Although Maul has access to gizmos galore at the Cambridge, Mass., bar, where hes known for over-the-top cocktails that channel science experiments, he says its possible to clarify juice at home, using little more than a coffee filter. it isnt vegetarian (not a problem for stock, but potentially a problem for juice), if you dont leave the gelatin long enough before you freeze it your product can go cloudy, if you dont freeze the mix all the way through your product will go cloudy, if you let the product thaw in the kitchen and it gets too hot, it will go cloudy; if your fridge is too cold (ours runs at 32-34 F) it will take forever to thaw. Simple Agar Clarification vs Gelatin Clarification: Another Difference Simple agar clarification is, as the name suggests, simple. It requires no special equipment, takes about half an hour, and can be done without overheating your juice (you hydrate the agar in boiling water and temper the juice back in). Read last years post complete with instructions here. In a nutshell: set your juice or whatever with 2 grams of agar per kilo juice. (and made a great late night screwdriver). Clarify Your Cocktail But Why? | PUNCH I read my notes wrong and made a mistake on the proportions for the agar. , Bryan Schneider, the bar director of the Quality Branded groups restaurants in New York, Miami Beach, and Denver, serves a cocktail of one part rye whiskey and two parts Angostura bitters. Jonathan Scott Last Word. Thats not to say Existing Conditions doesnt do clarifications; on the contrary, clarification of juices and infusions is a mainstay of the cocktail program. The only comforting thing I could think of is that they dont sell paint strainers in small sizes. While whisking, add the agar to the water set by the side. Joel Wabeke Here's how: Start with freshly squeezed lime juice (or other juice). 2.) Like a fine white wine, fresh grape juice is meant to be clear. g. Fresh Lemon Juice, squeezed. massaging the sack??? 26.3k Posts - See Instagram photos and videos taken at 'Kerata, Attiki, Greece' Ill look into it though. // Jul 14, 2009 at 4:57 pm. thanx for the nice summary on purification techniques! Clear drinks look more pleasing than cloudy ones, and have a better texture, Its easy to over-squeeze the cheesecloth, which makes for cloudy juice. I am pretty good at getting a high yield of clear juice with a technique I call massaging the sack.. With the exception of items that contain air, foods in vacuum bags arent being compressed (except at the edge where the bag tries to press together). In Liquid Intelligence, there are numerous ways to clarify juices, as well as several examples. Michael Natkin One clever approach involves the creation of a gel that grabs onto the impurities and leaves behind a crystal-clear juice. 12.) Try making Daiquiris with clarified and unclarified lime juice youll notice the difference. We clarified it with goats milk, which gave it a little tang at the end. But milk isnt the technique of choice for that. Also, the resultant liquid retained some gelatin as it set when put in the fridge following clarification. Have you tried poly-vynil-poly-pirrolidone (or PVPP)? As far as I know, PVPP (btw: you got them Ys and Is mixed up) is an aid in wine making used to reduce the phenol and poly phenol content. Both substances consist of long chains of molecules that can be "detangled" in hot water. Angel Leon uses plankton (as opposed to other filtration media) in part because he is obsessed with products from the ocean. Ive been using the freeze thaw method for awhile now and have found that if you allow the initial coloured ice to defrost and collect the clearer ice before it is completely defrost (reserve that for another batch if you want to be calculative) you have a pleasant tasting juice. Oh, and one more thing I find it easier / more thorough to hydrate agar with an immersion blender instead of a whisk, and you can use it to combine the agar with the unadulterated juice as well. I have heard that the first stuff he was using was only effective on stocks, not on juice. (I know that winemakers always have a bit of cold sweat on their forehead when using PVPP to optimize wines, as you can also ruin them.) [], 20062007 Cooking Issues Sitemap Cutline by Chris Pearson, Major Clarification Breakthrough from Ideas in Food. One small tip, probably obvious but I didnt realize it at first it is wise to give your juice an initial straining through a fine sieve or chinois before gelling no reason to tie up agar or cheesecloth with a bunch of pulp that you can trivially remove. Test it in a Paloma, for instance. Thats where Eamon Rockey, the director of beverage studies at the Institute of Culinary Education in Manhattan, first came across it in the mid-2000s. Existing Conditions has half a