Just realized my local hardware store is selling 'fermentation crocks' next to the paint buckets

I was in Ace picking up some caulk and saw these big stoneware jars with water seals, right there on an endcap with a handwritten sign that said 'for your kraut'. The clerk said they've sold twelve this month to people who 'saw it on a video'. Has anyone actually tried one of these things, or is it just a weird trend?

3 comments

3 Comments

eric7238d ago

I mean, I totally fell for it too. Saw a video about how they were the "right" way to ferment and bought one on a whim. It's just a huge, heavy thing to clean and store for basically the same result I get with a cheap jar. Maybe it's just me but it feels like one of those things that's more about the idea of the hobby than the actual doing.

john_cooper8d ago

Got one as a gift last year and honestly, it just sits in my garage now. My regular glass jars work fine for pickles and kraut. It feels like a lot of gear for a job that doesn't need it, unless you're making huge batches every single week.

hollyc925d ago

Watched my buddy get totally sold on one of those crocks after a deep dive into fermentation videos. He filled the thing with like 15 pounds of cabbage, had it bubbling away in his kitchen for weeks. The final kraut tasted exactly like the batch he made in a regular old mason jar, but then he had to figure out where to store this giant ceramic monster. His story totally reminds me of what john_cooper said about it just sitting around. It seems like the gear is way more fun to buy than it is to actually use more than once.