Aluminum pot "seasoning" question....

[cyberbackpacker]

I just received my new aluminum pot and it suggests:

Wash with soap and water and rinse. Dry, then coating with light cooking oil, heat slowly until "quite hot, but before smoke is visible." Turn off heat and let cool. Again add oil and heat. Cool and heat one more time. Empty and clean the pot with cold water. Your pot is now seasoned.

Later it says:

If you... boil plain water, this may cause discoloration or staining. This can be easily removed, either by cooking acidic foods (tomatoes, rhubarb, etc.) or by using a mild aluminum cleaner. This removes the stain without affecting the taste, color, or quality of the food.

So the question- how do these directions influence me going forward to use this as a HLT and BK?

Thanks. I just want to get this right so I can finally brew.

 

[BuffaloSabresBrewer]

Dont use any oil. Just boil some water. And your done.

 

[faber]

Assuming you're only going to use this pot for brewing (which you should), just follow what BuffaloSabresBrewer says.

You won't have any issues.

 

[mew]

The staining they are referring to is a necessary Al oxide layer that you should build up before brewing. If your pot fits in the oven, you can heat it for a while and that'll do the trick. Consult how to brew for temp/time. Most people just boil water for 30 mins or so.

 

[scinerd3000]

thats what i did. It will change color but why do you care- its not a beauty contest after all. Were brewing beer

 

[cyberbackpacker]

This is a brew only pot, bought specifically for this purpose. I do not care if it is "shiny", as stated, I just wanted to make sure I do it right. I knew palmer et al. mentioned boiling and baking, but had never come across the oil seasoning. Since the manufacturer stated it, I was unsure if I needed to heed that advice for brewing- uncertain I turned here!

So, after this feedback, I believe I will just be baking/boiling it this evening.

 

[BigKahuna]

Dont use any oil. Just boil some water. And your done.

+1
And if it discolors...BFD! It's a boil kettle not a bumper on your 66 split window. You'll be fine.

 

[ChshreCat]

If you're using this with a gas burner, odds are it's not going to stay completely pretty looking no matter what you do to season it anyway.

 

[Gregredic]

This is a brew only pot, bought specifically for this purpose. I do not care if it is "shiny", as stated, I just wanted to make sure I do it right. I knew palmer et al. mentioned boiling and baking, but had never come across the oil seasoning. Since the manufacturer stated it, I was unsure if I needed to heed that advice for brewing- uncertain I turned here!

So, after this feedback, I believe I will just be baking/boiling it this evening.

One important thing that I didn't really see anyone mention is the fact that you WANT the discoloraton. The discoloration is oxide on the pot, which acts like a protective barrier for your wort. NEVER EVER try to clean that oxidation off.....EVER.

 

[BarleyWater]

ever.
................

 

[Mirage]

I think that using oil would leave a sticky residue. Just thinking about my baking pans that we used oil with and the only way to get the residue off is with an SOS pad...

 

[BuffaloSabresBrewer]

The oil would also destroy you head retention.

 

[Johnniemack86]

I recently used my aluminum brewing pot to boil some bottles to sterilize them. Afterwards there is what appears to be black scorch marks all around the inside of the pot...Did i ruin the pot?

 

[Gregredic]

No, it should be fine.

 

[FSR402]

The oil burning is for seasoning cast iron pots not aluminum. Just boil water as stated.

 

[Psych]

On this vein, with my aluminum pot I boiled 7g of water (it's a 10-11g pot) when I first got it, and got a nice black lower 7g worth of pot.

I wasn't able to bring more than 7g of water to a boil when I first got it...now I can do the full thing if I want, but when I try and boil up, say, 10g of water it doesn't re-blacken the now slightly faded black lower 7g part, nor does it put a black oxide coating on the 7g to 10g part, above the 7g mark.

I've done numerous brews, boiling above the 7g mark, and no issues or funky tastes but...bit concerning?

 

[Shockerengr]

The oil burning is for seasoning cast iron pots not aluminum. Just boil water as stated.

Actually, it applies to Al as well....in restaurants we would season the aluminum pans to make them non-stick as well

That said, the manufacture procedure is geared towards cooking food, not making wort.

So if you wanted to make a stew, cook a roast, or anything else, by all means follow the manufacture's procedure.

If you want to make beer....just boil water in it for a while to get the oxide layer in place.

 

[ChshreCat]

Actually, it applies to Al as well....

Al who?

*ba-dum-KISH*

 

[rayg]

I coat my aluminum with salt, pepper, thyme and iris root.

Ray

 

[Shockerengr]

Al who?

*ba-dum-KISH*

Bundy.

shoe specialist

 

[FSR402]

Actually, it applies to Al as well....in restaurants we would season the aluminum pans to make them non-stick as well

That said, the manufacture procedure is geared towards cooking food, not making wort.

So if you wanted to make a stew, cook a roast, or anything else, by all means follow the manufacture's procedure.

If you want to make beer....just boil water in it for a while to get the oxide layer in place.

really? I had not known that. Thanks I learned my new thing for the day. Time to just drink beer and pass out. :rockin:

 

[cyberbackpacker]

Just FYI to all, this post is almost 3 years old, and the issue has long been resolved.

It was just recently resurrected/bumped by someone asking about scorching on their aluminum kettle. No need to post more...

 

[dogbar]

Necropost alert: It's also the first result that comes up in Google when the shiny new pot comes via FedEx and you search "homebrewtalk seasoning aluminum pot." So it lives on.

And while I'm here, this is the pot I ordered at the price I ordered it for and it's one sexy piece of affordable brewware:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001CHKL68/?tag=skimlinks_replacement-20