dozen in daily use, and Schramm has never looked back. Yesterday I wrote a post about a new clarification technique posted by Ideas in Food where agar gels are put in vacuum bags to get clarified liquids out of them. Something was gnawing at me. Patricio Wise davearnold Servings 1 Ingredients 1.5 oz Tequila Blanco .5 oz Mezcal .75 oz Supasawa .5 oz Cointreua .25 oz Simple Syrup 1 dash Grapefruit Bitters Instructions Add all ingredients in a cocktail beaker. // Jul 14, 2009 at 10:48 am. Infuse the rinds of 8 Lemons in a Gallon of Brandy 48 hours, then add 5 Quarts of Water and 2 pounds of Loaf Sugar, then Squize [, ] the Juices of all the lemons; to these Ingredients add 2 Quarts of new milk Scald hot, stirring the whole till it crudles [, ]; grate in 2 Nutmegs, let the whole infuse 1 Hour, then refine through a flannel Bag., While it might not be quite mainstream yet, milk punch has enjoyed a resurgence lately. Hi Dave, Im still slightly confused about how you do the agar clarification with heat sensitive juice (like lime). Todd Maul and a bottle of his clarified juice. I am going to try again, but if there was something glaring that I missing I would very much appreciate your advice, if not thanks anyway, Cooking Issues is fantastic! // Jul 21, 2010 at 11:53 pm. Measure out 500 grams cold OJ, 250 grams cold OJ, and 1.5 grams of Telephone brand Agar (0.2% of total juice weight). A clarified juice can be carbonated without becoming a foamy mess, shelf life is improved, the mouthfeel becomes light, and the liquid, limpid. The taste would be better. Unfortunately, I dont have a centrifuge yet my ebay skills still need a bit of work. You can get them in nylon, polyester, or polypro Im not sure what the Superbag uses or whats best. 244k members in the cocktails community. In some respects it is similar to bentonite: one removes phenols the other soluble proteins. How long does the clarified juice, (in the case of lime, which seems so fragile to me), last before the flavor quality begins to degrade? It is safe to use, holds 3 liters a a time, and is the size of two microwaves.It can spin product at 4000 times the force of gravity plenty of gs agar clarification. Most centrifuges in this range can be equipped with4 swinging buckets of 750ml each. Dont bother getting a smaller one or a larger one. Read about our centrifuge here. The result was a little clearer just not as clear as Id hoped [still beige color]. JESUS H. TAPDANCING CHRIST CAN THIS DAY GET ANY BETTER??? Lift and gently squeeze to drain. It has been a year since quick agar clarification changed my life. I was looking for a way to clarify lime juice without the help of a $15,000 rotary evaporator or a $20,000 centrifuge. Even if you have the equipment, these techniques produce only small quantities. Simple agar clarification solved all my lime-juice problems, and more. Read the post here. We appreciate the kind words. A clarified juice can be carbonated without becoming a foamy mess, shelf life is improved, the mouthfeel becomes light, and the liquid, limpid. Pouring in the acidic mixture lowers the pH of the milk gradually. Jeremy Bergsman I have noticed funky things happening with agar gelatin systems. // Jul 16, 2009 at 11:15 pm. can you get it at a winemaking shop? If you cant get real cheesecloth use muslin, a large cloth napkin, or a smooth-finished dish towel. Ive clarified roasted banana (pureed with water) via the simple agar technique. davearnold By Elysia Bagley. Dump the curds into a cheesecloth lined chinois. First set the juice with 2 grams of agar per kilo of juice and let it gel. For 300ml of lime juice and 100ml of water, you would need eight grams of Agar. Non-desired effects reside mainly on bitterness and astringency the first clarification will always remove small molecular weight polyphenols, so bitterness goes away first. Place in cheesecloth (muslin cloth) and lightly squeeze to get your clear juice. Sign up for our award-winning Daily Dispatch newsletterdelivered to your inbox every week. A Culinary Season Food Post Ink We use a technique called massaging the sack. The idea is to clear the surface right by the drain holes in the cheesecloth. Although the process works exactly the sameadd milk, curdle it, and strain it outRockey points out that theres an important distinction to be made between milk washing for the purpose of flavor stripping or clarification, and milk washing for the purpose of adding body and texture. How to Clarify Juice with One Simple Trick - Liquor.com While some high-end bars take pride in crystal-clear clarifieds, Maul says thats not necessarily the end-goal. They call the technique compression clarification. I stayed up till 1am or so getting the post out, vegged for a bit, and tried to go to bed. Leave half the juice in the pan and set the other half aside. I think its one of the best drinks Ive ever made.. Kara Newman is an award-winning writer, book author and cocktail expert with more than a decade of experience in the drinks-writing world. Agar Clarification Made Stupid-Simple: Best Technique Yet - Cooking Issues Guessing that it had nothing to do with the color ;-), I wonder whether there is any explanation, or hint of which kind of substances are out of question. I was planning on making a couple of pre-mixed bottled cocktails to take on holiday with me and read somewhere that clarified lime juice will last longer. 