Vent: I used to think my kraut setup was fine until I saw a friend's in Portland

I visited my buddy in Portland last month and he showed me his basement. He had a whole wall of shelves with maybe 15 jars of different ferments, all with airlocks and weights. I just use a plate and a rock in a crock. He pulled a jar of carrots he started 6 weeks ago and they were perfect, no kahm yeast at all. My stuff at home always gets a little scum on top after 3 weeks. It made me realize my simple way was letting in too much air. Has anyone else switched from a basic crock to a full airlock system and seen a big change?

3 comments

3 Comments

hall.joel1mo ago

Switching to airlocks was a total game changer for me. That little bit of air under a plate is enough to let in the wrong stuff. You can get a simple airlock lid kit for a wide mouth jar for a few bucks, why not try one batch? It cuts down on the scum so much you'll wonder why you waited.

emma_flores29d ago

That bit about trapped air causing the problem really hits home. I once tried to ferment pickles in a fancy crock with a water seal, but the lid wasn't quite heavy enough. The whole top turned into a weird, slippery mess that smelled off. Sometimes the simplest gear, like those airlock lids, just works better.

violar3529d ago

So you're seeing that scum too, huh? I had the same plate and rock setup and my kraut always got that film. After reading what hall.joel said about air, I grabbed a cheap airlock lid for one jar as a test. That batch came out totally clean, no weird stuff on top at all. It really is just that little bit of trapped air causing the problem.