Homemade walnut ink

[TeresaS]

Hi!  I made homemade walnut ink yesterday from green fruits from my backyard.  I am happy with it... it writes well.  I put some cloves in it for preservative, but I was wondering if anyone has tried freezing it.

[AAAndrew]

I’ve always used the powder. Which recipe did you use?

[Estefa]

I put a bit of strong alcohol in it and keep it in the fridge (not the freezer)! I mean, for the homemade from husks – not for the one I buy. Never had problems with mold or similar with that …

[TeresaS]

I’ve always used the powder. Which recipe did you use?

I read many methods online and sort of winged it as I went, using what I had read.  I used green hulls from the ground and used a hammer to hull them.  I put then in my cooking pan and soaked overnight.  The next day I simmered them for probably 4-5 hours, strained the soup through cheesecloth ( squeezing out as much as possible). I simmered again till it was "inky".  I almost took it too far.  I then strained it through knee high pantyhose, and put some whole cloves in it. It doesn't bleed on any paper I've tried so far, and the color is a nice rich brown.  Use rubber gives... I still have a brown thumb!!... I did it all on a portable electric burner outside... it is a little smelly

[TeresaS]

I put a bit of strong alcohol in it and keep it in the fridge (not the freezer)! I mean, for the homemade from husks – not for the one I buy. Never had problems with mold or similar with that …

Does the alcohol dilute it very much or affect the quality?  I've read of people using rubbing alcohol or vodka.

[Estefa]

I've used some drops of Whisky . So few I could not see any effect on the quality. I still honestly don't like it as much as the quality I buy … it was just a try and I don't use it too often!

[AnasaziWrites]

Hi!  I made homemade walnut ink yesterday from green fruits from my backyard.  I am happy with it... it writes well.  I put some cloves in it for preservative, but I was wondering if anyone has tried freezing it.

Why would you want to freeze it?

[TeresaS]

Hi!  I made homemade walnut ink yesterday from green fruits from my backyard.  I am happy with it... it writes well.  I put some cloves in it for preservative, but I was wondering if anyone has tried freezing it.

Why would you want to freeze it?

I was worried about mold

[AnasaziWrites]

Hi!  I made homemade walnut ink yesterday from green fruits from my backyard.  I am happy with it... it writes well.  I put some cloves in it for preservative, but I was wondering if anyone has tried freezing it.

Why would you want to freeze it?

I was worried about mold

I see.
Having boiled the ink for a while, it should be, at least in the beginning, mold free. Take care that your containers are equally clean before use.

Living in a mostly hot, humid environment (Atlanta, GA), I was plagued by mold constantly. Often you will see recommendations to use distilled water when diluting ink, which I did for years. Moldy ink all the time. A couple of years ago, I switched to using simple chlorinated tap water to dilute inks. No more mold. I have a one ounce container I've been using for over a year of McCaffery's Penman's Black that is open every day and which I top off almost daily from a four ounce bottle and occasionally dilute (to counter evaporation) with chlorinated water. No mold in over a year. Perhaps the chlorine is killing the mold or stopping it before it can get going. Something to try if you are diluting ink.

[Elizher Luz]

Hi!  I made homemade walnut ink yesterday from green fruits from my backyard.  I am happy with it... it writes well.  I put some cloves in it for preservative, but I was wondering if anyone has tried freezing it.

Why would you want to freeze it?

I was worried about mold

I see.
Having boiled the ink for a while, it should be, at least in the beginning, mold free. Take care that your containers are equally clean before use.

Living in a mostly hot, humid environment (Atlanta, GA), I was plagued by mold constantly. Often you will see recommendations to use distilled water when diluting ink, which I did for years. Moldy ink all the time. A couple of years ago, I switched to using simple chlorinated tap water to dilute inks. No more mold. I have a one ounce container I've been using for over a year of McCaffery's Penman's Black that is open every day and which I top off almost daily from a four ounce bottle and occasionally dilute (to counter evaporation) with chlorinated water. No mold in over a year. Perhaps the chlorine is killing the mold or stopping it before it can get going. Something to try if you are diluting ink.

Ooh, very interesting finds...
I usually use distilled water,  but I'll try using chlorinated water instead next time i go mixing ink