1.) Pour 90 ml of this mixture into a pot and add agar-agar. Break the gel up with a whisk. Put the broken gel in three layers of cheesecloth. Gently squeeze out the clear juice. Orange juice and zucchini soup yielded great results, while soy sauce and coffee didnt work at all, the clarified fluid looked just like the original one. // Jul 22, 2010 at 4:18 am. Line the strainer with a coffee filter. Mix well and bring to a boil. Agar strips out a lot of flavor. You should be able to get much higher yields than that. Would be possible to use 50 grams of juice to boil to hydrate the agar instead 250 grams ? Given that I do not have a vacuum sealer, nor a centrifuge I think this method could work! Something else bothered me: I dont like the term compression the way it is used by chefs. I wonder whether the agar would hold on to the liquified gelatin. They give the resulting drink a silken mouthfeel, and in shaken drinks, they produce a voluminous and lasting froth on top. Press J to jump to the feed. I am into making a modern greek salad and wanted to have a clear tomato foam to accompany the dish. 11.) I love it. Air in the pulp wont ever settle out. Maybe it makes more efficient use of the media? 3 min. Clear Mojito with clarified Mint & Lime Cordial and some absinthe - reddit Second question can the gelatin clarification method work without a freeze thaw i.e. Boozehound Alert: Agar Alcohol Clarification Plus Some Thoughts. MattinLosAngeles You dont have to take egg whites drying sensation into account.. Also, like weve really implied here, no one likes pulp in their cocktails these days. Theres a 25 micron version available if that doesnt work. The Science Behind Non-Alcoholic Beer and Wine Production, Using Alternative Yeasts to Replace Sulfites in Wines. That could be a problem. Tanariva chocolate (10% of banyuls weight) The Magic Behind A Totally Clear Margarita - msn.com I think I know the perfect piece of equipment to experiment with this kind of stuff: Remove and pour into a bowl, set the bowl in an ice bath. // Jul 22, 2010 at 5:08 am, Howdy, I will add the link later. Agar Clarification Made Stupid-Simple: Best Technique Yet - Cooking Issues Measure out 500 grams cold OJ, 250 grams cold OJ, and 1.5 grams of Telephone brand Agar (0.2% of total juice weight). Have you looked into clarifiers used by brewers? // Jul 22, 2010 at 7:05 am. He lives in New York City, where he writes about food and drinks. Great post by the way. Hi Anthony, And sure tasted good with rum. davearnold // Sep 20, 2011 at 9:29 am, [] For the lime clarification, I used Dave Arnolds Agar Clarification Made Stupid-Simple technique foundhere. Pulling those out requires different techniques. (No, I wont try it with my espresso mashine.). // Aug 8, 2011 at 10:43 am. If that doesnt help, maybe you are breaking up the agar pieces too much before you filter. 3.) I forgot to even mention it because straining is SOP here. from everyone who has witnessed agar syneresis but never put 2+2 together. Hi Darren, // Jul 16, 2009 at 2:37 am. schinderhannes // Jul 14, 2009 at 10:40 pm. Just tried it with frozen papaya, tres tres tasty, probably be using it for a dip. When it looks like a gel, it is set. Clarifying is especially important for making your own verjus, where you want those clean, tart flavours to shine. Another hot tip? I dont think weve tried banana yet. The only way I know (other than Carbon filtration which also strips flavor) is through re-distillation. skim milk (25% of banyuls weight). Many things with air in them, a block of aluminum foam for example, wont compress in a vacuum bag either (although it will be under compression), because they are too strong. Lower heat and let simmer for 2-5 minutes, until the agar is dissolved. , lists a number of straightforward methods for clarifying juices that, like milk washing, dont require special equipment. Mini Primer: a Rundown of the Clarification Techniques We Know: People often ask me about different clarification techniques. Here is a summary. I jumped out of bed trying not to wake my wife, got dressed, jumped on my bike and dashed off to The FCI to get agar, OJ, and cheesecloth. Dave, I wondered why theirs looked so much