This is, in our opinion, the best Fermentation Jar for fermenting at home.
And it is not just because we sell it.
It has more to do with the fact that we have been fermenting in our Fermentery for the last four years, and we have an extensive and everyday experience with which fermentation vessels work, and which do not work.
If you take a look at our recent pictures, you will see that this jar definitely works for us!
So let's have a closer look at our claim (i.e. the best Fermentation Jar) .
Historically, lacto-fermented vegetables were either done in wood barrels, or in special stone fermentation crocks. We have many of those crocks, and we use them extensively.
Here's a part of collection:
We love them, and they do work great. We have mostly 15 L ones, couple of two 10 L, plus a few smaller ones. They have a water channel which allows the fermentation gases to be released through it, and which also keeps oxygen from getting into those crocks.
It's a great and time proven vessel for vegetable fermentation.
The only problem with them is this. If you want to go away, like on vacation for over a week, the water from that water channel can, and will evaporate during that time, and you will have a problem.
Once the water is gone, the oxygen gets in and within couple of days, you will end up with Kahm Yeast. If that situation lasts longer than that, mold is next thing that will develop.
The second problem, especially for the beginners in this field, is the fact that you can not see what is happening inside. One option would be to open that crock every couple of days, but that is not recommended, and it will almost guarantee you the Kahm Yeast setting in inside.
Regular glass jars, like the one below, do not work so well either!
During fermentation gases are created and they will cause this jar to explode, if it is not "burped" (opened briefly to release the gases).
During burping oxygen gets in, and when that happens more than once, you will run into the Kahm yeast problem. But at least here, you can see what is happening inside.
Other fermentation jars (available online) with special covers, like the ones below, can also be problematic. With time they start looking like this:
Both, the silicon and the metal get affected by use and also by exposure to organic acids.
Eventually, it can lead to something like this: (i.e. mold in this case)
Another problem is with lids of this type - smelly gases are released during the fermentation time. Yes, there's a number of people who complain about the smell in the room in which they ferment vegetables. We've heard that from many people.
In the traditional crocks, there's a channel of water through which the released gasses have to go through. That, to great extent eliminates those, quite often unpleasant or strong, smells.
Our jars do even a better job at filtering. We have dozens of them working at our Café at any time, and we never had a complaint about unpleasant smells.
Also, jars like the ones with silicon tops are usually quite small. If you want to make Sauerkraut out of an average cabbage head (about 2 kg), you would need to use 3, or more of those little jars.
There's a new glass jar that is also available through some online retailers is similar to ours (Kilner brand). It is almost good enough - but it has a weak spot:
The cover with the airlock is quite often not tight enough, and oxygen can, and does get inside the jar. With time that problem gets even worse.
When reading some of the reviews - that seems to be the problem, from the very beginning with this jar.
Our jar on the other hand is very tightly closed, and there's no chance for oxygen to get in.
Another "option" that some people use is plastic containers, or plastic wrap or a pouch.
For us, it's an absolute NO GO.
During fermentation, organic acids are created and those organic acids will react with plastic by pulling a Molotov cocktail of chemicals. Those chemicals will end up in your fermented vegetables. Plastics can contain a lot of different hormone disruptors and other toxic components.
It is our strong conviction, based on extensive research, that there is no such thing as safe plastics.
So, we would never recommend any of the containers pictured above.
Now, let's go back to our glass jar.
For the last 4 years, we have been fermenting, mostly in those stone Fermentation Crocks.
But at the same time, we wanted our customers to see our beautiful ferments.
So we also started using 5 L glass jars.
But they were far from perfect. We had to "burp" them quite often, sometimes even 2-3 times a day - especially on warm days, at the beginning stages of fermentation, when the production of gases can be quite extensive.
In those not so distant times, our jars looked like this:
There were many instances when we forgot to burp those jars. When that happened, we had to go back to the Café after work just to "burp" them.
Otherwise, there was always a danger of some of those jars exploding, even overnight.
We checked whether there were some other options, and actually there were none.
That gave us an idea to create one, on our own.
Of course, we do not make the glass.
We just modify one that actually exists - a 5 liter, or a 3 liter Fido glass.
As a result of this modification, we got this:
Our perfect Fermentation Glass - in four sizes (1L, 2L, 3 L and 5 L).
We are the only place so far where you can get them. In person if you live in Berlin, or you can order it through our online store.
So we have them, we use them, we love them, and we sell them:
As a matter of fact, we were forced to transfer all of our current ferments into those jars, as we have a 10 day trip ahead of us, and that was too long to leave our stone crocks unattended.
Now, let's sum up why we consider our jar to be the Best Fermentation Jar around!
- it is made of glass. That will give you a chance to see everyday how your ferment changes. Also, it is safe and it is easy to clean
- once you set your ferment in, you practically don't have to do anything for the entire fermentation period.
And that is thanks to the way the the fermentation airlock is built.
The airlock keeps the oxygen from getting in, and it enables the fermentation gases to escape.
It takes little water, but that little water lasts longer than 2 months.
All thanks to the little yellow cap which prevents evaporation, and keeps the unwanted insects from getting in
- you can fill it up to around 4 - 4.5 liters in volume. So that is plenty enough to make Sauerkraut out of one average cabbage head. So no messing around with multiple small jars
- since it narrows down at the top, it is optimal for keeping things tightly packed like cucumbers for pickles
- you can also use this jar for Kombucha brewing. Just remove the cover with the airlock, and you're all set for Kombucha
- it will not rust, and it can be reused for many times. Actually for many years
If we got you interested, then you can either stop by at our Bärbucha – Kombucha Café & Fermenterei to pick one up, or you can order one in our online shop.
To order our Fermentation Jars, stones and other supplies, please click on the link below:
To find out more about using stones with your jars, check out this blog entry:
...................................................................................................................................................
Our 3L and 5L jars are also included in our Fermentation Set!
To find out more about our Sets , please click here
To purchase our Sets, please click on the link below: