Once the caps are prepared according to the above guide, we can go to the next step: the making of the solution suitable to mycelium cultivation. As already mentioned, you can use different kinds of nutrients: honey, maple syrup, malt extract, raw cane sugar (refined sugars do not work well), corn syrup, etc.. Recently I'm going very well with agave syrup. The preference, in any case, must be given to the substance which, after being mixed with water, will leave the solution the more transparent as possible. In fact, an occuring bacterial contamination would be noticed by a sudden clouding of the solution, which would become milky and smelly. By keeping the solution clear, it is possible to notice it in time, and start again as soon as possible, without wasting time.
This guide will explain the classical background with honey, that actually it's not the best ingredient ever, but it works well enough. Feel free to experiment with other "ingredients";)
The percentage of nutrients to be added is quite low, and ranges from 2% to 4%. The rule "more nutrients = faster growth." Doesn't work. In fact, by adding too much honey, growth would be very slow, or not even start.
Correctly calculate the distilled water and pour it in the can (if you don't have it you can use gas free bottle water). Probably it will get yellow after sterilization, but will not affect the growth of the mycelium. Based on the amount of water used, add the honey. With a precision scale it's very easy to measure the right amount, otherwise you can put a generous teaspoon per 300 ml. In our case, for 300 ml we need, at 4%, 12 grams of honey. Let's use 9-10 for safety.
Stir until the honey has completely dissolved in the water. Then put an aluminum foil sheet on top of the cover, and fix it with a rubber band (those thick enough, easily withstand sterilization)
At this point the solution must be sterilized. In fact, sugar contained in honey is not only liked by our (future) mycelium, but also from a multitude of bacteria and molds, whose spores are certainly already in the can, and would take over. In any event, the 120° (248 F) degrees of the pressure cooker will be sufficient to get rid of them. So we put our jar into the pot, and pour one to two inches of water on the bottom. They may seem few, but are more than enough, because it will be the steam generated inside the pot to transmit heat to the cans.
The picture shows one jar into the pot, but the more you put the better, because you'll amortize the cost of the fuel :) My pot is equipped with spacers separating the jars from the water; if yours does not have one, put a cloth on the bottom to prevent the cans to dance tip-tap during sterilization. You must also avoid touching because they could break, if they're not sufficiently distant from each other, separate them with another cloth.
At this point we close the pot and sterilize for no more than 15 minutes (in addition may be formed of residues in the liquid, which prevent colonization), starting to count them from the "whistling" of the pot. If you have a pot with pressure gauge, 10 psi are more than enough.
After 15 minutes we turn off the burner. Let compensate the pressure inside the pot without opening the valve. Once the pressure has dropped to zero, we can remove the jars from the pot (be careful not to burn yourself!) And let them cool. This done, we have finished this stage. Here's what a ready to inoculate jar looks like:
As you can see, the liquid is slightly opaque, because of the honey. Once inoculated, if all goes well, you will notice that it will become more and more transparent, as the mycelium consume the nutrients.
Well, for the moment this phase is completed, let's pass to the next;)
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