Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with crunch

Canning season is here - we need advice on how to keep our pickled veggies crunchy!

pghjezebel — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 05:31:19 -0800

Canning season is here - we need advice on how to keep our pickled veggies crunchy! Mom and I are gearing up for our yearly canning weekend. Last years batch was a huge success (taste-wise) but our veggies weren't as crunchy as we would have liked them to be.

What tips can you give us on making our veggies as crunchy as possible? (And any tried and true recipes that you love are welcome as well - the stronger the kick the better!)

We're going to be doing:
Cauliflower, celery and carrots
Garlicky dilly beans
Pickles (if we have the time)

Six months redundant and black dog approaching fast. Survival advice sought.

Anonymous — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 17:32:10 -0800

Six months redundant and black dog approaching fast. Survival advice sought. I do not think that I am in a unique situation or a particularly desperate one but I am in a personally precarious position. Perhaps this question can help others too. I have worked in the insurance industry for the past 5 years and was made redundant in January of this year. Soon afterwards I discovered my wife was pregnant with our second child. I have been trying to put a brave face on for my family but as time has gone on, and I have had interview after interview and not made it through, my self-esteem and confidence has taken a battering. Progressively my motivation and outlook on life are deterioating fast. I know that I was competent for my previous employer and over the course of my employment made the company a lot of money. I am being as flexible as can be in terms of looking for jobs which may require relocation, also applied for jobs overseas. The weight of expectation on my shoulders is enormous and with each successive interview, I feel the gap in my CV looms ever bigger in the attention of the prospective employer. For people in similar situations, what gets you through the day right now?

Credit Crunch filter - Help me understand Electronic Traded Funds

complience — Sun, 19 Oct 2008 09:01:56 -0800

I want to diversify my asset portfolio to include Noble/Precious metals commodities (primarily Palladium). I've heard an effective method is via ETCs. Can someone explain to me what a Exchange Traded Commodity actualy is. I know a ETC/ETF is an investment vehicle that tracks the performance of the underlying commodity, rather than an actual investment in the commodity.

I understand the benefits are increased Liquidity, Tax exceptions, no costs for storage of the commodity.

But what I don't understand is what are the disadvantages?

Im looking at the ETFS Physical Palladium sold by ETF securities. Which says its 'backed by a Holding of physical palladium
metal' Thus surely removing all the advantages given above, is this holding only a 'token' amount?

http://www.etfsecurities.com/en/updates/document_pdfs/ETFS_Physical_Palladium_Fact_sheet.pdf

How did these banking crises affect their stock markets?

storybored — Sat, 04 Oct 2008 18:32:05 -0800

I'm trying to find out how much stock prices fell in their respective stock markets during three of the following "Big Five" financial crises: Spain(c.1977), Norway(c.1987), Finland(c.1991). Harvard's Rogoff claims a 20% average decline but this seems wrong given that the declines in the other Big Two crises, Japan and Sweden alone were 80% and 45% respectively.