My neighbor saw my kraut jars and said something that made me rethink my whole setup

I was moving my fermenting crock to the basement last fall in Cleveland, and my neighbor Dave stopped by. He pointed at my three half gallon jars of sauerkraut and said, 'You know, you're making a science project, not a pantry staple.' He explained that his grandma in Poland always used one big stoneware crock for the whole batch, not a bunch of small ones. It made the flavor more even and was easier to manage. I've been splitting batches into smaller jars for two years thinking it was safer. After that talk, I bought a single 5 liter crock and my last kraut ferment was the best yet, way more consistent. Has anyone else switched from multiple small vessels to one large one and noticed a real difference?

3 comments

3 Comments

hugo6453mo ago

So a bigger crock is the magic fix, huh?

caseywest2mo ago

A friend of mine, Tom, tried fermenting hot sauce back in 2018 with a tiny 1-quart jar. He kept getting moldy batches and almost gave up. Then he got a 2-gallon ceramic crock from an estate sale. @the_brooke would probably agree, Tom swears the bigger container let his peppers and salt really settle in and the sauce came out way more balanced.

the_brooke3mo ago

My buddy's dad said the same thing about his pickles. He switched to a big crock and the flavor got way better.