Masontops Complete Mason Jar Fermentation Kit - Pickle Kit, Sauerkraut Making Kit Kimchi Container - Fermentation Airlock Lids Wide Mouth Mason Jars

Great kit – before purchasing the Masontops Kit I had made quite a few batches of beer, wine, and carbonated lemon-lime drinks sort of like 7up or Sprite. But I’d never made my own fermented food. Now, courtesy of this kit, I’ve made Korean kimchi and traditional German-style kraut many times. With four of the little pretty-much-goof-proof airlocks, you can keep several batches going at once. Ferment four different things, or do a little experimenting on four jars of the same veggie. Almost everything you need to get started is here. Four very simple-to-clean, simple-to-use airlocks, four weights to place in the tops of your fermentation jars to keep your veggies from floating up to the top; and significantly, a great wooden “tamp” of sorts to push things like cabbage into the bottom of the jar. The tamp-thing can also be used to mash the cabbage or other leafy veggies to get them macerating even before they land in the fermentation jar. (Many things, you won’t want to mash at all; but if ‘kraut or kimchi are in your future, this wooden tool will work great for you, you’ll be glad you bought a kit that includes it.) You will need to get your own quart-size mason jars, and a food or mixture of foods to ferment. But just make that just a head of ordinary cabbage, if you want to start with the super-simple. And you’ll need salt – any granularity of food grade sodium chloride will do in a pinch. Well, you need more than a pinch of salt…but you really don’t need much salt at all, and that surprises some people. Maybe they’re thinking that they need a bunch of salt to preserve the incipient product. Definitely not. Be careful not to overdo it on salt -- you want the correct type of bacteria to be able to grow above all else; that’s the natural process that will ferment your product and render it delicious! I love the fact that this kit doesn't presume a particular food that the buyer wants to make. If you’re buying a higher-end starter kit like this one, you might very well have something other than a head of cabbage or a cucumber in mind for your starting point. While kimchi, sauerkraut, and pickles do get their "fair ups" in the short illustrated recipe book, the company clearly acknowledges adventurous folks who are sooner-or-later interested in the fermentation of foods in the more general sense. There is no expectation to restrict yourself to their recipes…it’s just a neat prepackaged starting point, and it does a great job of explaining how to use their product to make everything easier for the small-batch home fermenter. If someday you want to take a little break from the fermenting hobby, the box is super-sturdy, and is tailored with snug spaces to stow and protect each item in the kit. If you’ve tried something of this ilk before and have been frustrated because your pickles weren’t as crisp or tasty as you’d hoped, this could be your chance to jump back into the hobby. The presentation of other opportunities in the recipe book will have you back in the produce department, farmer's market, or in your own garden to find great new items to ferment – and some day you can try pickles again, too, maybe with a different sort, or fresher batch, of Kirby cuke. If you’ve tried ‘kraut, even if it was the sterilized kind that comes in the cans at the grocery store, you’ve already done more than enough mental prep. This makes the kit a great gift for pretty much anyone who’s not afraid to eat something that doesn’t smell the same way it did when they dropped it into a jar. The only caveat here is that you would not want to buy this for someone who isn’t willing to follow some instructions – we’re looking for certain desirable biological process when we ferment things, and with this kit, that is almost certainly what you’ll get. Follow the instructions and all will be well – more well for you than before, perhaps, since your recipient will be dining on a probiotically enhanced diet, and having fun doing it. And fermenters love to share! :) If you, too, are willing to store a vegetable outside of the refrigerator, give this a fermenting thing a try. There are a few people out there who will forever refuse to eat anything that’s intentionally left to stew in bacteria or fungi – but if you have read this far, that’s definitely not you. Bet you can taste that tangy, zesty product now!

These work perfectly and come with a slim recipe book.

great starter kit

Love all the different fermented veggies I can make with such ease! Their customer service is outstanding!

I've ordered two of these kits, one for myself 7 months ago, (no recipe book) and just recently for a friend because it had the recipe book enclosed. I'd failed to use my kit because I admittedly felt intimidated without some type of recipe book, even though I purchased a couple of books on fermentation. If one is not familiar with fermenting vegetables everything is intimidating, because one is fearful of poisoning themselves. A dedicated book/guide, like the one now included helps to build confidence because you are following directions for use of the actual product. Beginners need step-by-step instructions, we are a pitiful lot! Although a bit pricey, I thought, this system is easier to use than the airlock system. Except for the Mason jars it includes everything that is needed (now that it includes the booklet). I love the pickle pebbles as they help to keep the food submerged, are much thicker than the ones I purchased to use with the airlock system, and the pickle pipes are not as messy as when using the airlocks. The tamper is handy for packing the food inside the jars. I was unable to find a hard-copy of the recipe guide for Mason Tops, but did find really nice beginner recipes from the Fermenting Club, which suggests the amount of days the food needs to ferment, and uses the star system to indicate ease of making the recipes. Overall, I like the Mason Tops system and hope to get confident enough to create my own recipes. Even though I did not get the recipe book I am really pleased it is now included in the kit. I can't wait to hear from my friend, who lives in a different city, so we can compare results. She, too, is a bit fearful of poisoning herself, and we both threw out our first batch of kraut using another system, and was too fearful to try again. That is all changed now. Thanks for the courage Mason Tops!

It is a nice kit and works well. It had the 4 wide mouth glass weights, 4 silicone piped covers and the masher. The recipe book has about 7 recipes to start. Packaged very nice. Shipped fast.

Well supplied kit to turn your Mason jars into a great fermentation kit (as the advertising states. I didn’t need anything else.

I LOVE THIS!!!! The box is sturdy and beautiful and perfect for storage! Everything inside is well made and just as promised. Fermenting ROCKS! I'm a Mason jar lover! I research the crud out of anything before I try it and I am thrilled with my choice to get this product and give fermenting a go! I've made Kimchi a couple of times, done sauerkraut, fermented garlic in honey, made a Ginger Bug, two different kinds of carrots.... this has been great! It's yummy and healthy. I've seen some pretty fancy fermenting kits out there and honestly this is perfect... and it's less expensive! It lets the air out, it won't let bugs get in, it's easy to use. Everything is quality made, the instructions are perfect, the recipe book is a great start! My only complaint about this process is that the perfectly cylindrical mason jars are not so easy to find in stores and they work MUCH better because of the way the glass weights fit. Nothing sneaks by and floats to the top if you use the cylindrical ones. That is not a reflection of this product but just feedback for purchasing the jars. Another user error is that I guess I overfill them and it's imperative that I put the jars in a glass dish for the first few days because liquid goes everywhere. I'm having a blast with this though and I know it's a good and healthy choice for my family. I highly recommend this product!

Prodotto di buona qualità. Unica pecca non aver messo le ghiere metalliche/acciaio inox per i tappi in silicone, in quanto difficile da reperire in commercio della misura compatibile.

They should clearing display what is inside your KIT. They do have "In your KIT" which we get after delivery.

Good product, as a beginner would have preferred to have jar included option .

TOP+

Ceci est mon second commentaire concernant cet article. Dans le premier j'expliquais qu'il manquait une pièce et que je l'attendais. Je l'ai reçu rapidement, le service client a été très réactif. En ce qui concerne le produit, les couvercles sont parfait pour la lacto fermentation, dommage qu'ils ne s'adaptent pas à tous les types de bocaux.