harder. Howdy KennethT, Gin and Tonics want lime juice, perfect G&Ts are directly carbonated (see here for video), and cloudy lime juice doesnt carbonate well. Some problems with simple agar clarification: It's easy to over-squeeze the cheesecloth, which makes for cloudy juice. It should work on oj but anything with a really low pH like lemon and lime might not. I might take it out because I think they edited out the clarification part. I must have gone wrong somewhere along the line, the problem is that every step seemed to go exactly as you described and I dont know what I would do differently next time. Even flash infusion isnt compression, it is injection. We used a rich Jamaican rum and Rhum J.M VSOP and maple syrup. Gently squeeze out the clear juice. We have always told people to add gelatin back to stocks after clarification to restore body. 9.) Working in 10-liter batches, Schneider mixes 20 parts Angostura with 1 part lemon juice, then stirs that deep maroon liquid into an equal amount of fresh cold milk. Adam S. Im in Ireland right now and my Internet is spotty. Blend all the ingredients (except agar-agar) in a blender. Lime: the Holy Grail of clarification problems. The results were not very good. simply amazing! Once you've added all the lime juice to the agar mixture, the entire batch should be around 35C. Modified fast (but not as simple) agar clarification technique: Instead of using cheesecloth, break up the agar gel with a whisk, load it into the centrifuge, and spin it for 15 minutes at 4000 gs. Yield is very high, no operator skill necessary, and the juice doesnt re-cloud. And a very nice to you too. Its become a key ingredient for elevating Gimlets, Margaritas and Daiquiris. Seeing a lot of love on here for milk clarified punches, but I've been reading about clarifying using agar-agar powder, which can apparently make a margarita look like water. I think he has changed his mix of plankton since then. Now, here are 10 juices you should be clarifying: The little particles that come out with the juice when squeezing citrus fruits do more than just make the liquid cloudy. Rum, mint, lime juice and a hit of spritzy soda water -- it doesn't get any better. Drop Your Muddler: Here's How and Why To Clarify Your Fruit Juice Unlike gelatin, agar sets very quickly once it drops below its gelation temperature. Truly, truly nice and not a lab tool in sight. I just tried this on a mushroom broth, but result is cloudy, a few minutes later particles clumped together, will tweet the pic. Like if you skip the kettle and pump directly from the water tank into the coffeee tray only fill it with diatomic algea. Ours here in the lab doesnt spin quite that fast. Pour the heated mixture into the smaller bowl and whisk until it gets to the consistency of cottage cheese. // Feb 28, 2010 at 6:40 pm. You can balance the flavors like a normal drink, he says. A classic daiquiri with clarified lime juice : cocktails - reddit You want to filter out the very fine residue thats in the solution, he says. In fact, I know it would. I think it would. Anybody have any experience with agar-agar clarification? Ive seen from a couple of comments that you mention that if the liquid to clarify with agar has gelatin in it, then it may not work. Set a chinois (conical fine-mesh strainer) or other fine-mesh strainer over a bowl. davearnold They are essentially liquids with some solids mixed in, and are uncompressible. Any other ideas? Mix agar agar and water over heat and boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, then stir in juice over heat for a few seconds (the mix should be about 35C). Instructions: Bring water to a near boil, and stir in the Agar agar. I was making a large bunch of mojitos for my partners birthday pre-going-out gathering, and I wanted to put it all in a large glass dispenser, but I didnt want it to be clouded especially as I was using essential spearmint oil along with the simple syrup (thanks Scott Beattie!). Learn how Provi is digitally transforming the wholesale alcohol industry with its online marketplace at provi.com. Start with 1,000 grams of fresh lime juice and 2 grams of agar. My experience with normal flat filters and pressures is second hand. Platanochef Thanks in advance for any input. As a side note, we have done a lot of work on hyper reducing freeze-thaw gelatin stocks (they stay liquid even after they have been preposterously concentrated and wont glue your mouth together like over-reduce stock can). I notice bentonite is missing from your list. 3/4 oz clarified lime juice. (If you dont know it, check it out.). Ian McCarthy Paul Adams is the senior science research editor at Cooks Illustrated. We were trying to make a meat glace fluid gel. When you visit the site, Dotdash Meredith and its partners