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Posted

Thank you very much for your detailed response. I think I'm going to hold off on any sour pickling experiments until October or so when the temperature drops a bit.

This is my skillet. There are many like it, but this one is mine. My skillet is my best friend. It is my life. I must master it, as I must master my life. Without me my skillet is useless. Without my skillet, I am useless. I must season my skillet well. I will. Before God I swear this creed. My skillet and myself are the makers of my meal. We are the masters of our kitchen. So be it, until there are no ingredients, but dinner. Amen.

Posted

Some info about the anaerobic fermentation scene on the "left" coast...

My friend who is interested in anaerobic fermentation showed me this article soon after it came out. It took me awhile to track it down. I've tasted some of these pickles at the farmers mkt and they are good.

http://www.ediblecommunities.com/eastbay/pages/articles/fallWinter08/theFermenteria.pdf

I see they mention the Cultured Pickle. We're original from Redwood City. CP is over in Berkeley....really, awesome, traditional lacto-fermented pickles! One of my customers showed them my website, because she had never heard of creating lacto-fermented foods at home. They told her the Pickl-It is the same process - truly anaerobic - but just smaller-scale. Great article! Thanks!!

Kathleen

  • 2 weeks later...
Posted
The system that Chris purchased is such a beast. One can make similar fermentation set ups for less, however. It really isn't complicated at all: jar, lid for jar, smaller inverted lid in the jar to hold veggies under brine, air lock in the lid (w/ grommet).

Alan

The Pickl-It setup is nicer than most homebrew solutions, but I wonder if the cost (at least the shipping!) could be reduced by selling just the unique parts of the setup?

For people with an extensive collection of those jars already (like me!), it seems a waste to ship yet another 3 litre jar across the country. Not to mention I'd have to smuggle it into the house--DH thinks I have way too many jars as it is. It looks like I could use the lid portion with the european jars I already have. Anyway, it's a great idea for adapting the jars.

  • 1 month later...
Posted (edited)

After being intrigued by this thread, and impressed by the obvious passion and knowledge of the woman who sells this product, I placed an order for a Pickl-It system. I think the beauty of this system is its simplicity: To date, I've pickled several vegetables, and each has come out perfectly. It's simple, seems to work well and is easy to clean and maintain. I had been considering purchasing a Harsch crock, but then I realized that at that cost, I'd be pickling one thing at a time. The various available sizes of the Pickl-It jars make it a lot easier to have multiple things pickling at once. (I found this link today which seems to confirm my initial impressions of this system: Harsch vs. Pickl-It.

Edited by cookman (log)
Posted

I picked up a couple of crocks from Ohio Stoneware. A local sign shop gave them to me for a steal because they were cosmetically imperfect and not suitable for his business. You can find them for less than 30. No lid is needed. I use a 1 gallon zip lock filled with a quart of water. It is enough to weigh down the pickles.

I know a guy who bought a 30 gallon stoneware crock made by Ohio Stoneware that he will use to ferment a Belgian Saison. It should be interesting!

http://www.ohiostoneware.com

Dan

"Salt is born of the purest of parents: the sun and the sea." --Pythagoras.

  • 1 year later...
Posted (edited)

I stopped by my local Korean grocery store yesterday and found that Lock-N-Lock makes a series of glass jars with what looks like a one-way valve. The one that I bought for about $15 is clearly intended for home fermentation.

Lock&Lock Glass Canister, Dodecagon, 7.6-Cup, 1.8-Liter

They are available in various sizes in both the "round" and a square.

My only "complaint" is the typical problem of a mouth that is smaller than the surface that you want to be able to keep under the brine. Quality of Lock&Lock, especially their made-in-Korea products, have been excellent for me and this one seems to be of good construction. (We use their made-in-China containers as well, with no significant complaints.)

Edited by jeffsf (log)
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