Malt Extract Agar (MEA) Dehydrated, 100 grams

FANTASTIC and economical for my Brewery Laboratory for plating post packaged products to check for Microbiological stability. Very easy to prepare and keeps extremely well. I have modified the "recipe" to use for a smaller quantity of plates: Weigh out exactly 16.7 grams of MEA. Fill flask with 300 mL of water and add 1 stir bar. Place flask on magnetic heating stir plate and set heat to 8. Set stirring rate slowly to a maximum speed of 5 to create a medium vortex. Add MEA to 300 mL of water in flask. Stir until completely dissolved and bring to a boil. The agar is then poured into heat proof bottle(s) filled no further than 2/3. The lid of the bottle is to be closed fully, then released ¼ turn prior to sterilizing. Sterilize the bottle using laboratory microwave for 5 minutes on full power. Allow the agar to cool to approximately 120 degrees Fahrenheit, checking frequently with temperature gun. Thoroughly wash and dry hands and put a fresh pair of nitrile gloves on. Create a sterile area by thoroughly wiping the bench with 70% alcohol and paper towel. Do not completely dry the alcohol, allow it to evaporate. Air conditioner must be turned off, doors kept closed and foot traffic restricted prior to and at time of pouring. Organize petri dishes base down (the smaller section of the two halves) on the bench. Hold the flask containing sterile agar medium in liquid form with your right hand. Turn your left hand palm side up and clamp the bottle lid between two fingers. Use the hand holding the lid to lift each lid of the Petri dishes. Pour approximately 15-20 mL of the agar medium into the base of each Petri dish until approximately half full. Hold each petri dish lid so it partially covers the bottom of the dish as you pour. Immediately place the lid on the base at an angle so steam is able to escape. Allow the plates to cool to room temperature for approximately 30 minutes before packing upside down into labelled plastic bags, or use the bags the plates came in. Refrigerate the plates, storing for approximately 30 days maximum prior to use.

This stuffs great and exactly what it claims. Self mix is best, but if you're not a weight and measure person, it's perfect

I have poured this in an sab and worked great. For small batches I used 1g per 18 ml of water. I then used a “no pour tek” which sterilized the agar in the container and worked well for that as well.

So I was worried at first but strained through cheese cloth for the clumps after boiling...then PC'd at 15psi like usual. Worked just fine for experiments and sustained life of microbes.

Great value, for the amount you can create out of one bag. Haven’t had any contamination issues from the product.

New to mycology and this premixed MEA agar made it really easy and quick to pour some DIY culture plates. I usually use about 2.5tbsp-3tbsp (5gr-9gr) per 500ml distilled water. This agar mixes well and serves quick, looking forward to some treat results!

If you don't want to make your own mix of agar this is perfect I use 9 grams every poor and makes about 15 to 20 ketchup size containers. So easy.

Worked great the first time however you need to keep it dryer than dry. It should come with a desiccant pack or something to help it from solidifying into a giant block. I kept it as dry as I could and I live in CO which is pretty dry and it still wasnt enough to keep it from blocking up from the moisture in the air.