may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Thanks so much. Also, if you use a very small amount of liquid to hydrate, you have to make sure that the liquid you temper back into doesnt drop too low in temperature. Ive never used the superbag, but 250 micron sounds big. Chefs have long used eggs or gelatin to clarify stocks, and those work in booze too, but Arnolds favorite gel clarification method uses agar instead. // Jul 24, 2009 at 12:44 pm. This clay has a very high absorbence for proteins, thus it is used primarily in white wine production to absorb proteins that otherwise would be soluble. We also tasted the samples to see if there were any appreciable difference. I used this with great success to clarify some home-pressed apple juice last year for making jelly. // Mar 26, 2010 at 1:58 pm. // Sep 23, 2010 at 11:41 am. I think it is supposed to work on juice now. When Liquid Intelligence was published, Arnold was using an expensive, delicate laboratory centrifuge for his clarifications. I could not sleep. Thats why. I tried this using a 250 micron superbag, but it got *full* of agar bits had to do the coffee filter overnight. Agar strips out a lot of flavor. If you dont do this later on the wine might fog once it gets accidentaly too hot in storage and the proteins denaturate. I used the same 2 grams of Telephone brand Agar per kilo of product that I always use, which is just barely gelled. And, most of all, thanks for your great website. Remove and pour into a bowl, set the bowl in an ice bath. Eliminate that reside that floats to the top and collects on the glass by clarifying. davearnold document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); 50 Best launches a recipe book to raise money for the hospitality industry, 10 random booze facts to toss out to your guests, Cocktail in a sphere: Pina Colada spherification recipe, Whos on shift: Guest bartenders in Asia November 2022, Guest bartenders and events in Barcelona for The Worlds 50 Best Bars 2022, The Shady Family channels mobster glamour in its stable of Bali bars. I always wanted to order an AeroPress Coffee and Espresso Maker, now I have a reason to do so! Whisk the agar into the 250 grams of cold juice to disperse the agar then heat to a boil while stirring and allow to simmer a couple of minutes to hydrate the agar. To make the agar, whisk in the agar with the water. Wish I had put down a coffee filter though as at one point I didnt get the corners lined up well on the muslin when lifting it up from the chinois and had a bit come out of the sides. Dont use the stuff from the supermarket with the picture of the turkey on the package. Instead use 4 parts room temp (25C) juice and hydrate in 1 part water. In his book Punch, David Wondrich reprints Mary Rocketts recipe from 1711: To make Milk Punch. davearnold // Jul 22, 2010 at 5:15 am. It not only makes juices super sexy looking it also extends their shelf life, helping you reduce waste and get the most for your money. Wylie tried the pressurized filters used for making wine. Thanks for the ideas. 516.8 grams! Clarify it for better texture (and prettiness). davearnold when i make wine this works perfectly to clarifying freshly pressed cloudy grape juice. These molecules will intertwine again upon cooling of the liquid, creating a semi-solid mixture. Clearly agar and gelatin talk to each other, but I dont know what they are saying. I think that is fantastic because first its pure vegetarian. Also could kind of feel the agar coming through the muslin when massaging the sack so was an easy indication to stop and break the curds back up again. That clairmax mashine look a lot like my Rancilio Silva Espresso mashine! Dec 24, 2011 - Various methods of clarifying lime juice, including the simple agar method developed by Dave Arnold. Ive been buying similar ones to these in all the materials from an ebay seller (who offers free shipping) and am trying out the concept. If you are using refrigerated juice that can tolerate some heat, boil 1 part liquid with the agar and add in 2 parts refrigerated juice. I think its one of the best drinks Ive ever made., in Manhattan, Jack Schramm, the head bartender, milk-washes Linie Aquavit and shakes it with Aperol, Cynar, and grapefruit into a smooth and bitter sour called the Helicopter. The phenomenon of polyphenols being bound by milk proteins was. Freezing and thawing was the only way to do it. Juice the limes and strain the lime juice into a medium saucier. (The Existing Conditions ratio is 250 milliliters of milk per liter of spirit, mixed together and then curdled with half an ounce of 15 percent citric acid solution.) For Agar Agar:. The filter catches pulp, seeds, skin and any other tiny particles that make the juice cloudy and on the other side youll have a clear, clean