17x02 - Cheese Graters/Hot Sauce/Silver Jewelery/Traditional Mexican Chairs

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: many recipes call
for shredded ingredients,

Which is why a cheese grater is
an indispensable kitchen tool.

Depending on which type of blade
or blades a grater has,

You can coarsely shred
to finely grate

Not just cheese but also
potatoes and vegetables.

Graters come in different sizes,
shapes, and configurations,

From flat models with one blade

To box graters with a different
blade on each side.

The blades are made
from a stainless-steel sheet

That's just 1/50
of an inch thick.

The sheet enters
a shearing machine,

Where a die descends and cuts
the blade shape, holes and all.

The machine's dies
are interchangeable,

So when it's time
to produce a different model,

Workers simply remove this die
and install another one.

Stainless steel is
the ideal blade material

Because it's food-safe,
durable, and rust-proof.

For this model, the next step
is to curve the blade.

They insert it into a press that
bends it with a rounded die.

The press also turns over
the edges along three sides,

Forming a channel for a handle.

The handle is made
of stainless-steel wire.

A bending machine wraps it
around a grater-shaped form...

...then cuts the end free,

Releasing what is now
a finished handle.

Now for this model's
final assembly.

Workers slide a handle
into the blade's channels.

Next they put the blade
in a press,

Which forces the channels
closed, encasing the wire.

With the handle and blade
now locked together,

The grater is finished.

Another model has a built-in
tray to collect the grated food.

This machine forms
the pivoting handle

Which enables the blade
to stand upright in the tray.

First the machine cuts a strip
of stainless steel

To the required length.

It makes holes for a rivet
on each side.

Then it bends the piece
to a "u" shape.

Meanwhile, a forming press

Shapes the tray
out of a stainless-steel sheet.

The tray moves
to the next press,

Which slices off the excess
from the perimeter.

The tray is now
completely formed.

All that's left to do is punch
a hole on each side

For the rivets that attach the
handle that props up the blade.

They take the handle and rivet
it to one end of the blade.

Next, they rivet the tray
to the other end of the blade,

And the grater is
fully assembled.

This company packaged
certain models in blister packs.

Workers put the grater
in a clear plastic cover,

Then position a printed
cardboard backing over it.

The backing is coated

With transparent,
heat-activated glue.

A few seconds under a hot press,

And the plastic cover
adheres to the backing,

Encapsulating the grater.

From a basic version on up,

A grater is
an essential kitchen tool

Most cooks can't do without.

Narrator: when it comes
to cuisine, some like it hot.

A quick way to satisfy
a picante-loving palate

Is with a splash or two
of hot sauce,

Typically served
with mexican food

Such as nachos, tacos,
and burritos.

It can also spice up
everyday fare

Such as eggs, potatoes,
and sandwiches.

This american company has been
producing hot sauce,

Also called a pepper sauce,
since 1868.

Its signature version
is made from tabasco peppers,

A type of chile pepper.

The brand also comes
in additional varieties,

Using habanero, chipotle,
and green jalapeño peppers.

The company has pepper fields
at its home base in louisiana,

As well as in central
and in south america,

Using seeds harvested
from the louisiana crop.

The company president uses
his experienced eye

To select the best plants
for seed extraction --

Those with even and
early-ripening, juicy peppers,

Well-formed, layered branches,

And healthy, damage-free leaves.

He marks his selection
with a string.

Then pickers harvest
those peppers

And send them
to the seed extractor.

The peppers are hand-picked
for sauce production, as well.

To determine which ones
are ripe enough,

The pickers use what cajuns
call a petite baton rouge,

French for "little red stick."

If a pepper matches the color
of the stick, they harvest it.

If not, it stays on the plant.

It's labor-intensive

But ensures only the perfect
peppers go into the sauce.

Within hours of harvesting,

The factory grinds the peppers
and mixes them with salt.

This creates a mash

Which then goes into oak whiskey
barrels to ferment and age.

Wooden barrels breathe,

Letting in just enough air
to spur natural yeast growth --

The key to fermentation --
but not too much air,

Which would discolor the mash
and produce a metallic flavor.

After laying paper
on top of the mash

To prevent
surface discoloration,

Workers seal the barrels.

Then they spread a layer of salt
over the top.

