Google Translate & Chinese Learning

One of the complaints I had about (perhaps misuing) Google Translate as a language learning tool was that when I looked up words, it just generically listed the meanings.  Did it mean future as a noun or adjective?  I've just noticed that it has been upgraded at some point, and now gives this information.

In this case, I was listening to a recording of a local Mandarin AM radio station.  The speaker kept repeating weilai.  Looking it up in Pablo gave me the match "wèilái"  (未来), but the definitions it gave are the same non-grammatically specific ones that you get in all the free dictionary based products (and up to this point, also Google Translate).

For the same of future reference, here's the current Google Translate output with separated nouns and adjectives:

On a related note, two of the cheap MP3 playing devices that I have accrued over the years also receive and play FM radio.  I'd love to find one that also receives and plays AM radio.

Curing bacon: Day 8

Previous post: Curing bacon: Day 6

Yesterday, the pork was turned and had more of the salt/sugar mix applied again. Today, it had sat long enough and it was time to smoke it.

The first step was to wash off the sugar. The idea is that the sugar coating, if left on the pork, would cause it to go off sooner. That, and it probably would not taste as nice. So both pieces of pork were washed in a bucket of warm water and scrubbed to remove the sugar. Then they were hung outside to drip dry, so that they wouldn't drip inside the garage when they were hung there.



After having hung outside for around ten minutes, they were brought inside and hung in front of a large fan to be blown dry. The smaller piece turned in the wind, but the larger piece didn't and had to be hand turned after several hours. After several more hours, they were left to hang with the fan turned off overnight.



The next morning, being dry, they were ready to be taken down.



They were both then hung in the smoker and left for several hours.



After which, they were done.



And stored away in the fridge to sit for a few days, before being tried.

Curing bacon: Day 6

Previous post: Curing bacon: Day 5

At this state, the pork had been sitting in the "Honey-Glo" cure liquid for two days, having been turned over after the first day.



I poured the liquid down the drain, to get it ready to be given another coating of the salt/sugar rubbing mix. The meat definitely looks a more palatable red colour after soaking in the liquid.



This is how the pork is looking after the salt/sugar rub.



Next post: Curing bacon: Day 8

Curing bacon: Day 5

Previous post: Curing bacon: Day 3

Didn't get around to doing this yesterday. I also didn't bother taking a picture today. As the curing liquid only covered half the pork, today I turned over the meat ensuring the piece that was on top was now on the bottom. Tomorrow, the liquid will be drained and the meat rerubbed with the salt/sugar mix.

Next post: Curing bacon: Day 6

Curing bacon: Day 3

Previous post: Curing bacon: Day 2

In order to ensure the meat has an appealing red colour, and is not a greyish one, we're injecting a liquid solution into the meat that gives it that colour and ensures that the curing process happens in the thicker parts of the meat.

Weighing an appropriate amount of the "Honey-Glo cure" powder.



The powder is then added to warm water, and stirred until it is dissolved. Then salt is repeatedly added and stirred until the water has 55% salinity.



This is the current state of the pork after two days of curing. The lighting is unfortunately a little dark. The accrued liquid was poured down the drain, as it was going to be replaced by the "Honey-glo Cure" liquid.



Another piece of pork turned up, in this case it is wild pork, hunted somewhere up in the hills.



The curing liquid is injected into both pieces of meat. The liquid was poured from the plastic jug into a butcher's injection doodad. Then the doodad was sealed and air pumped in to get the pressure up so that the liquid would get pumped out.

The meat is penetrated in a lot of places to ensure that the liquid is present throughout the inside of the meat. I didn't get a photo of it in action, but the injection spike has holes down the sides, meaning liquid gets squirted sideways in all directions inside the meat - not forward.



Injecting in one of the many other locations.



With both pieces of meat injected with the colouring liquid, the remaining liquid is poured over them in the container to sit for a day.



There's some plan to shuffle them round tomorrow, so they both get to soak in the liquid.

Next post: Curing bacon: Day 5

Curing bacon: Day 2

Previous post: Curing bacon: Day 1

We're being lazy today and just taking the pork out of the fridge, rubbing the salt/sugar mix onto both sides again and then putting it back into the fridge turned over.

This is the pork after a day of curing.



And this is it with salt rubbed in and turned over, ready to go back into the fridge.



Next post: Curing bacon: Day 3

Curing bacon: Day 1

My father worked as a butcher when he was younger, and over the years he kept preparing meat for himself. I remember going to my grandfather's and making mince meat by putting lumps of meat through a mincer. Making sausages in my grandfather's garage, stuffing sausage mix into casings and smoking them. Smoking salmon in a home-made smoker. All very useful things to be able to do for yourself.

So, since he has a leg of pork and I was helping make it into bacon, this time I decided to photograph the process so I can better remember how to do it.

The first step is to create a 55% ratio salt to sugar mix for rubbing into the leg of pork.



Ensure the salt and sugar combination is thoroughly mixed.



Cut the leg of pork open. In this case, the pork is thin enough that the cure should penetrate it, so stuff doesn't need to be injected into it as it would otherwise.



Sprinkle some salt in the curing container.



Rub the mix into the first side of the pork. Ensure the mix is rubbed thoroughly into all the nooks and crannies.



Flip the pork over and rub the mix into the other side.



Throw the pork into the curing container.



Sprinkle some more mix over the top.



Throw the curing container into the fridge.



Leave it until tomorrow when the next steps occur. Something about how saltpeter is now illegal and they have better things to use these days. Also it needs to be turned each day.

Next post: Curing bacon: Day 2