Sausage sans pork

The foreign sausage - Kosova Suxhuk - which I bought from Cheam (reference 1), the same brand as that discovered at Clapham Junction (reference 2), was getting near its best-before date, so this afternoon I thought we had better take one of them. 

We also had a jar of Bolognese sauce from Tesco, and BH thought I ought to make a start on that too.

So fried a chopped onion in a little butter, and added about half a jar of sauce, looking and smelling very much like tomato ketchup. But more than 90% tomato and the jar claimed - unlike the website - no sugar, so they must have used very ripe tomatoes. Peel the sausage, chop into lumps of around 2cc each. Add the lumps to the tomato ketchup and leave on a low heat, inspecting occasionally.

Meanwhile, cook 4.5oz of brown rice, that is to say 1 cup in BH speak. Prepare and cook some two-tone cabbage, the same model as that used at reference 3. Same drill, putting the green to cook for a minute or two before adding the white.

We did the whole lot in one sitting, with just a couple of tablespoons of sauce left over. Which may do on a bit of left over white bread in the morning.

Not the greatest meal, but use of the ready-mix sauce certainly speeded things up - and probably cost less than real tomatoes would have costed. One could see why busy families might be tempted.

By way of digestif, I thought I would take an interest in this business of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete. Starting at Wikipedia at reference 4, the best follow-up on this material seemed to be that offered at reference 5.

A once popular material, widely used in UK, Europe and elsewhere in the second half of the twentieth century. The application which is causing trouble seems to be roofing panels, also called planks, for flat roofs. With the trouble clearly being known about by 1996 when reference 5 was written. The story then, on a a very quick read, seems to be, that these panels could wear out, maybe after 50 years or so, but there were warning signs and regular inspections were indicated - and provided this was done, there should be no real trouble. Remedial action could be taken. So if we are in trouble, it would suggest that maintenance has been skimped over a protracted period. Building records probably in a correspondingly poor condition too. More news in due course...

PS 1: the next day: I got to reference 6 from reference 5. An old paper, but some more useful background on this material, including useful material on its testing. A material widely used at the time for walls, floors and ceilings, with Sweden and what was then the USSR using huge amounts of the stuff. The paper does point up the need for care in manufacture and installation, but generally gives aerated concrete a clean bill of health. And it ends on a very positive note:  '... Both as reinforced aerated concrete units and as unreinforced masonry elements, aerated concrete has introduced a standard of accuracy hitherto unknown on building sites. Wall staves now being mass-produced are claimed to have a dimensional tolerance of not more than 0.005 of an inch. Due to the grinding process used, opposing surfaces are perfectly parallel allowing the use of glued or even dry methods of erection for walls. This represents a revolutionary change in building methods, and in the attitude of mind required from designers and site workers alike'.

PS 2: I don't think I ever came across aerated concrete in my days with Messrs Sandberg, materials engineers, in the late 1960's. But then, I only ever saw the motorway construction side of their operation, with just a short spell at the yard making the concrete segments used to line the Victoria tube line. Vibrators yes, aerators no.

PS 3: some days later: the Financial Times has another go this morning at reference 7. Why are other countries not reporting these problems? Some people say they will be in time. Other people point to poor standards of people training and building maintenance in this country. And to our fondness for using the stuff for roofs and ceilings. Other countries are more into walls and facades.

Reference

Reference 1: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2023/08/the-last-bottle.html.

Reference 2: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2022/04/kosova-suxhuk.html.

Reference 3: https://psmv5.blogspot.com/2023/09/festal-beef.html.

Reference 4: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reinforced_autoclaved_aerated_concrete.

Reference 5: IP 10/96: Reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete planks designed before 1980 - RJ Currie, SL Mathews - 1996. Building research establishment.

Reference 6: The structural use of aerated concrete - Short A, Kinniburgh W - 1961. Institution of structural engineers.

Reference 7: Crumbling concrete sparks international debate on peculiarly British problem: Experts look at British construction methods as issues with Raac in public buildings not reported in other countries - Anna Gross, Euan Healy, Financial Times - 2023.