It does help to build a patina if you let them dry out after use. I read somewhere that it takes around three day to fully dry out. My pots are in use most of the time, but I do try to let them dry out once every other week or so.Vulture wrote:Here is another question though. I am getting a clay pot soon, does it have to be dry between uses?
drying out is rather easy,
just pour boiling hot water into the pot until full, close with lid, pour again on the outside, let the outside walls suck all the water, then when the outside is dry, pour out the water inside the pot, then open the lid till every last drop of water is sucked up by the pot and dry, should not take more than 2 minutes... i do that all the time, and store my pots with the lid on
-darwin
just pour boiling hot water into the pot until full, close with lid, pour again on the outside, let the outside walls suck all the water, then when the outside is dry, pour out the water inside the pot, then open the lid till every last drop of water is sucked up by the pot and dry, should not take more than 2 minutes... i do that all the time, and store my pots with the lid on
-darwin
I was going to make a new thread regarding this. I have to admit that since I drink about 8 - 10 cups (1st infusions) a day - my tokoname never get a chance to get dry. It does not smell.
HOWEVER - this little stinker - somehow most of the times smells.
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=6352&highlight=
I have dried it outside the apt for almost a week in the sun but no - some times it would smell. Then one day, and god help me, I used a little soap water and then rinsed it. Since then - it has been behaving.
This is a very valid concern. Unlike most here, I am not disciplined enough to make sure that the pot is dry/cleaned after every use.
HOWEVER - this little stinker - somehow most of the times smells.
http://www.teachat.com/viewtopic.php?t=6352&highlight=
I have dried it outside the apt for almost a week in the sun but no - some times it would smell. Then one day, and god help me, I used a little soap water and then rinsed it. Since then - it has been behaving.
This is a very valid concern. Unlike most here, I am not disciplined enough to make sure that the pot is dry/cleaned after every use.
The things that make the smells require two things; organic matter to feed on, and moisture.
And what's tea patina? Organic matter.
So if you're trying to develop the patina on something, it makes sense you wouldn't want to rinse it with water, but you do need to make sure it gets properly dried or microbes can grow.
That said, the boiling water method described above works really well for killing off any microbes in the post and drying it at the same time. So does the light-it-on fire method.
And what's tea patina? Organic matter.
So if you're trying to develop the patina on something, it makes sense you wouldn't want to rinse it with water, but you do need to make sure it gets properly dried or microbes can grow.
That said, the boiling water method described above works really well for killing off any microbes in the post and drying it at the same time. So does the light-it-on fire method.
Oct 27th, '08, 15:27
Posts: 1633
Joined: Feb 15th, '08, 10:15
Location: Pennsylvania
Speaking of bugs and teapots. . . One night I take out my tetsubin which is also dried with lid of, Fill it with boiling water to heat the pot and to rinse it and this awful smell comes out of the pot. I pour out the water and a now cooked moth comes out. I rinsed the pot about 5 times after with boiling water. Just a horrible smell.Ti wrote:WOW! Good idea! I didn’t think anyone used that method any more! That went out of style around the time of the Mongol conquest of the Southern Song. It’s nice to see ancient customs being revived. I'm tempted to try this since everyone here is readying their high-powered rifles for the upcoming deer season and I doubt anyone would notice a cannon going off now.Smells_Familiar wrote:after exposing the pot to boiling water, i will usually shoot the pot out of a cannon with THE LID OFF.
I usually air dry mine with the lids off for a few days until I'm sure they are good and dry then put the lids on, but I notice a difference in the way the pots smell after a few days with the lids on even when I'm sure they are completely dry. So I have been cocking the lids so they aren't sealed up.
I like hop's 'lids off. Nothing else' but I'm expecting the annual invasion of ladybugs any day now that it is getting cold outside and I don't want any of them smelly things hanging around and dying inside my pots. I'm going to try the paper towel inside. Thanks for all the feedback.
