Technological Corks Zinc Gutters Traditional Basque Ham Chisteras
Many wine makers these days are opting to seal their bottles with technological corks. These are stoppers made of molded particles of natural cork which have undergone a purification treatment to remove the t.c.a. molecule and other contaminants, which can give wine a musty odor. Technological corks look very much like the traditional stoppers that are cut and shaped from a solid piece of cork. These two are made of natural cork, only very differently. Cork is the bark of the cork oak tree. Once the tree reaches the age of 25, it can be harvested for its bark once every decade or so. A specialized worker makes cuts in the bark with an ax using a very specific technique that doesn't harm the tree. Using the handle of the ax, he gently pries off the bark. A cork oak typically lives for 300 years and can be harvested up to 15 times. Upon receiving planks of cork from the supplier, the technological cork factory breaks them into small pieces... Then grinds those pieces into granules, and then stores them in huge bags. The first step is to empty the bags into silos that feed the purification equipment. The machines, which purify the cork granules, are giant autoclaves. Workers fill each one with a ton of granules. Then they start up a compressor, which simultaneously heats and pressurizes carbon dioxide that then transforms into a semiliquid gas called supercritical co2, which is an environmentally friendly solvent. They inject the supercritical co2 into the autoclave and wash the granules in it for 3 hours. The factory's in-house laboratory then analyzes and compares pre- and postpurification samples drawn from each batch to ensure there are no offending molecules remaining after treatment. A technician uses the technique of gas chromatography to separate molecules by their size and structure, then the technique of mass spectrometry to measure the electrical signal that each molecule emits. The type of signal identifies the type of molecule. The signal strength indicates its quantity. Once the batch gets the green light from the lab, the manufacturer mixes it with a food-safe binding agent and transfers the batch to the molding line. The molding machine is computer-controlled to automatically adjust the molds to the dimensions of the stopper being produced. The machine pours the cork mix into the molds, which then go into an oven for a few minutes. The ingredients bake into a solid stopper with just the right degree of elasticity. Every stopper made in the same mold shape is identical, but no two stoppers cut from the whole pieces of cork are ever the same because cork has natural variations. This is merely the cork's preliminary shape. A computer-guided machining center refines them to exactly the shape ordered. After finalizing the dimensions, the machine chamfers one or both ends. A chamfer is a beveled edge that makes it easier to insert the cork into the bottle. Every cork then passes in front of a camera, which detects any defects. This machine conducts a permeability test on a few samples from each batch to measure how much oxygen flows past the cork when it's in position in the bottle. The corks are usually custom-marked for a specific winery. Some wineries order a model that looks more like a traditional stopper cut from a solid piece of cork. That type requires a couple of extra production steps. A branding stamp burns lines on the top. Then a computer-guided laser burns a pattern around the side of the stopper to mimic the texture of natural cork. The last step is to brand the winery-specific words and images. The cork goes from ground cork bark to a finished stopper and then to a final visual inspection before being shipped out to the winery. The cork granules are stabilized by a binding agent and molded to a custom shape to block more or less oxygen according to the winemaker's specifications. Some wines require a completely airtight seal while others require a certain degree of air penetration to mature further after bottling. Zinc gutters drain rainwater and, in the process, develop a natural resistance to corrosion. When zinc is exposed to wet and dry cycles, a chemical reaction occurs, forming a protective patina on its surface, no paint or special treatment needed. You can't stop the rain, but you can stop it from damaging buildings and their foundations. These u-shaped zinc gutters funnel water away from the structures to keep them dry. The process starts with the production of these 46-ton coils of zinc. The zinc arrives at the factory in the form of thick plates. These plates are almost 100% zinc. The plates drop into a furnace. Inside, the temperature reaches 750 degrees fahrenheit. Workers add a bit of copper