Crock for making Saurkraut?

hermit · Heavy Crude Joined: May 13, 2008 Posts: 121

I'm seeking a recommendation for the best stoneware for pickling/fermenting.

The most common item appears to be the Harsch Pickling Crock, but they are quite expensive - Can anyone recommend a cheaper alternative, or perhaps a non-pickling specific item that they've been able to successfully repurpose for pickling?

Currently I'm using a plastic pail and a dinner plate, but it's a pretty clumbsy solution - i'd like to get something a little more precise without paying the premium for a harsch.

hippiema1 · Coal Joined: Jul 27, 2007 Posts: 15

I love the Harsch. Really. It is expensive, but it makes the whole process fairly fail-proof.

You might try the picklemeister, a gallon glass jar with a special top. There is a plastic one as well. Both are quite small, which has both advantages and disadvantages. (I make kimchee in the picklemeister while I have other things going on in the crock.)

You can find all of them here, among other places. http://www.wisementrading.com/foodpreserving/harsch_crocks.htm
(Scroll down for the picklemeister.)

Another idea is using your own jar and sealing it with a plastic bag full of water. I've never tried it, but there are directions all over the web. Good luck!

darwinsdog · Heavy Crude Joined: Jun 27, 2008 Posts: 170

I had a 10 gallon ceramic crock I made saurkraut in years ago. I bought it in a feed store in Illinois, and I don't recall that it had any brand name on it. It was just a crock. I left it behind during a move because it was big & heavy. I wish I still had it. Making saurkraut in it was easy.

wisconsin_cur · Posted: Fri Jul 18, 2008 7:16 am Post subject: Re: Crock for making Saurkraut?

Gothor · Tar Sands Joined: Apr 14, 2008 Posts: 89

Tucker · Tar Sands Joined: Jan 29, 2008 Posts: 56 Location: Orygun

Using the directions I follow, you don't need a crock at all (although I have 3 crocks).

Follow this link and scroll down to the directions by Kevin Cramer. I've been making sauerkraut in a 5 gallon storage bucket for several years following his directions and it's the best sauerkraut I've tasted. Others have told me the same too. And it's effortless too as there is no skimming involved!

Just be aware that some garbage bags have an insecticide. Make sure to choose one that doesn't. And I can tell you that those jumbo food bags are NOT waterproof so don't use those.

Gothor · Tar Sands Joined: Apr 14, 2008 Posts: 89

Tucker · Tar Sands Joined: Jan 29, 2008 Posts: 56 Location: Orygun

Gothor · Tar Sands Joined: Apr 14, 2008 Posts: 89

nwildmand · Intermediate Crude Joined: Jul 12, 2006 Posts: 559

an old german woman taught me her method. i crush the cabbage in a 5 gallon bucket and immediately pack in quart mason jars. it can also be chrushed directly into mason jars. i dont process my kraut as i find it ruins the texture. i just put them on the basement floor to slow the fermentation just before peak ripeness.

i have eaten kraut 18 months old this way with no ill effects. it is definitely not usda approved but i found it to be the least work and it tastes great although some just wont eat it after i explain the process.

same thing for cucumbers.

kpeavey · Expert Joined: Oct 04, 2004 Posts: 1128

I've done a little bit of research on making the stuff. Reubens, hot dogs, or just a little taste with a meal or snack. I can grow cabbage, would be nice to use it out of season.

I've looked at some of those storebought picklers, don't like the price. A couple of hundred bucks?! I guess I don't like saurkraut that much.

I've thought a section of PVC pipe, with an end cap glued on, the other slipped on freely, would do the job. 6" pipe is available, have some in the back yard as a matter of fact. 10 bucks would get me the end caps, already have the glue in the shed.

Each linear foot of 6" pipe would have a volume of almost 1.5 gallons. This is plenty for me. The pipe I have would give me enough volume to have 6 gallons in the works at any given time.

Building a frame to hold it up would be a simple matter of some scrap lumber and some screws, maybe a weight added to the bottom-some bricks, to keep it from falling over. If I had 4 of these thing going, build the frame to fit them all. A foot and a half square is not a whole lot of space. a 2' pipe, full of 3 gallons of aging cabbage, would weigh 25-30 pounds, making it easily manageable.
The PVC is easily cleaned, a larger radius is available if needed, its food contact safe, lasts for many years, can take a fair pounding without cracking or splitting, acid/salt resistant, water/bug/rot proof, and holds up perfectly well to temperature variations expected in areas where saurkraut would be made. It's off the shelf locally, a requirement in which I have a keen interest. Most importantly, the shape is right.

I have not made sauerkraut before, so I do not know what to look for in a fermenter. I'm thinking a larger radius would be desired to allow a hand to get in there with a scoop.
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Tucker · Tar Sands Joined: Jan 29, 2008 Posts: 56 Location: Orygun