substitute for paper coffee filter
OK the glass carafe part of my French press developed a crack, and I decided to be cautious and not use it until I get a new carafe.
Only other coffee-maker in the house is an electric drip, but I dont have paper filters on hand.
What would you use as a fill-in replacement for paper filter...
Ive heard that
1) paper towels arent suitable, as they have glues which are released by heat.
2) cheesecloth is an ok substitute. (could I also use a clean J-cloth - also called Handiwipe - as a filter).
3) other ideas...
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16 Comments
I guess they're ok in a pinch, probably not good for regular use.
Thanks.
Do you have any clean canvas cloth? I use canvas as a couche for making baguettes or for rolling out pie crust. Maybe a (really) clean kitchen towel (made from a lightweight cloth like flour sac material) would work too.
Thanks for these ideas, for futures (or if others have the problem).
The fine mesh sieve & clean kitchen towel sound good.
But I wonder if canvas thick enough to shape bread would be too thick or slow to be effective as a machine drip filter. Your view?
Just test it by pouring some water over whatever canvas you have; if it pours through quickly, it might be suitable for filtering.
As far as I can tell, typical cotton canvas is not suitable for this task.
I have a couple of canvas tarps at home, plus I am familiar with artist's canvas (the kind you paint on) and neither would be suitable for this particular kitchen application.
That said, there are different grades and weaves of canvas, so you would do best to test it out yourself.
Another idea, do you have any linen napkins or muslin towels? Those would work.
Yes, there is glue used in paper towel manufacturing (to get the paper pulp to stick to the cylinder), as well as bleach (for whiteness) and resin size (for water resistance). I occasionally use paper towels to dry off washed produce but ideally one should use paper towels at home as disposable wipes when a cloth rag isn't preferable.
Handiwipes are cotton, not paper, and impregnated with a bunch of chemicals.
An old tea towel might have been an option as long as you don't use fabric softener in your laundry (I do not).
the pioneers, I presume, made what I know as camp-fire coffee. boil water in a pot, add grounds, let brew and settle, pour off the brew and leave the grounds. similar to Turkish coffee method, without the sugar.