Fermentation crocks...

[LaBellaVita]

Hi,

 

I've been wanting a fermentation crock and now that I"m working DH is a little more willing to come off the money. I know I can use a bowl and plate, but I've heard of friends growing mold, kraut turning black on top, etc and I'm just at the point that if I can afford good tools that'll make my life easier, I'm all for it. You could probably grow kraut in a shoe if you tried hard enough, but I don't have the time to mess with it, IYKWIM, if I can buy tools that'll save me time, labor, and brain cells, I'm doing it.

 

OK, well, now that I'm off that

 

I haven't found them cheap anywhere yet, but I like the ones Lehman's sells and they are cheaper than the others I've seen so far...

 

http://www.lehmans.com/cgi-bin/lehmans/dyn...A?page_number=1

 

The sizes really surprise me though, 5, 10, 15, and 20 liters..., then there is the other type sold by 1, 2, 3, and 5 gallon sizes.

 

I was thinking of maybe two 5's, so I can stagger things and do different things... 20 liters sounds HUGE.

 

What would you do?

 

And if you know of a cheaper place, please share!

 

Thanks!

[CrabGrassAcres]

You can buy a cheaper crock at ace hardware, BUT it won't have the weights or the airlock top that are specifically for fermenting.

 

Lehman's has the best price I can find on the fermenting crocks.

[Ambergris]

You can get nice, heavy crocks for $5-$15 apiece in the smaller (up to six quart) size and pay zero for shipping and handling. Just go to Good Will and look at the crock pots.

[GirlNextDoor]

Dang, Ambergris! That is really using the old noodle.

[Ambergris]

Bear in mind that if you use a crock that hasn't been specially designed for fermenting, you'll need to take extra steps to seal your goodies in while letting them burp. What I've normally seen is laying a doubled bag of water over top of the vegetables in their liquid. This takes some extra care and might increase the risk of failure, but it is quite doable. It also lets you ease into the fermenting, finding out what your family will and won't eat, and you won't spend a small fortune setting several crocks to bubble away with different mixes.

[SusanH]

I have a Harsch crock in the 10 liter size. Our family is just 2, and I made LOTS of sauerkraut in it last fall for Christmas presents and still had some left over.

 

If I was going to do more than one thing at a time, I'd get 2 of the 5 liter ones. The ones from Lehman are priced pretty good. 2 of them would be just a bit more than the 10 liter one I bought (except shipping would be higher).

 

I'm about to do some fresh carrots in mine in a couple weeks when I have less work projects going.

[Bea H]

I have a Harsch crock in the 5 liter size. Our family is just 2 adults.

 

It's the shipping cost you need to look at also, the crocks are VERY heavy.

 

Shipping on 6 units was $30.00 for EACH crock for a class I put together. I shoped around a lot to get this good of a price on the shipping.

 

Beahold

[CrabGrassAcres]

For about $2 you can buy a 3 piece airlock and a drilled rubber stopper. Buy some 1 gallon glass jars at a place that sells house wares. Drill a hole in the lid for your stopper. Put the airlock in the stopper, and there you have a fermentation jar. MUCH cheaper. You'll need a suitable weight such as a saucer.

[Violet]

Sun tea jars from the thrift stores work well for fermenting. Easy to sterilize, too. No cracking of the glaze since they are glass.

We tell people to use a food grade bag filled with brine on top.