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We went to the Carlsbad outlets this weekend and I found this guy in one of the kitchen supply stores.
It was cheap <$2 so I picked it up to try on my next brew day. Supposedly it helps prevent boil overs when placed into a pot. Has anyone heard of something like this and/or have experience trying it?
My last brew day I was pushing my 7.5 gallon pot to the limit and boiled over a number of times, having to relight the burner at least three times. I'm betting this thing is more of a gimmick, but can't wait to find out for sure.
Interesting write up in wikipedia (although it's called a milk watcher) pointing in favor of "non-gimmick". Perhaps not a silver bullet, but at least one more item in a brewers arsenal.
How it works
Normally, boiling water does not boil over. When fats, starches, and some other substances are present in boiling water, for example by adding milk or pasta, boiling over can occur. A film forms on the surface of the boiling liquid; for example, cream can boil over as milk fat separates from the milk.[2] The increased viscosity of the liquid causes the steam bubbles to form foam trapped under the film, pushing the film up and over the lip of the pot, boiling over. A milk watcher disrupts this process by dispersing heat from the burner more evenly, circulating liquid around the bottom of the pot, collecting small bubbles of steam under the milk watcher into a large bubble and releasing it in a manner that may puncture the surface film, and finally the milk watcher itself may absorb some excess heat that would have gone into producing steam bubbles.[3]
The device also rattles alerting the cook that boiling is occurring. By circulating fluid the device might also prevent anything from depositing on the bottom of the pot and eventually burning.[4]
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