PP5 Agar Cups Condensation - SOLVED!

[@CeeBee-jk9mk]

Can you touch on why you store them upside down?

[@KitchenMycology]

Right. Because any humidity will fall away from the Agar. Later, when there's mycelium growing on it, you also store it that way so the humidity falls down and away from the mycelium.

[@CeeBee-jk9mk]

Got it. Thanks for the reply man. So I did your trick for getting rid of the condensation. But what I noticed is that the condensation disappeared but in doing so, is now just chilling on top of the agar. So then I was thinking, will the water absorb into the agar or will it just end up on the inside of the top lid again when I store it upside down? I hope that makes sense. Thx my guy

[@KitchenMycology]

@@CeeBee-jk9mk when you store them upside down, it forms a bead of water on the edge of the lid. When I'm going to inoculate or transfer to it, I shake off that bead. I can't remember which video I show that, but check out my Agar playlist. I give quite a few tips here and there. 😎👍🏼

[@KitchenMycology]

@@CeeBee-jk9mk kzbin.info/aero/PLerR1zfM1CNkjP7pcGTccTTeLKEBdXVW6&si=pQm-TEjTM0J03hg_

[@renegarza1436]

Bro I think I found them but just to be sure can u share the Amazon link for the containers please thanks.

[@wetrat159]

Sweet!! I’ll be interested to see if the condensation soaks back into the agar or if it condenses back onto the sides or sits on top of the gel. Will give updates!

[@jacobwilliamson3683]

so how would you ammend this into your agar workflow? After you pressure cook the agar in an instant pot, screw the lids on tight as soon as you open the instant pot because they have to be cracked a little bit so they dont build up pressure, then as the agar is cooling pour hot water on each of them or when you put the agar dishes in the pressure cooker just put a tablespoon of water between each dish? then pressure cook and let cool down naturally? I noticed sometimes I see sediment in my agar, like two separate areas, it still grows ok as a medium, maybe a little slower but I use a PDA agar recipe mostly.

[@KitchenMycology]

See the whole work flow here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r37dhGdra9iVh7M

[@chaseTheCase9]

When doing this- do the lids need to be tightened all the way? Or loose? I’m thinking about doing this this time around- but I may switch to pouring it in an SAB for these cups. For time.

[@KitchenMycology]

Lose lids while you Pressure Cook, tighten them as soon as you take them out and stack them as I mentioned in the video. I pour water between the cups to fill the air gap. That was the ultimate fix. I linked the video to that part as well. Check them out. 😎👍🏼🍄♥️

[@chaseTheCase9]

@@KitchenMycology thanks bud!! I appreciate your help!! Much love 🤘🏼💚🍄🍄‍🟫👽

[@KitchenMycology]

@@chaseTheCase9 Thank you for Joining my Patreon! Every little bit helps! 🍄❤

[@chaseTheCase9]

@@KitchenMycology I really appreciate your patience, communication and responses. Happy to be a part of your community 💚

[@duytu2134]

You friggin DID IT brother!!! I knew if I suggested we try and improve on your discoveries that you'd figure out a better one :P Now my only question is: do you think it's possible to simply add hot water to the top of each lid WITHOUT an agar cup full of hot water? Just the hot water on top of each lid: do you think that would remove the condensation just by itself? now THAT is something I want to try out. By the way, great scientific move on figuring out that the lids are concave. Never would have thought of that nor thought of adding just water to the top of the lids!! friggin impressive

[@JohnRedcorn-iz6tx]

How long would I PC using a instantpot?

[@KitchenMycology]

30 minutes. See the How To Video here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/r37dhGdra9iVh7M

[@JohnRedcorn-iz6tx]

@@KitchenMycology Thank you, I thought I might of had to PC abit longer using a instantpot compared to a true pressure cooker

[@KitchenMycology]

Some people add 5 to 10 minutes if they use an Instant Pot, but all the times I recommend in my videos are what I've been using for years now, so at least we know that those times work with the regular Instant Pots.

[@toddwmac]

Nice test. A couple of things to take into consideration. Since condensation is primarily a function of temperature differential, you can get quite different results based on room temp, pour temp and cup temp. For example, if I do mug tek on 6 plates sitting on my granite kitchen counter with a room temp of 65 degrees, I get a different result than when pouring in front of a warm oven and then stacking in my oven with the light on and a temp of 75. Also, I have found that by letting the agar cool longer than most recommend, you can greatly decrease the initial condensation. Agar starts to gel at about 105F. Therefore, by waiting until it hits about 115-120, the temp diff between the agar temp and the cup temp is smaller. This is where a cheap IF thermometer is way worth it. Also, the warmer the plates are, the less of that initial condensation hit you will get.

[@KitchenMycology]

True, true. My only difference is that I do a "No Pour" Tek, so I take all the cups out of the PC already poured, so I can't pour them cooler. Now that I know about that concave gap on the lids, I could find a flatter brownie dish and oiur the hot water over the lids. Non of the ones I have are truly flat. Thanks for the input! 😎👍🏼

[@toddwmac]

@nMycology I no pour as well. I find that if I get a lot of condensation when I 1st pour, and before I PC the plates, it seems even worse after I run the PC. I do find that if I run the PC overnight, and let it cool until morning, things are generally better but not always great. I tried adding an insulator to the PC after it shut off to slow the cooling cycle but the jury is out on that. At the end of the day, the trick is keeping the top plate hotter than the bottom plate and you got me thinking. I might try to find a round ceramic dish that fits in the PC and rests on stacks of plates. Then, after the PC cycle, I could add the plate with hot water and see if it makes a difference. I'm also running my plates in bags to keep everything sterile. I had a couple contams sneak in through the screw tops, but I was being overly relaxed with the plates. :) Good luck!

[@KitchenMycology]

@@toddwmac Ahhhh, now I see what you meant. I think that I get less condensation if I take them out warm. If they're too hot, when I close the lids, they suck in as they cool down. I think my lids are concave because of this... I believe I've had better results taking them out pretty hot, but not too hot. I haven't done a scientific test, but I think that's how it is for me. 🤷🏼

[@toddwmac]

@@KitchenMycology I'll give that a shot. I'd really like to get a solid protocol dialed in. Thanks!

[@KitchenMycology]

@@toddwmac Let me know what you learn. 😎👍🏼

[@patina7943]

Thanks for this solution! Are the agar cups pressure cooker safe? if so what make are they and where can i get some please?

[@KitchenMycology]

Yes. They're Autoclavable. They're in the description of this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3i6hJ2gob9gg7M

[@KitchenMycology]

They're in the description of this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/i3i6hJ2gob9gg7M

[@helpyourfellowhuman]

👍🏻

[@thisbemypage]

Hey buddy, just couldn't help but notice, wouldn't filling a mason jar with boiling water and setting that on your plates for a few seconds instead of splashing water everywhere and making you need to dry them/ making a mess/ less risk of traveling contams.... maybe, .......probably,... just a suggestion.

[@KitchenMycology]

@@thisbemypage That didn't work with these cups because their tops are concave (a bit bowl shaped) and the bottoms have another indent. This creates dead space between each cup that keeps the condensation from going away.