and titanium to reinforce the zinc, and it melts into a homogeneous liquid. The molten zinc then flows into a trough-style conveyor system. Residues, like ashes, float to the top of the metal soup, and a worker skims them off. A floating puck monitors the speed and depth of the zinc blend to prevent overflow. The molten zinc now arrives at the casting machine. Here, 3-foot-wide steel unwinds, and once linear, the zinc flows onto it. The steel acts as a mold to form the zinc into a long rigid sheet. Water flows onto the zinc to accelerate cooling and solidification. Since water and liquid zinc don't mix, the water simply runs off the surface. Now solid, the zinc plate is almost 1/3 of an inch thick, far too thick for making lightweight rain gutters. The next operation will thin the plate down dramatically. This is a powerful rolling mill. The pressure on its rollers is so great that they often must be replaced. Once the new rollers have been loaded, the mill heats them up. The operator activates the rollers. As they revolve, the hot rollers exert 770 tons of pressure to iron the zinc much thinner. Meanwhile, just ahead, a steel belt tensioning system swings into action. This system prevents slackening in the zinc sheet as it exits the rolling mill and moves forward. You can see the difference the rolling has made. It has reduced the thickness of the zinc sheet to about 3/4 of a millimeter. The steel-belt system maintains the tension in the zinc sheet as it's wound around a core. This produces the 46-ton coil of zinc. It's known as the mother coil. Approximately 25 miles of rain gutters can be made from this coil. Workers slit the mother coil into three. Each coil is a foot wide. It is now the correct width to be formed into rain gutters. A crane lifts one of the narrower coils over the factory floor. Its journey is guided by the operator below. This puts it in position to be mounted to the next machine, one that will cut it into uniform 13-foot-long strips. That's the standard length for the rain gutters. As the zinc uncoils, an overhead mirror provides a top view for the operator. In quick swoops, the blade slices the zinc sheeting to the correct length. The zinc strips then travel through a progressively narrow channel and over a cylinder. This rounds the profile. More rollers improve on the u-shape and also curl the edges of the gutters to reinforce them. This gives the zinc rain gutters their final shape. The automated profiler ejects the 13-foot-long gutters onto a rounded rack. Then it tips to stack the gutters neatly on top of each other. These zinc rain gutters are ready to hang. On site, they'll be welded together and attached to the roof with special hooks. They should come in handy on a rainy day. The french basque country is, culturally, quite distinct from the rest of france. Located in the southwest, bordering spain, the region is known, among other things, for its ham, which is salted and air-cured in an old tradition, passed down through generations of basque farmers. There are several types of traditional basque ham. This one, called kintoa, is marbled with fat and has a deep, strong, fruity flavor. Its distinct taste and composition begin with a specific breed of pig, the basque country piebald, referring to the animal's skin. This pig breed is native to the basque region where livestock are raised on small farms in the valleys of the pyrenees mountains. Unlike commercially farmed animals, the female pigs have small litters of six to nine piglets, which grow up roaming and grazing along the vast mountainsides on an average of 2 acres of land per 30 piglets. As a result of this free-range rearing, the pigs grow more slowly and become heavier than commercially farmed pigs. Once the animals reach a weight of about 330 pounds, which usually takes a year to 15 months, they go to the slaughterhouse. Each carcass is stamped with an identification number. Traditional ham is made from the hind legs. After tagging the leg, a worker places it in a machine, which brands the kintoa symbol into the flesh. Then another worker spreads dry salt on the exposed portion. The salt comes from salies-de-béarn, a saltwater spring in a basin bordered by the pyrenees mountains, the adour river, and the atlantic ocean. Workers leave the salted ham in a cold, damp room for 1 day per every 2 pounds, typically about 15 days per ham. The salt preserves the meat. Next, the ham undergoes a first dry curing. It hangs on a stainless-steel rack in a temperature and humidity controlled room for 7 months. When the ham comes out of the room, it has lost about 20% of its original weight because most of the moisture has evaporated. A worker brushes off the surface... And coats the exposed part of the ham with a special