comments:
Sounds like your milk tool will work just fine. No lid needed, the whole thing happen quickly in less than 45 min and the lid can be kind of in the way at times, a good chunk of that time you're stirring... Which makes me think... I don't know the form factor of your container, but just make sure you have a strong enough tool you can use to stir the paste with solvent that's long enough to go all the way to the bottom of your container and then some, especially if it's tall. Just make sure it's long enough so you're not working with the tips of your fingers, it can get tiring quickly... I use quality (but still relatively cheap) basket-style coffee filters. I used cone-shaped filters once before (the kind used for the pour over brewing "cones"), with a kind of "seam" at the bottom and side, and realized ethyl acetate was slowly dissolving whatever glue they use to hold it together... I know some people use Chemex filters, they're probably best but more expensive. For my filter "holder" I use a stainless canning funnel I use for filling mason jars for canning, it fits perfectly into the mason jars. I have a small metal screen (forget where it's from) that I put on top of the paper filter in the funnel and it holds it perfectly in place, in addition to catching some of the larger debris before they get on the paper... this setup has been working fine for me, but I'm sure there are better setups, I just use things I already had in my kitchen. A mag stirrer is a tool used in labs to make solutions, etc... It has an adjustable speed motor what spins a magnet under a plate; you put a teflon-coated (chemically inert) magnetic bar in your container and the bar spins inside the liquid, creating a vortex that stirs the solution efficiently. Now you can get a cheap one on Amazon for around $20, like this one: https://www.amazon.com/ANZESER-Magnetic-Stirrer-Stirring-Capacity/dp/B07J59QVGQ/ It's not necessary. You can just add your citric acid and just let it sit, or give the jar a swirl, or stir with a spoon for a little bit, or even just let it sit without stirring. The magnetic stirrer can help get crystallization the fastest, you can even be done in an hour or less after adding citric acid this way, but you'll get small, powdery crystals. Not doing anything after adding the citric acid, or giving a quick swirl or stir and letting sit after is how you get the larger, nicer crystals... but it takes a few days (or you can stir/swirl the jar more often and accelerate things a bit). I have a mag stirrer but don't use it a lot for crystallization. Piece of advice here... be patient. Don't rush it. Especially when making your paste, take your time. Trying to go too fast caused me to add more water than needed a few times when making my paste early on and I got goo as a result. Do the fridge rest for at least 24h as recommended the first time. Also it can take a while to see the first crystals when not stirring constantly... looking at it every hour won't make it go faster... Forget about it for 3+ days and you'll have a nice surprise when you get back to it (probably). Once you get the hang of it, it's quick and easy, and when you're more experienced you can start trying the variations that make it even faster and easier. You got this! Good luck!