The barrels now go
to the warehouse,

Where the mash ferments
and ages for three years.

Fermentation releases
carbon-dioxide gas,

Which forces liquid out

Through a vent hole
in the top of the barrel.

The salt absorbs the liquid
and hardens.

After the three-year
fermentation and aging period,

They break up the salt
and open the barrel.

What was once pungent and acrid

Is now aromatic,
with a mellow, complex flavor.

However, it still needs
significant refining.

So they pump it
into large mixing tanks,

Add vinegar, then churn
for three to four weeks.

That's now long it takes
for the vinegar

To break down the pepper solids
into smaller particles.

During that process,
the vinegar also takes on

The color, flavor, and aroma
of the peppers.

The sauce requires
no cooking whatsoever

Because the vinegar acts
as a natural preservative.

The next step is
a two-stage milling process.

The first mill
extracts the pepper pulp.

The second mill
removes the seeds.

The sauce is now finished.

The quality-control department
analyzes samples

From every batch of sauce
for viscosity,

Ph, salt level,
and other criteria.

Lab technicians also perform
taste tests for flavor,

Clearing their palate
in between with crackers

And cooling the fiery heat
with ice-cream bars.

Once the batch gets
the thumbs-up,

It's pumped
to the bottling line.

The company uses glass
rather than plastic

Because glass is a better
barrier against oxygen.

Oxygen penetration
would adversely affect

The flavor and color
of the sauce.

The capping machine twists on
a plastic screw cap.

Then the bottles travel
to the labeler,

Which adheres
the main product label,

Slips on a decorative neck band,

And applies a clear plastic seal
over the cap.

Hot off the production line
and ready to go.

Narrator: people have been
making jewelry and other objects

Since about 4,000 b.c.

Silver remains popular today
because of its beauty

And its affordability
compared to gold and platinum.

Pure silver is rather soft,

So it's traditionally combined
with one or more metals

To give it hardness
and strength.

The silver used in jewelry is
traditionally sterling silver.

Sterling is composed
of 92.5% silver and 7.5% alloy.

The alloy is usually copper

Or copper combined
with other metals.

This mexican
jewelry manufacturer melts

The standard ratio of copper
and zinc alloy to silver...

...then also remelts silver

Left over from the jewelry
production process.

At 1,760 degrees fahrenheit,

It takes just seconds
for these solid metals

To become molten
sterling silver,

At which point workers pour it
into a stainless-steel mold.

The silver rapidly cools
and hardens into a flat bar.

Workers extract the bar
and clean it with sulfuric acid,

Then pass it
between two rollers and a press.

The rollers apply more
than 3,300 pounds of pressure.

Workers feed the bar
into the press repeatedly,

Each time turning the wheel

To narrow the gap
between the rollers

To progressively thin it out.

Rolling the bar
scrambles its molecules,

Making the silver brittle.

So they reheat it
to rearrange the molecules

Into a regular pattern again

And restore flexibility
and malleability.

The bar now goes through
another rolling press

To radically reduce
the thickness.

This 4/10-of-an-inch-thick bar

Becomes a thin strip a mere


In doing so, it also
lengthens dramatically

From 10 inches
to just over 4 yards.

The strip now passes through
a series of forming rollers,

Which progressively curl
the edges up and inward

Until the strip
becomes a hollow tube.

Then the machine solders
the edges, sealing the tube.

The tube is still way too thick
for making earrings and rings,

So on it goes to
another thinning operation.

The machine grabs one end
of the tube

And pulls it through a series
of circular dies

Which have progressively
narrower diameters.

Once the tube
is the required diameter,

A winding machine curves it.

Some tubes then move on
to a cutting machine

Which uses a diamond head

To engrave a pattern
in the surface.

To make hoop earrings,

An artisan steadies
a piece of curved, engraved tube

In locking tweezers

And solders on an earring hook,

Then the latch
into which the hook snaps.

Some pieces of jewelry

Incorporate
cubic-zirconia stones.

In this design,
a computer-guided laser machine

Has already cut
two patterned pieces

Out of an ultra-thin
silver sheet.

A stamping machine then rounded
each piece into a half-sphere.

The artisan now solders
the two halves together,

Encasing the cubic-zirconia
stones inside.

Then he solders the rest
of the earring components

Made from silver tubing
and silver wire.

Here an artisan
is making a pendant.

He locks cubic-zirconia stones

In between the front and back
frame pieces.

Then he positions the center
piece within the frame,

Soldering it in four spots.

Next, he solders a ring
to the top of the pendant...

Then the bail, the loop
for the chain, around the ring.

Next, into the finisher,

A rotating barrel
of abrasive powder

That rounds edges
and smoothes rough spots.

A buffing with a cloth wheel

Then polishes the silver
to a mirror finish.

The same computerized
laser machine

That cut the sphere earrings

Can also etch
an elaborate design

On the surface of a piece.

It can reproduce
virtually any image

That can be created or copied
with software.

The laser draws by pulverizing
a microlayer of silver.

As the laser works,

A built-in suction device
vacuums the silver powder away.

Besides adding strength
and durability,

The alloy makes sterling silver
less porous

And, therefore, shinier.

And the copper in particular

Has anti-corrosive properties
which reduce tarnishing.

Narrator:
the mexican barrel chair

Is sometimes called
montezuma's chair,

After the 9th aztec emperor

Who, as legend has it,
enjoyed sitting in one.

After the spanish conquest
of the aztec empire,

These chairs were deemed seats
of honor for visiting v.i.p.s.

Now considered
more rustic than regal,

Anyone can sit in a chair
like montezuma's.

There are various versions
produced in mexico today,

Many handcrafted
using techniques

That date back centuries.

With a sharp, curved blade,

The craftsman first splits
a chunk of mexican rosewood

Into long, narrow pieces.

He cuts 36 splints

For the chair's
distinctive lattice work.

He pares down the ends
of each splint,

And he carves a round head
onto each end.

These heads will stop the rope
from sliding off

As he ties the splints together.

He pulls the back away from
a much longer piece of wood

And then trims it
to slimmer dimensions.

This wood is fresh from
a local shrub called guizema.

It's so pliable,
it's almost elastic,

Allowing the craftsman
to bend it around his knee

Into a "u" profile.

Too much force,
and he could crack the wood.

Too little, and the curvature
won't be right.

A thick nail used
on railway tracks

Is now used as a hammer

As he nails a linear piece
of wood to a curved one,

Completing his chair base.

He now loops plastic rope

Around the tips of the two
splints and ties them together.

He lays the tied splints to
holes in the guizema wood base.

He angles the top end
of the splints diagonally

And ties them together to create
the chair's trademark lattice.

He then arranges the rounded
willow wood frame on top

And lashes the tied tips to it.

He reinforces the chair base
with willow wood branches

That have been scraped flat.

He nails five of these poles
to the base of the chair.

The next craftsman secures

A rounded bundle
of willow branches

To the protruding poles.

This completes
the back framework.

Another worker now strings rope
made of agave plant fiber

Across the seat framework
and ties it to it.

He creates a strong yet flexible
webbing to support the seat.

He now splits open
some locally grown reeds

And flattens them with a stone.

Basket-weave-style,

He interlaces
the flattened reeds

To create a plated material

That will be the next layer
for the seat.

After cutting it to
the exact shape and dimensions,

He places it on top
of the webbing.

He then stitches a strip
of leather along the border.

His co-worker now reinforces
the plastic ties

At the chair base
with leather rope.

The leather ties also give
the base a more finished look.

He turns the chair on its side
and trims the poles.

He also carves slivers of wood
from the base

So that it's even
all the way around,

Allowing the chair to sit
level on the floor.

The next worker drapes tanned
and stretched pig-skin leather

Over the back framework.

He trims it to the contours
of the bent willow wood.

He covers the reed seat

With more leather from the same
hide and cuts away the excess.

Using a leftover swatch
of leather,

He applies wax made from pig
and cow fat to leather rope.

The wax allows the rope

To slide easily through holes
in the leather

So there are no snags

As he stitches
the upholstery together.

The leather upholstery
is now tight and tailored.

The next worker sprays
mineral dye onto the leather.

It's honey-colored
for a warmer look,

And it also hides
any minor flaws.

After the dye, he applies
a protective coat of lacquer.

They heat an iron stamp and
apply it to the latticed base

To brand the wood
with the company name.

And with that job done,
it's time to take a seat.

But with so many twists
on this ancient design,

It could be tough
to decide which one.