. But this is an incredible resource.

[GlimR]

I bought mine from Living Tree Community...this is what they say about storage...

"How to store Irish Moss:Dry Irish Moss can stay up to a year in a cool dry place, as the salt will preserve it.If you have soaked more Irish Moss than needed you may keep it in the fridge and change the water every few days and it will keep fresh up to 3 weeks. You may also blend the Moss with a little water until you get a thick creamy consistency; store it in a closed glass jar in the fridge for up to 3 weeks (it's nice to have some Irish Moss paste ready in you fridge for spontaneous recipes)."

This has worked very well for me. No reason not to put in the fridge except for space...man I need another fridge!!!