Milk preparation equipment
Before buying equipment, think about the type of sterilization you will use. With the "final" method, you sterilize the bottles after you pour the mixture into them. With the "aseptic" method boil the mixture, and then pour into sterilized bottles. .
Bottles for feeding. If you know in advance that you will not breastfeed, buy at least nine bottles. From the very beginning, you will use from six to eight bottles daily and be sure to break down a few. If you are going to breast-feed, buy three bottles in order to give the child water or juice and occasionally feed the mixture.
The most popular bottles with a wide neck. The nipple is fastened in a screwed plastic cover. When the child does not eat, the nipple is inside the bottle, and the hole is closed with a plastic stopper.
There are also bottles with narrow necks. The nipple is put on the neck. On top put on a cup or an aluminum cover.
Bottles made of heat-resistant glass are more expensive, but they do not burst with rapid heating or cooling. Ultimately, most mothers are convinced that they are more economical. They easily break at the neck, so you need to handle them carefully. But nevertheless, most mothers believe that buying these bottles is the most economical.
Plastic bottles do not break if an adult or a child drops them, but they are not suitable for thermal sterilization, because they lose shape.
Juice and water can be given in ordinary two-hundred-gram bottles, although they are great for this. Some mothers prefer one-stop bottles for this purpose. It is enough to have three such bottles.
There are also single-use flexible plastic bottles. They are already sterilized and packed in plastic. Mothers who use them are very happy.
Nipples. Buy nipples that are suitable for the bottles you are going to use: a dozen if you feed from bottles, half a dozen if you are breastfeeding. You will need spare nipples if you accidentally drop one on the floor or you have to dilate the hole.
Silicone nipples are more expensive, but do not break down from boiling and milk fat.
Most use nipples with one or more holes. If the hole is clogged, buy a nipple with a cross-shaped hole or do it yourself( see paragraph 182).
covers for bottles and teats, tight fitting. Buy as much as the bottle.
A bucket, saucepan or brazier with bottle cap, depth of preferably twenty centimeters and a diameter of twenty-five centimeters to accommodate eight bottles placed vertically in a special wire nest. If you have to save money, use four-liter cans, in which you sell motor oil, and make a wire nest yourself. Bottles should not stand directly on the bottom;in which case they can burst when heated.
For final sterilization, the mixture is already in the bottles, so they should stand upright.
With an aseptic method, empty bottles are sterilized, so they can lie anywhere as long as the saucepan is of sufficient size. But it is more convenient that they also stand upright in a wire nest.
Vessel for making a mixture, marked in milliliters( beaker). Enamelled vessel, marked internally in milliliters, is very convenient for both the final and aseptic methods. With an aseptic method, you can prepare and measure the milk mixture in the same vessel. With a finite method, the vessel can be glass.
If you do not want to buy a special beaker, you can use any vessel marked in milliliters. In extreme cases, you can take a bottle for measurement, but it is inconvenient.
Funnel and strainer. With an aseptic method, you filter the boiled milk before bottling it. You can buy a funnel with a built-in filter.
With the final method, the milk is bottled raw and does not need to be filtered. But you still need a funnel if you use bottles with a narrow neck.
Bottled jar for bottles with a narrow neck. If you use bottles with a wide neck, it is more convenient to brush for washing dishes.
Other equipment, which you need for the preparation of the mixture, is not necessary to buy specially.
Tablespoon with long handle for stirring ( with the aseptic method the handle should not heat up when you stir milk while boiling).
A set of measuring spoons for measuring sugar and syrup.
Knife, to level the sugar in a measuring spoon( not required if you use syrup).
Knife for opening cans, if you use concentrated milk. A device for opening cans with beer is suitable.