Sauerkraut Crock: Buying A Good One

Cabbage is known as an antioxidant vegetable -- the many types of cabbage each offer antioxidants a strong antioxidant profile that differs from variety to variety, making the cabbage family a great addition to a healthy diet.

That healthy cabbage can be made healthier still by fermenting it and turning it into a traditional sauerkraut. The cabbage is then more easily digested and also contains natural beneficial bacteria that will help maintain your good health.

If you plan to make sauerkraut yourself, you may be interested in buying a sauerkraut crock to make your task easier and more fail-safe.

If you are on an extremely limited budget, spend your money on cabbage rather than on a sauerkraut crock. You can make sauerkraut in small canning jars and weight it down with clean stones. We have river rock that we have boiled, cooled, and placed on top of our cabbage concoction and let fermentation take its course, A plastic bucket with a plate on top and weighted down with a stone will work as well. This is a process that Sandor Katz recommends in his book Wild Fermentation.

However, if you have tried these devices and have a few dollars in your pocket, you may be looking for a better solution for making your sauerkraut. A good sauerkraut crock has two key features missing from the canning jar and plastic bucket approach: weighting stones that fit the crock and an airlock system to allow fermentation gases to leave without allowing air into the ferment.

Properly fitting weighting stones keep small bits of cabbage from floating up and contributing to top mold in your ferment. Allowing gases to escape with an airlock keep your crock from exploding while keeping additional air from entering your fermentation project.

The fermentation crocks and vessels you can buy with these features are presented at right.

To make basic crocks and canning jars work better in your fermentation projects, consider an air lock designed to fit right on top of your canning jar. You may also want to use a traditional pickle crock which makes it easier to find a plate to fit just inside to weight down your sauerkraut.