Boiling Tip

[maxx]

Having done several carto boilings now, I saw that just dropping them in boiling water serves the purpose of disinfection and loosening debris and such somewhat, but laying on their sides doesn't do much for actually getting old juice out. I realized the boiling procedure could be improved by standing the carto on end (battery connection down). When the water starts to boil, you get a nice chimney effect inside the carto. The rising water and bubbles not only loosens things....it lifts them out of the carto. The hardest part is keeping the on-end cartos from falling over inside the water. I solved that by making more stable "packs" of cartos with a twist-tie. Give it a try....I think it gets the cartos cleaner and reduces the ammount of time you need to spend later with a syringe or turkey baster to get remnant flavors out.

 

[Skyler]

Seems easy enough. Will have to try this on my next cleaning routine.

I have some old metal cookie cutters that I could squeeze about 20 or so in them. I'm wondering if that would work.

 

[maxx]

Anything that keeps them upright will do....

 

[redrhino]

Very nice....Thank you....

 

[Skyler]

Anything that keeps them upright will do....

Will try this next. Thanks for the tip.

 

[impcat]

I have seen many posts about boiling cartos, but have a concern about boiling them in the pan of water. (I always just pour boiling water over the cartos, which really seems kind of lame as far as getting them clean--the water cools too quickly to have any beneficial merit.)

Does boiling them directly over the heat on the stove cause any damage to the labels on the cartos? Would using a double boiler work just as well as setting the cartos into the bottom of a pan?

I have also seen many people comment about using vodka for cleaning and that the vodka helps to remove residual flavorings. Can vodka be boiled--thereby killing two birds with one stone--or would that be an unsafe thing to try?

ETA: Maxx, I like reading your posts. They always seem to be well-thought out and informative. Thank you for offering up so many great tips!

 

[maxx]

Thanks....I try to get as much detail into a tip as possible....and pics are the best way.

I have boiled cartos for as long as 10 minutes and the label has not come off. Can't speak for repeated boilings since I usually throw away cartos after a couple uses/cleanings. Never considered double-boiler.

I will occasionally do a final rinse in vodka and water to get out lingering tastes (sour apple is tough to get out). Boiling in vodka would likely leave you boiling in water after a short time....as the alcohol will evaporate off quicker than water....and it makes me sad to see that ammount of vodka wasted on cleaning when it could be drank.

 

[Garblesnarf]

Yar, well thought and well played

 

[LudaCura]

I imagine this would be a great set-up for filling as well... about to try it in a bit, as I cleaned a whole bunch last night! Thanks Maxx for the tip! I'm going to do the Taryn spin with about seven grouped together with a rubber band, after putting the condoms on them. I'll report back to say how it went.

 

[impcat]

I goofed when I mentioned the double boiler, Maxx. I was actually thinking of a steam basket (I was just in the kitchen and looked at the stuff in the cabinet).

If you have a steam basket/insert, you could place the cartos in an upright position on that, placing each carto over a hole in the basket/insert. This will allow the water to boil up from beneath and then through each carto.

Fill the base pot/pan with sufficient water to cover the cartos, and then boil. The cartos should remain in an upright position since the bubbles from the boiling water should remain in the base pot/pan and not intrude into the steam basket/insert.

 

[NightNurse]

Great tip, thanks

 

[v1John]

... I'm going to do the Taryn spin with about seven grouped together with a rubber band, after putting the condoms on them. I'll report back to say how it went.

I would put put them in serial, not parallel, when they go for the Taryn spin. What I mean is one on top of the other, not side by side. The battery bag may only hold two or three.

 

[lonercom]

Great tips. Keep 'em coming.

 

[Pokeygizmo]

I boil mine on end both ways -- a few minutes "mouth side" up and a few minutes "battery side" up. It has been very successful in a shallow pan of boiling water where the water level is just under half way up the length of the carto.

I Taryn spin them afterwards to facilitate drying time by removing as much water as possible (cap on end halfway to "catch" the water I am spinning out - like Leaford demonstrates in one of his videos on removing juice from one carto to put in another). I do a vodka "rinse" afterwards followed by another spin. The vodka evaporates quickly and the carto is ready to use -- sometimes I don't wait for the vodka to dry out completely as I don't mind the TH/flavor it adds to some juices.

Sometimes for strong tastes I do a vodka soak (have actually left a particularly strong tasting carto in overnight) and have had great success overall with removing residual flavor, although there have been a few flavors I never seem to have been able to lose.

No labels have come off so far...

A newbies' 2 cents...

 

[Sherrick]

Such small adjustments, such big differences. Thanks for the tips, folks!