• You can sterilize your own media and equipment in a home-canning-style pressure cooker. Simply process the items to be sterilized at 15 lb. pressure for at least 15 minutes, following the instructions for your pressure cooker. Increase the time for large bottles of liquid.
• Antibiotic-containing plates retain their activity for about 2 months when stored in the refrigerator. Do not keep them longer than 2 months past the date of pouring
• If you make and pour your own agar, try adding a few drops of food coloring to agar for antibiotic plates. Add the dye before autoclaving, then add the antibiotic after autoclaving and cooling. Since the media is colored, you won't need to label the plates. Food coloring as sold in grocery stores does not inhibit the growth of E. coli

Agarose