Reference/LiquidCulture/Recipes/ClemGrows: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 13:00, 22 October 2026

Written by MDot (ClemGrows), a former league admin, and shared here with his permission. Lightly edited for the wiki.

The recipe

Ingredient	Amount	Notes
Distilled water, hot	300 ml
Peptone	¼ tsp	Nutritional yeast works as a substitute
Karo light corn syrup	1 tsp
Light malt extract (LME)	1/64 tsp	A tiny amount. Novelty measuring-spoon sets label this size "drop."

Pressure cook 30 minutes at 15 psi. At Front Range elevations, see the warning below about cooking longer.

Why this recipe

Ok y'all, here's my lecture for the day. I'm sure most of you have heard me nerd out about liquid culture: how important I think it is to be dialed in, how much work went into getting this recipe where it is, and why I think it's as good as it gets.

The recipes on the internet will work, but if you're going to make LC, why not do it great? The problem with almost all of them is too much nutrient. You don't need that. You actually don't want it. All it does is make your culture lazy and slow; it overgrows the surface of the liquid and quickly turns into an unusable blob. It does not make the jar colonize any faster.

It stops itself

This recipe has exactly enough nutrients. It colonizes fast and thick, but once the jar is almost full, instead of eating and growing and eating, it basically runs out of food. Not completely, but enough to put the brakes on. In the pictures you can see it colonize beautifully right up until it's about to reach the surface, then stop.

That keeps your LC hungry, aggressive, and ready for grain, and it keeps the quality much higher. If you've ever left an LC unstirred for a while, you know how fast it gets ugly. This one still needs stirring, but about a quarter as often as typical recipes. Once LC forms a big blob on top it's hard to break up, and even when you do, you can see in the syringe that the mycelium looks different. It's also very hard to draw up a needle.

Clear, not cloudy

Getting the ratios right is also how you get perfectly clear LC: no haze, zero sediment. If you've received syringes from me, you know how full they get without going high-nutrient. And it takes off on grain almost immediately.

It's an art

Same as agar, the smallest changes make a massive difference. This recipe sits right at the peak, so adding even a tiny bit too much of anything starts it sliding downhill:

1/32 tsp too much LME: hazy, with sediment
1/8 tsp too much peptone: amber and hazy
¼ tsp too much Karo: it caramelizes hard
5 minutes too long in the pressure cooker: it caramelizes

There are ways to add a tiny bit more of each, but it's difficult to get right. The measurements matter.

I'm all about the "Pursuit of Perfection," so I wanted to give a full breakdown of LC, why I think it matters, and how to get it right. If you're going to make LC, make the best LC you can.

Notes for high altitude

Added by the wiki editors.

Because this recipe caramelizes with just a few extra minutes of cooking, it's a good one to watch at altitude. Sea-level guides say 30 minutes, but a 15 psi weight at 6,000 ft runs cooler (see pressure cooking at altitude). Two approaches:

If your cooker has a dial gauge, run it at about 18 psi for 30 minutes.
With a fixed 15 psi weight, try 40–45 minutes and check the color. Crystal clear means it's right; amber means back the time off.

For more on jars, inoculation, and stirring, see making and using LC.

