Free historical industrial recipes for everyone

All kinds of disciplines for DIY & more

Mixandstir.com contains ​​a collection of old industrial recipes from the 1900's to the present and from all kinds of disciplines. In addition, the website contains a lot of other information, which is useful for daily use. Where necessary, we have translated recipes and other information into the English language.

About the recipes
Many of the recipes on this website have been worked out with ingredients of certain manufactures. The result is that when one works exactly according to a recipe, the result sometimes turns out differently, because the raw materials are slightly different everywhere. It is therefore recommended to make first an (as small as possible) amount of a certain preparation, in general e.g. 20 to 100 g. Therefore, it is necessary to convert the parts specified in the recipes into these small quantities. The amounts in the recipes are indicated in the decimal system.

Too thick or too thin?
Especially for water containing recipes that has to be heated up, it's possible that the final result is too thick or too thin after cooling. We then make a second small batch with less or more water and when the consistency is right, we make as much as we need by increasing the number of grams per portion that much.

Dishes
For making very small quantities, e.g. small samples, it is best to buy a few small beakers or conical glass flasks, the so-called Erlenmeyer flasks. These offer the advantage that you can see exactly what is happening. For making larger quantities, use enameled cups or pans. Refractory pottery can also be used.

Working methods

To blend
To dissolve a substance in water, it is usually sufficient to stir the mixture from time to time. In many cases we can use a flat wooden trowel as a stirrer, furthermore a horn spatula or a glass lemonade spoon or glass rod. We can also mix and stir thick, creamy emulsions sufficiently with a flat bar. For making a thin emulsion like e.g. liquid polish, we better use a egg white beater or an electric stirrer. We mix powdered substances in a mortar or pestle. For most substances, the use of a porcelain mortar is recommended.

To heat
In general, one should avoid heating on an open flame or on a gas burner. Most organic substances burn easily making the product unusable. For temperatures below 100℃, so for all compositions containing water, heating on a water bath is best. So we take two pans or cups that fit into each other. The inner one is filled with the preparation and placed in the larger pan filled with water. This water is now heated on an open fire until the substances in the inner pan have reached the prescribed temperature. If you want to reach higher temperatures, fill the largest pan with oil and place the smaller one in it. We can then safely heat the oil to about 250℃. Usable is e.g. regular unboiled linseed oil or salad oil. The temperature should be read with a thermometer. One should never estimate the temperature, as the specimen can fail completely due to an incorrect temperature.

Filter and clarify
Many liquid preparations are cloudy after manufacture due to small amounts of impurities. In general, these contaminants can simply be allowed to settle. The liquid is allowed to stand until the clouding substances settle to the bottom and then carefully poured or siphoned off. In general, part of the liquid is lost and the operation takes quite a long time. The target can be reached more quickly than by filtering. The success of filtration depends entirely on the type of filter material used. The finer the insoluble particles are, the finer the filter paper or filter cloth must be taken. To obtain an absolutely clear filtrate, it is recommended to add a filter aid. The liquid is mixed with a small amount of kieselguhr, fine asbestos fibers or sometimes also with finely ground paper. The filtration may need to be repeated.

Decolorize
Slightly colored liquids, even if they are cloudy, can be made completely clear, translucent and colorless by heating the liquid with 1 to 5% animal charcoal, activated charcoal or decolourising charcoal for about an hour on a water bath. Subsequently, it is filtered through a fine filter paper.

Conserve
Almost all preparations containing vegetable or animal fats and other organic substances, such as gum, egg white, starch, etc., spoil very easily. To prevent this, antiseptic substances are added, for which salicylic acid, boric acid or benzoic acid can be used. Better are the modern preservatives, which e.g. consist of the esters of para-oxybenzoic acid. These can also be added to foods. For other purposes one can take the highly active chlorocresols and chlorothymol.

Break and grind
Large pieces can be made small without danger by wrapping them in a cloth, then placing them between two stones or pieces of wood and smashing the large pieces with a heavy hammer. Small amounts are best ground in a mortar or pestle. Small mills are available for slightly larger quantities, which are turned by hand and in which the measured material passes between two grooved grinding discs.

Weigh and measure
In many cases a letter scale will suffice, but it is recommended to purchase a simple scale with weights. For measuring liquids, one takes the glass measuring cylinders, which can be bought at any drugstore.