grease that's made out of pig's kidneys, rice flour, and water. This grease prevents the surface from drying out and crusting during the second dry curing. The ham now goes into a second drying room, which dries the ham in the open air, taking advantage of this particular geographic location. A warm southern wind from spain and humid air from the atlantic ocean to the west blow into the room through windows. Nature does all the work. Humans merely regulate the airflow and humidity by lifting or lowering the blinds. In this room, the ham hangs from a wooden rather than stainless-steel rack. That's because the wood absorbs excess humidity and transfers moisture to the meat if the air gets too dry. As the ham dries, its flavor concentrates. The charcutier, an artisanal pork butcher, inspects every ham carefully. The wind that dries the ham carries pollen and other natural particles, which give this ham a distinct flavor and fragrance. The secret is slow curing until the ham reaches optimal maturity. That takes approximately 1 month per 2 pounds, so the ham remains in the second drying room for more than a year. When the cured ham is ready, workers sprinkle it with espelette pepper, a mildly hot pepper from the northern basque country. This gives the ham a fragrance that's as appetizing as its taste. The ancient basque sport of pelota, or jai alai, can be played with a paddle, a racket, just your hands, or with a specially made wicker scoop called a chistera, which helps propel a ball at lightning speeds, making the sport one of the fastest ball games in the world. The chistera was an innovation of the mid-19th century. Ever since then, making chisteras has been the domain of a few specialized artisans. The family-owned workshop and all the tools it contains for making chisteras has been passed on from father to son since 1887. In use for more than 100 years, these tools still work. The great grandson of the workshop's founder uses an old plane and clamping bench to shape a curved piece of chestnut. He clamps one end in a vice and uses a modern drill to round the tip before rubbing on a little wax to help fit a crosspiece. To prepare for the next phase, he smoothes the surfaces with some fine-grit sandpaper. It's now time for him to create the substructure of the chistera. He starts by clamping the frame onto a mold. He gauges the curve of the side ribs and uses steam to adjust them. He's used plaster to patch the mold where it's been worn down by more than 100 years of constant use. Then he moves on to the bottom ribs, which he carefully shapes and trims to length. Each chistera is completely bespoke-- that is, made to order for the individual pelota players. This means each chistera will differ slightly to meet the needs of its owner. That's why the artisan must take care to ensure all the dimensions are correct. He attaches lengths of elastic strapping to the mold to hold the ribs in place as he works. Ribs give a chistera its shape, but they're not strong enough by themselves. They need to be woven with wicker made from willow heartwood. The artisan prepares the wicker with tools designed to shave it down to the required dimensions. He then turns the chistera over to his uncle, a specialist in wicker wood. There are two different sizes of chistera. For a small one, it takes a specialist roughly 9 hours to weave. For a big one like this, it takes about 14 hours. In the game of pelota, the small hard ball travels at incredible speeds. In fact, the guinness book of world records reports a pelota ball clocked at 188 miles per hour. Speeds like that could cause some serious damage. Here, the artisan rolls and sews leather padding designed to protect the player's hands from injury. Once he's made the padding components, he sews them onto the chistera, positioning them where needed. This leatherwork phase alone takes about 2 hours to complete. He now cuts out the shape required for the glove portion of the chistera, then slices the outlines for the individual fingers. True to form, even the sewing machine is an antique original. It may be old, but this well-built machine can still do the job of sewing the leather to a layer of cloth, which is specially formulated to wick away sweat. To attach the glove to the wicker scoop, the artisan must set aside the sewing machine and complete this step the old-fashioned way by carefully sewing the components together by hand. He then trims off any excess material with a pair of scissors and inserts his hand into the glove. This makes it easier for him to complete the final step of attaching a handy loop. Preserving a tradition of handcrafted excellence, the finished chistera is a work of artisanal art. That helps make pelota one of the fastest games in the world.