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-Ok y'all here's my lecture for the day  I'm sure most of y'all have heard me Nerd the fuck out about Liquid Culture.
+''Written by MDot (ClemGrows), a former league admin, and shared here with his permission. Lightly edited for the wiki.''
-* 300 ml distilled water
+[[File:ClemGrowsLC.png|thumb|right|The original recipe card from ClemGrows]]
-* 1/64 (very small amount) Light Malt Extract
-* 1/4 tsp. Peptone (or nutritional yeast)
-* 1 tsp Karo corn syrup
+== The recipe ==
+{| class="wikitable"
+! Ingredient !! Amount !! Notes
+|-
+| Distilled water, hot || 300 ml ||
+|-
+| Peptone || ¼ tsp || Nutritional yeast works as a substitute
+|-
+| Karo light corn syrup || 1 tsp ||
+|-
+| Light malt extract (LME) || 1/64 tsp || A tiny amount. Novelty measuring-spoon sets label this size "drop."
+|}
-min pressure cooker sanitization
+'''Pressure cook 30 minutes''' at 15 psi. At Front Range elevations, see the warning below about cooking longer.
-About how important I believe it is to be dialed af. How I believe my recipe is as good as it gets and the amount of work I've put into getting it dialed like this. Why I believe it's so important. I'd just like to show y'all and talk about it. Id also like to show you how close it is to teetering on the edge of perfection.
+== Why this recipe ==
+Ok y'all, here's my lecture for the day. I'm sure most of you have heard me nerd out about liquid culture: how important I think it is to be dialed in, how much work went into getting this recipe where it is, and why I think it's as good as it gets.
-I have my recipe pinned in this channel so everyone has access to a reliable recipe. The recipes on the internet are shitty af. Will they work? Yes. But if you are gunna do it, why not do it great? The problem with almost all the recipes out there is they are way too high nutrient. You don't need that. You actually don't want that. All that does is make your culture lazy af and slow and it overgrows the surface of the liquid and turns into a shitty unusable like blob fast. It does not make the jar colonize faster.
+The recipes on the internet will work, but if you're going to make LC, why not do it great? The problem with almost all of them is too much nutrient. You don't need that. You actually don't want it. All it does is make your culture lazy and slow; it overgrows the surface of the liquid and quickly turns into an unusable blob. It does not make the jar colonize any faster.
-With my recipe you will see in the pictures what I love about it. It is the exact right amount of nutrients. It colonizes fast and ridiculously thick. But once the jar is almost full, instead of just growing and growing and eating and eating, it basically runs out of nutrients. Not completely but enough that it puts the brakes on the growth. You'll see in the pictures it colonizes beautifully right up until it's about to reach the surface, then it stops. This keeps your LC hungry, aggressive, ready for grain. It also keeps it much higher quality. If anyone has done LC and didn't stir it for awhile you know just how shitty it can get quick. Mine still needs stirred, but about 4x less often as normal recipes . Once it forms Into a big blob up top it's hard af to break up, even if you do get it broke up it looks shitty in the syringe bc you can see the myc  is different. And when it does that it's very very hard to suck up a needle.
+=== It stops itself ===
+This recipe has exactly enough nutrients. It colonizes fast and thick, but once the jar is almost full, instead of eating and growing and eating, it basically runs out of food. Not completely, but enough to put the brakes on. In the pictures you can see it colonize beautifully right up until it's about to reach the surface, then stop.
-Using the correct ratios and recipe is also how you achieve perfectly clear LC. This recipe LC is literally better in every single way. If you have received syringes from me you know how full they can be, without going crazy high nute. And it takes off on grain almost immediately.
+That keeps your LC hungry, aggressive, and ready for grain, and it keeps the quality much higher. If you've ever left an LC unstirred for a while, you know how fast it gets ugly. This one still needs stirring, but about a quarter as often as typical recipes. Once LC forms a big blob on top it's hard to break up, and even when you do, you can see in the syringe that the mycelium looks different. It's also very hard to draw up a needle.
-The other thing I want to show y'all is how much of an art this is. Same as making agar, the smallest of changes make a massive difference. You'll see in these pictures, super clear perfect LC, then you'll see a dark gold not nearly as good looking jar. Both are same recipe. The thing with the recipe is it's dialed, it's at the peak. So it's the exact amount of nutes you need for a full thick jar, while also keeping the LC Crystal clear, not hazy, zero sediment. So if you add just the tiniest amount too much it will begin to decline from the peak. 1/32nd tsp too much LME and it's now hazy and has sediment. 1/8th tsp too much Peptone and it's amber and hazy. 1/4tsp too much karo and it caramelizes like a MF. Pressure cooking for 5 mins too long and it caramelizes. The measurements in the recipe are super important. There are ways you can add a very small amount more of each but it's difficult to get right.
+=== Clear, not cloudy ===
+Getting the ratios right is also how you get perfectly clear LC: no haze, zero sediment. If you've received syringes from me, you know how full they get without going high-nutrient. And it takes off on grain almost immediately.
+=== It's an art ===
+Same as agar, the smallest changes make a massive difference. This recipe sits right at the peak, so adding even a tiny bit too much of anything starts it sliding downhill:
+* '''1/32 tsp too much LME:''' hazy, with sediment
+* '''1/8 tsp too much peptone:''' amber and hazy
+* '''¼ tsp too much Karo:''' it caramelizes hard
+* '''5 minutes too long in the pressure cooker:''' it caramelizes
+There are ways to add a tiny bit more of each, but it's difficult to get right. The measurements matter.
+I'm all about the "Pursuit of Perfection," so I wanted to give a full breakdown of LC, why I think it matters, and how to get it right. If you're going to make LC, make the best LC you can.
+== Notes for high altitude ==
+''Added by the wiki editors.''
+Because this recipe caramelizes with just a few extra minutes of cooking, it's a good one to watch at altitude. Sea-level guides say 30 minutes, but a 15 psi weight at 6,000 ft runs cooler (see [[Reference/Pressure Cooking at Altitude|pressure cooking at altitude]]). Two approaches:
+* If your cooker has a dial gauge, run it at about 18 psi for 30 minutes.
+* With a fixed 15 psi weight, try 40–45 minutes and check the color. Crystal clear means it's right; amber means back the time off.
+For more on jars, inoculation, and stirring, see [[Tutorials/LiquidCulture/Making and Using LC|making and using LC]].
+{{Cultivation}}
+[[Category:Recipes]]
+[[Category:Liquid culture]]
-I nerd out about this and as y'all know, I'm all about the "Pursuit Of Perfection"  so I just wanted to give a full explanation and breakdown on LC, why I feel it's important and how to achieve it. If you are gunna make LC, why not make it the best LC you can! [[File:ClemGrowsLC.png|thumb|Liquid culture recipe from ClemGrows]]

Cultivation guide
Basics	Sterile technique · Pressure cooking at altitude · Glossary · Equipment
Culture work	Spores · Agar plates · Three transfers · Cloning · Storing cultures · Smash tek · Liquid culture · LC recipes: PGT, ClemGrows
Spawn & substrate	Grain spawn · Coir and CVG · Manure-based substrates
Fruiting & problems	Monotub fruiting · Contamination ID · Drying and storage