Sterilizing my spoon when boiling water in Jetboil

[DGoggins]

I don’t think I got this idea from anywhere else, so I thought I would share it.

Current setup is a jetboil sol ti cup, with a jetboil zip cozy with cutoff handle (zip cozy is thicker than the ti versions so I can grab it directly), brs-3000t stove with titanium riser ring. If I use the jetboil cup, I can put a sea to summit long handled aluminum spoon through the slot (though I’ll probably be switching to bamboo spoon). So, the spoon is in the water and I’m thinking will be sterilized while the water gets boiled.

So….can anyone comment on this? Is my thinking correct that since the water becomes safe to drink through boiling that the spoon will also become more or less sterilized as long as there isn’t stuck food to it?

Also….I was worried about the hard anodized spoon not being dishwasher safe. I thought it was due to the high temperatures in a dishwasher, though sea to summit says ”

• Note: the cleanser used in dishwashers will damage the anodization, so Alpha Cutlery should not be washed in a dishwasher

But I wasn’t sure of that or not…

[Alex Wallace]

Wait, am I supposed to be sterilizing my spoon when backpacking? I just lick it clean and give it a wipe on a pant leg, shirt sleeve, marmot’s back, etc.

[DGoggins]

Yeah, this is mainly for groups..I don’t think I would considered when solo’ing. Like…I’ll eat most of an entree and then pass it to someone else in the group, or one of my kids, etc. Inevitably in a group, spoons get shared.

[Alex Wallace]

Gotcha. Makes sense now and I would think boiling water would do the trick.

[Dena Kelley]

I’m certain it will work. I just wipe down mine with a bandana, but I only have my germs to worry about. This would be a good solution in a group setting.

[MJ H]

You want to be careful about which rodent’s fur you use to clean your spoon. The problem isn’t putting germs on your spoon, but rather that a flea from the marmot (or whatever) jumps to you. Some of those flea still carry Black Death.  I think something the ungulate line would be safer.

For example.

[BCap]

I do the exact same thing with my spoon/jetboil.  Not because I feel it is actually necessary, but because I am boiling the water anyway and I might as well…

[Cole B]

…more or less sterilized as long as there isn’t stuck food to it?

It’ll be sterilized even if there is food stuck to it.  That’s what cooking is.

[Matt V]

High temperature is fine. Some dishwasher detergents ruin aluminum. Anodized is a bit more resistant than plain aluminum, but it will still be ruined eventually. The fancy tablets and pods seem to be more gentle than powdered dishwasher detergent, but I don’t wash aluminum in the dishwasher very much, so I can’t say for sure.

Be careful about the handle. If other people in your group don’t have good hand hygiene you could get sick from germs on the handle. That also applies to anything they touch, but in particular the handle will be dipped in your food pouch, so it’s more likely to transfer germs to your mouth than things you don’t eat with. If the handle gets hot enough then it’s not as much of a concern because high temperatures kill just about anything that can make you sick, but then you have to be careful not to burn yourself.

[DGoggins]

Yeah, the spoon handle itself doesn’t get that hot…or…you would have to boil water for quite a while before the top handle would get super hot….

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Sterilizing ALL utensils is best practice if you want to avoid “The Gleep” (stomach bugs). I do it every meal when backpacking.  This also means cleaning off all food residue -best done before sterilizing.

It’s the “leftovers” on your utensils that will give you problems. You would not put up with it at home (I hope) and shouldn’t do it in camp either.

[Kelly G]

I do the same. I usually just dunk my spoon once the water comes to a boil. Not terribly worried about germs but it’s still smart to take precautions. My spoon gets dip-boiled twice a day usually.

Kelly

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