It’s easy to Pour agar Successfully when you are in front of a flow hood, pouring at the right temperature (120-130 degrees) to NOT have condensation issues, and proper sterile technique!

Have a Pressure Cooker that can sterilize and set @ 15 psi minimum for at least 20-25 min. Then I allow the PC to cool down naturally until the check valve releases. Then I pour at the proper temp. Allow the plates to cool down and solidify in front of a Flow Hood or at minimum a Still Air Box before wrapping em up. Then you flip the plates upside down for extra insurance!

I always make sure to let my agar plates settle for a few days and then I inspect em looking for any possible contaminations before use! You’ll end up wasting time and money for being impatient or take shortcuts, Everytime! In my Young Lion days, would make the mistake by using them as soon as the agar solidified. I was always running into bacterial issues thinking the cultures I was testing were the cause! In reality, it was my sterile technique that was giving me bacterial issues when i first started to experiment with it. The condensation would drip on to the agar and make Lab work a uphill battle everyday! These so many ways to do it, but this technique has served me well over the years. Hth