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This blog is not intended to be a source of medical advice, it is just a journal of how I live with my particular sensitivities.

My Favorite Kitchen Tools for Making Fermented Food

Here are a few things that I use and recommend. These are affiliate links, but the amount I earn is small. And I really do own and use these things.
These are my favorite fermentation books. Wild Fermentation introduces many different kinds of fermentation such as kombucha, wine, beer, vegetables, fruits and grains. Fermented Vegetables and Fiery Ferments are more focused on fruits and vegetable fermenting. The Noma Guide to Fermentation covers a variety of topics and recipes and gets much deeper into the science of the different kinds of fermentation processes. They are all great and everyone of them is on my kitchen bookshelf.

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Ohio Stoneware Fermentation Starter Kit
My husband, who has been enjoying all the home made curtido, surprised me with this exact crock for Christmas. We have enjoyed it immensely. It holds two gallons of veggies and is somewhat heavy when full, so make sure you have it pretty close to where it is going to stay before you fill it. 

The only downside I have found so far is that it is a little more prone to Kahm yeast on top in warm weather than the fermentation lids and half gallon jars, especially for ferments going longer than a week. However, for one week ferments, it has worked great as long as every little piece of veggie is under the brine. I always use lots of whole cabbage or bok choy leaves on top to keep bits under the brine. I should add that our house does not have air conditioning here in the high desert, so it does get in the 80s during the day sometimes. In cooler months I've never had a problem with Kahm yeast. I have found that a little extra salt sprinkled on top seems to really help prevent the growth of things you don't want in your ferments.

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Waterless Fermentation Lids

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My favorite batch size for fermentation is half gallon Mason jars and these silicone fermentation lids are perfect for that. They also work perfectly for any size wide mouth canning jar. They are easy to clean, take up very little space for storage and I use them a lot. These lids help reduce contamination and help to prevent too much evaporation if you are fermenting for several days or weeks.

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The Easy Fermenter Lid
These were the very first fermentation lids I bought. They work great and I always get good results with them. You get 3 in the box with an oxygen extractor. It also has a date setter on top of the lid to help you keep track of exactly what day you started your ferment. A very handy tool. 

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Half Gallon Canning Jars
I use canning jars (Ball or Mason) for everything. The half gallon in particular I use for fermentation and storing bulk food items, like beans or rice, in my pantry. Brown sugar keeps great in these jars with the screw on lid. I have a few dozen in a variety of sizes that I use for many different tasks in my kitchen.

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The Easy Weight
These are fermentation weights that are sized perfectly for wide mouthed canning jars. It is very important when fermenting that you keep your veggies below the surface of the brine to help prevent mold. You do that by using some kind of 'follower', such as a large cabbage or kale leaf, grape leaves or in a pinch I've used large sage leaves from my garden. On top of the follower, you place a weight such as these glass fermenting weights. They are designed so that they are easy to grab hold of when you need to remove them. These get a lot of use in my kitchen.

​Click on the image to order from Amazon.