XS cargo has these glass vases. About 5" diameter and about 14" tall with straight sides, only $10. I got a couple today and also a white plastic cutting board. Cut a circle out of the cutting board that just fits inside the vase for a lid and you have a cheap crock for pickling cabbage. Boil a smooth rock to sterilize and use that to hold the lid under the liquid.
Cool idea - I use second hand crockpot inserts found at the thrift stores too 🙂 The lid part is a bit tricky but I can usually find a plate that fits.
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The key to a good crock is straight sides right up to the top - not so easy to find. These are narrow and very tall - easy to keep the stuff submerged all the time, I doubt you'll ever have to add extra liquid. The walls are quite thick as well, over 1/4 inch. For folks new at fermenting they're clear so you can watch the entire process.
Also really cheap.
After the season is over they'll do a decent job of holding flowers too 😀
Could a 5 gal food grade bucket work?
Runs With Scissors
Could a 5 gal food grade bucket work?
They work just dandy. 🙂
A sense of humor is absolutely essential to survival.
There are a lot of options if you want large batches. Much tougher finding good crocks for experimenting with small batches.
I don't want 5 gal of just plain kraut.
cooks in Eastern Europe add to the cabbage only shredded carrots, a few fresh cranberries, black peppercorns, a couple bay leaves
I want to try all kinds of mixes, maybe 1/2 gal each of kraut with carrots, onions, apples, hot peppers, kimchee spices, coriander, cumin, caraway, juniper berries, fresh chiles, beets, celery root, etc. and whatever else I can find to try.
Sweet for some dishes, hot for others. If you don't like it you haven't made that much- no loss.
Could a 5 gal food grade bucket work?
They work just dandy. 🙂
This is good. I was really trying to figure out if it could be done this way. If anyone has done this, would you suggest leaving the kraut in the bucket and using it like that. Or would you try and can it up in a Mason jar for longer storage?
Runs With Scissors
Any non reactive container will work, plastic, glass, ceramic.... wood too I guess. The important thing is to keep liquid over the cabbage always so you need something to push the cabbage down under the brine and keep it there.
Fermentation varies with temperature. In the fridge it pretty much stops. Depending on the temperature it may get to where you want to hold it there. That's when I'll put in smaller jars and refrigerate but I don't have a good root cellar right now to keep it very cool.
I don't think you should heat it up as in canning, you'll kill the good bacteria. Covered in the brine it will keep for a long time in the fridge. At least till next fall.
Your nose will tell you if it's gone off.