sareinhart
Well-Known Member
Why do all the videos I see for making yeast starters have erlenmeyer flasks? Is there anything wrong with using a mason jar?
Pro tip in regards to Borosilicate and boiling capabilities -- it does not like electric stove coils
Honestly I love my Erlenmeyer flask, but I've been too scared to boil directly in it and then place it in an ice bath. I think I'd cry if it shattered. So is their any chance that this flask is just plane plate glass? I think my wife is looking at Pyrex laboratory flasks for me for X-mas.
IMO, a good borosilicate glass flask on a gas stove is the simplest most sanitary way to make a starter. Heat directly and cool immediately.
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Why do all the videos I see for making yeast starters have erlenmeyer flasks? Is there anything wrong with using a mason jar?
Is it ok to use a ceramic top electric stove being that I haven't achieved my dream of a propane stove yet.
I quit boiling in the flask because it is a pain to add the dme, it is also very easy to boil over. I now boil and cool in a pot then pour into the flask for use on the stirplate.
It is possible you flask can be just plain glass. Also an important titbit of info: Pyrex made in the USA is not borosilicate glass. European Pyrex is borosilicate glass.]
It's my understanding that it's just the Pyrex cookware made in the US that is not borosilicate, but all of the Pyrex lab glassware is. I could be wrong.
It is possible you flask can be just plain glass. Also an important titbit of info: Pyrex made in the USA is not borosilicate glass. European Pyrex is borosilicate glass.]
It's my understanding that it's just the Pyrex cookware made in the US that is not borosilicate, but all of the Pyrex lab glassware is. I could be wrong.
I'm only rabbeting wikipedia here so apologies in advance. This is a snippet from the Pyrex page.
Older clear-glass Pyrex manufactured by Corning before 1998, Arc International's Pyrex products, and Pyrex laboratory glassware is made of borosilicate glass. According to the National Institute of Standards and Technology, borosilicate Pyrex is composed of (as percentage of weight): 4.0% boron, 54.0% oxygen, 2.8% sodium, 1.1% aluminum, 37.7% silicon, and 0.3% potassium.[9][10]
According to glass supplier Pulles and Hannique, borosilicate Pyrex is made of Corning 7740 glass and is equivalent in formulation to Schott Glass 8830 glass sold under the "Duran" brand name.[11] The composition of both Corning 7740 and Schott 8830 is given as 80.6% SiO2, 12.6% B2O3, 4.2% Na2O, 2.2% Al2O3, 0.04% Fe2O3, 0.1% CaO, 0.05% MgO, and 0.1% Cl.
Pyrex glass cookware manufactured by World Kitchen is made of tempered soda-lime glass instead of borosilicate.[12] World Kitchen justified this change by stating that soda-lime glass was cheaper to produce, is the most common form of glass used in bakeware in the US, and that it also had higher mechanical strength than borosilicatemaking it more resistant to breakage when dropped, which it believed to be the most common cause of breakage in glass bakeware. Unlike borosilicate, it is not as heat-resistant, leading to the potential increase in breakage from heat stress. European Pyrex is still made from borosilicate.[5][13][14]
The differences between Pyrex products depending on manufacturer has also led to safety issuesin 2010, the Consumer Product Safety Commission received several complaints by users reporting that their Pyrex glassware had shattered at high temperatures. The consumer affairs magazine Consumer Reports investigated the matter after obtaining copies of the complaints, determining that the complainants had in fact been using World Kitchen-produced Pyrex labeled products manufactured with lower-cost tempered flint glass and had incorrectly assumed that they would have the same characteristics and strength as their borosilicate counterparts.[15]
TL,DR
If buying a flask, practice due diligence and make sure it's borosilicate and not just labeled Pyrex.
Also if you don't plan on heating it directly there a lots of flat bottomed glass ware that will work just fine for a stirred starter without the high cost of a flask. Not much point having a flask if not heating in it. Just heat the starter in a pot and pour it into your flat bottomed container. You can test it out with your stir-bar to make sure it spins well before using it.
+1 about American Pyrex not being borosilicate. I accidentally splashed some water while making gravy in a pan on the stove which was also housing a vegetable casserole, it splashed up onto the top of the Pyrex top and shattered it, leaving me with a casserole I'd only serve to my worst enemies.
Is it ok to use a ceramic top electric stove being that I haven't achieved my dream of a propane stove yet.
It is a pain to try to add and mix the DME into the boiling water in the flask. What I do now is mix the dme and water together in a bowl, with a whip, and pour into the flask using a funnel. Then I put the flask on the stove (a gas stove) and heat to boiling. Chill in the sink, pitch yeast, and put on a stir plate.
I just put the DME in first, then blast water in there from the faucet, shake a bit, throw in the stir bar, cover loosely with foil, and put on stove. I use a funnel to get the DME in. The important thing is to add DME while the flask is completely dry.
If buying a flask, practice due diligence and make sure it's borosilicate and not just labeled Pyrex.
Also word to the wise: do not direct heat an Erlenmeyer flask. You are definitely creating stresses in the flask that will weaken it, and eventually it will fail. Learned this the hard way after direct heating mine for many starters. I was moving it to my workable after cleaning and just tapped it ever so lightly on a small steel kettle. Popped open a hole in the corner about a quarters diameter. Fortunately it wasn't full of boiling hot wort.
Only then did I do a bunch of reading on this forum about that. Now I boil and cool in a small kettle and transfer to the flask for spinning.
Pro tip in regards to Borosilicate and boiling capabilities -- it does not like electric stove coils
I just went on to check Morebeer to make sure my 5L flask is borosilicate and i stumbled across this. Anyone use this method?
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"Recommended Process for Use of Flask: Double Boiler Method
It is important for your safety to heat water in the flask with a heat source that distributes heat evenly. Our manufacturer has confirmed that direct heat to the glass can break down its integrity and break if the heat source doesn't distribute evenly.
Morebeer! recommends using the "double boiler method." This process involves using a boiling water bath on the outside of the flask to heat up the water inside the flask. All you need is a kettle 3 gallons or larger. This process is much safer and efficient. If the flask should break or boil over, your kettle will be there to collect the contents, thus keeping your stove clean and keeping you away from potential harm."
I just went on to check Morebeer to make sure my 5L flask is borosilicate and i stumbled across this. Anyone use this method?
------------------
"Recommended Process for Use of Flask: Double Boiler Method
It is important for your safety to heat water in the flask with a heat source that distributes heat evenly. Our manufacturer has confirmed that direct heat to the glass can break down its integrity and break if the heat source doesn't distribute evenly.
Morebeer! recommends using the "double boiler method." This process involves using a boiling water bath on the outside of the flask to heat up the water inside the flask. All you need is a kettle 3 gallons or larger. This process is much safer and efficient. If the flask should break or boil over, your kettle will be there to collect the contents, thus keeping your stove clean and keeping you away from potential harm."
It is a pain to try to add and mix the DME into the boiling water in the flask. What I do now is mix the dme and water together in a bowl, with a whip, and pour into the flask using a funnel. Then I put the flask on the stove (a gas stove) and heat to boiling. Chill in the sink, pitch yeast, and put on a stir plate.
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