Old glass bottles?

[vermontpure]

I recently had a friend give me some old glass bottles and was wondering if they could be used for syrup. I think their old gin bottles but who knows what else over the years has been in them. I boiled them in bleach, washed then re-washed and even drank some water out of one of them. absolutely no wierd taste. Glass is not a porous material so i say their fine but was just curious. obviously they were/are food grade.

[jmayerl]

I guess for yourself you could use them. Bottles cost .50-.90 so I guess brand new is not cost prohibitive if giving it to someone or selling it.

[Scribner's Mountain Maple]

I have some rules I use for old glass that may help. I never use any soap or chemicals. I soak them with boiling water with white vinegar. I let that soak for an hour then flush and shake with hot water until I am satisfied that I can get it no cleaner. I then only ever use these old glass to give syrup to friends and family. I never sell it to the public.

I asked this same question of a large local producer and he said how hot do I can syrup at and I told him that generally I can at 180-200. He then asked me if I thought anything could survive that temp. Point being that if any bacteria is in the glass, it will be killed by the hot syrup.

[happy thoughts]

I reuse glass bottles but only those I know contained food and only ones I've recycled myself. You can clean glass but it's the caps I'd be worried about if you don't know what they may have been used for, especially if those caps are plastic. All plastic is absorbent to some extent. I prefer smooth glass and nothing with dimples or indentations inside as those are more difficult to clean. I wash my bottles well with a bottle brush and boil for 15 minutes just as you would for canning jars.

I don't boil plastic caps but wash them well, removing the inner liner and washing that separately. If it's a paper liner, don't bother using the cap. Either find a usable replacement or use a different bottle.

You can further sanitize caps and plastic liners by dipping in a weak bleach solution (3/4 tsp plain clorox bleach/quart of warm water) for a minute or 2, then rinse very well. Make up a fresh batch of bleach solution each time you need it as it does not keep. It needs to be plain bleach without scents, soap, or other additives. The concentration of the solution as given should be about 200ppm which is the recommended strength for food contact surfaces. But if you're packing at the proper temp to the proper fill level you can probably omit that step as long as you have cleaned the caps thoroughly.

I do not sell my syrup. If you sell, your state laws may require new single use containers.

[BoarsNest]

I have some customers that have given the bottles back to me. I am just going to buy new caps and just use them for myself or family. I don't need to worry about getting the old labels off and then I even get some nice bottles for myself.

[jmayerl]

Remember that if you wish to sell syrup and reuse the container the equipment to clean and sanitize the bottles runs in the 20k price range.

[vermontpure]

I dont sell syrup and dont plan to. This is just a relaxing hobby for me. The bottles in question and the syrup in them will most likely be given back to my friend for him to consume. Just figured i'd see what everyones take on it was.

[Kyle Baker]

I'm just a small backyarder as well and don't make enough to sell. I did buy some new 250ml bottles to fill and gift out, but for me I've been saving my whiskey bottles. Will the bottles with steel screw on caps seal up well enough as long as there is a plastic inner liner? I've also got a couple plastic syrup bottles I saved, but I prefer to bottle in glass. Last year it was all in mason jars.

Thanks

[longbeard]

Hey Kyle, as long as you just use them for yourself. It is illegal in Ontario to reuse any containers (glass or otherwise) for syrup and sell them.

[happy thoughts]

I'm just a small backyarder as well and don't make enough to sell. I did buy some new 250ml bottles to fill and gift out, but for me I've been saving my whiskey bottles. Will the bottles with steel screw on caps seal up well enough as long as there is a plastic inner liner? I've also got a couple plastic syrup bottles I saved, but I prefer to bottle in glass. Last year it was all in mason jars.

Thanks


If just for your own use I'd say they should seal OK BUT only if the metal caps can be screwed on tightly and are in perfect condition- not dented or bent out of shape so that a good seal might not be possible. If any bottle is in doubt, I'd keep it stored in your fridge to use up first.

Another thing I'd be concerned about is whether the bottles are heat safe and can stand the heat of hot syrup at proper bottling temp. I don't know what temp whiskey is bottled at, but it's probably not hot at all when it hits the bottle. I'm not certain that all bottles can withstand high temps. You might want to try filling some of your bottles with hot water of at least 185F to see if they crack. just a thought....

[wnybassman]

Frank's Red Hot bottles have worked very nicely for me, I have used several over the years. The same caps that I use on my normal syrup bottles screw right on the Frank's bottle. Makes a neat gift idea, especially if they like hot sauce. Just another bottle idea.

[5050racing]

Did this today first time with corona or beer bottles worked good I will see,1 leaked but most likely my fault 1st time using bottle capper7147

[Run Forest Run!]

That's A LOT of syrup. Congrats! The beer bottles look really cool too. :)

[5050racing]

Done with hydrometer from 148 gallons wish it was more but it is VERY TASTY!!! it's better then so so taste and more volume,I left 1 12oz bottle out and there is still 2 bottles in the coffee urn or so

[bushmoose]

I'm just a small backyarder as well and don't make enough to sell. I did buy some new 250ml bottles to fill and gift out, but for me I've been saving my whiskey bottles. Will the bottles with steel screw on caps seal up well enough as long as there is a plastic inner liner? I've also got a couple plastic syrup bottles I saved, but I prefer to bottle in glass. Last year it was all in mason jars.

Thanks

I to am just a small back yarder doing this as a fun hobby. I started using Crown Royal bottles for syrup a few years ago and have had no issues what so ever! I hit up all the bottling recycling depots and get them for .20. Cheaper than mason jars and much easier to pour from when using.

[Flat Lander Sugaring]

ok dont think im jumping the thread but since talking about canning in bottles.

Do you heat the bottles up before you pout 180+ syrup into them? to keep them from exploding/cracking etc? I have been thinking about doing some bottles this year

[happy thoughts]

ok dont think im jumping the thread but since talking about canning in bottles.

Do you heat the bottles up before you pout 180+ syrup into them? to keep them from exploding/cracking etc? I have been thinking about doing some bottles this year

I do because I sterilize them in boiling water and keep them there until ready for filling. Some people put jars in a warm oven. Not only does heating them help prevent cracking it also helps stop the syrup from being cooled below proper packing temps (180F+) before capping so you get a good seal. The minimum safe packing temp is 180F in the container when the cap goes on.