Easy Label Removal

Get Those Labels Off

A while back I saved a pin on Pinterest with a method of getting labels off jars easily. Today I gave it a whirl on some wine and cordial bottles that I intend to present iced water in for our big birthday bash coming up.
Here's the recipe...
Fill a sink/ basin with really hot water.
Fill bottles with really hot water also.
To the sink/ Basin add:
 1/2 cup of baking soda
 1 tablespoon of detergent
2 cups of white vinegar

This will froth up and the labels will be easy to remove, in fact some will just lift off by themselves.
 I found different labels behaved differently, some were easier to get off than others.

Vinegar, baking soda, detergent and HOT water to get those labels off

Don't throw the water out when you are finished...I decided it was the perfect stuff to wipe down my kitchen cabinets with, then wash the floor, then used it to flush the toilet.
The first sink load I did, the water wasn't hot enough and I was too impatient. So with the second lot the water was HOT, and I left the bottles soaking while I was doing the above mentioned cleaning. The labels came off much easier still. The remaining solution in the sink made quick work of cleaning up the extractor filters.
I'm going to be using those bottles a lot - I've found someone nearby, via Trademe, who sells raw milk and cream, so I will be taking along bottles to fill. Then I think cheese making could be on the cards.

Keeping It Pure

Last night on Prime we watched a great programme called Keeping It Pure, which this week examined New Zealand's vital marine environment and what is being done to protect and preserve its health for the future.
It was disheartening, and yet heartening at the same time. Seeing the contents of a dead turtle's stomach - with ingested plastic - some with New Zealand Pure written on it! But then seeing the work being done with school children and beach clean - ups. It makes me keep wanting to do more.
Keeping it Pure is on again next Sunday at 8.30pm. Hope I don't miss it.

The National Cookery Book
During our big clean up Derek came across this book, published in maybe the 1950's - there is no date in it.

After reading the table of times to cook vegetables, I could imagine why children (and probably adults too) wouldn't want to eat vegetables
Brussels Sprouts
Cabbage
Spinach                 20 - 30 minutes in boiling water with a pinch of soda
French Beans
etc

But then to top it off were the recipes for invalids....I bet they pushed away most of their food....
Beef balls, raw; Beef jubes, raw; Beef sandwiches, raw; Brain creams, Brains scalloped, fried, scrambled, stewed; fish custards; oysters (now I love oysters, but not when I'm sick) and gruel among many other tasty (?) recipes.
I don't think I can trust any recipes in that book!