liquid. Good question Hayds, Use real cheesecloth. Ill look at your detailed post when I get back. Darren Teoh You should have about 35 oz / 1000 grams of juice; if you have less, adjust the amount of agar in the next step proportionally. You should get that kind a stuff for a few pennies in any old style pharmacy. When it is set, grate it finely. I dont need to filter 55 gallons of solution. The same is true at Deadshot in Portland, Oregon, where Natasha Mesa, the head bartender, says shes pretty much clarified everything from tomato juice to Campari. Clarifying juice makes it look bright and attractive but also confers functional advantages. At least I havent had luck. Youre saying that I paid $35 for a 1 L (0.26 gallon) Superbag when I could have paid $11.61 for a 5 gallon one (nineteen times larger)? foodplayer Finally something you could even do while camping in the woods. I had dumped out one of the gels and spun it again, and even though the gel had been broken, I got more clarified juice. Same can happen with juice. Alternatively, you can just stir the curds in the cheesecloth to release more juice. // Sep 6, 2011 at 3:38 am, [] joy. There was Dave Arnolds experimentalMargaritas using clarified lime juice based on a clarification technique using agar. There was also a sampling of tortilla chips nixtamalized, an ancient Mesoamerican process [], Chris Anderson // Sep 10, 2009 at 11:10 pm. Clarified citrus juice takes some prep work, but following that it keeps for a couple days and you can use it as you would normal citrus juice. A G&T topped with clarified lime juice instead of a freshly squeezed lime wedge, for example, results in long-lasting bubbles with better texture than the traditionally assembled alternativewith the same signature bitter-tart balance. The only constant, which she and almost every other bartender agree on (Mary Rocketts recipe is an exception), is the order of operations: Add the spirit mixture to the milk, not the milk to the mixture. The cocktail's inventor, mixologist Cristina Smith, uses agar agar and a "temperature-specific cooking technique" to clarify the juice. In a nutshell: set your juice or whatever with 2 grams of agar per kilo juice. In the org chem lab we use them a lot to aid filtrations of nasty suspensions. Get our best cocktail recipes, tips, and more when you sign up for our newsletter. Simple Agar Clarification: 1 Year Anniversary, Plus a Rundown of H. Alexander Talbot in Portland, Oregon, where Natasha Mesa, the head bartender, says shes pretty much clarified everything from tomato juice to Campari. Clarifying juice makes it look bright and attractive but also confers functional advantages. As one of the staple juices behind the bar, you want your lime juice to keep longer so youre not constantly squeezing fruit. The secret? Howdy Ricky, Dont boil heat-sensitive juices like lime. // Jul 16, 2009 at 2:38 am. so I reduced the liquid by half and sure enough it had the body of a rich glace. I know this is an old post but I think I may know the reason why agar clarification doesnt work with cloudy stocks and its not an interference between the agar + the gelatin but more because by not defrosting in the fridge the fat in the stock doesnt stay solidified and some of it leaks into the final consomme. Oak tannins in aged spirits are another popular target for milk washing, as are the tannins that naturally occur in tea. How to Make Clarified Citrus for Cocktails - Chowhound Mix the liquid and the gelatin powder together in a small saucepan, then bring the mixture to a boil. It works with orange juice but not with lemon or lime. I just tried the Simple Agar Clarification technique on Clam Juice. Labwork 2: Two-Step Mojito & Ex Aqua | The Old Town Alchemy Co. The Nobel Prizefighter Is Your New Favorite Fall Cocktail - Thrillist // Jul 27, 2010 at 7:18 am, Jason McDermott It must be very fresh lime juice that is even a couple hours old tastes over-the-hill. Freezing doesnt prevent this deterioration, and neither does vacuum bagging. Some of the big-kid flavor houses have made great strides in industrial fresh-lime taste, but aint nothing like the real thing, baby. Most clarification techniques other than the traditional egg-raft take a lot of time like days. Pinterest Remember to strain over a coffee filter to catch expressed agar. Howdy MattinLosAngeles, I also did replace the cloth just to be sure. Clarify Your Cocktail But Why? A vacuuming would definitely help. For the price of one Superbag Ive been able to get several, in mesh sizes from 55 microns to 250. Face it, no one wants gritty, cloudy grape juice. Thanks Joesan. Not trying to give you buyers remorse, but the superbag may actually be an industrial filter of the type sold at this place: http://www.mcmaster.com/#catalog/115/378/=4pckpx.