Masontops Fermentation Jar Starter Set, Easy Vegetable Fermentation Kit, Includes Mason Jar, Pickle Kit with Fermentation Lids & Fermentation Weight

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!

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.

Easy & fun! Anyone can make sauerkraut, salt-fermented pickles and other veggies. I use 2 cups of water and 4 teaspoons of non-iodized sale and enjoy consistent success. It's a bit overpriced, frankly, but you'll forget all about that after you've used it once. Perfect for pickling pepper, onion slices and of course cucumbers. Sauerkraut is simply amazing and so easy to make if you buy cabbage that's already been shredded (sold to make cole slaw). Supposedly there are significant probiotic health benefits, too, but I'm not a doctor or chemist so do your own research.

Great set. Everything you need is included (besides the canning jars). Nothing like fresh kraut! Already looking forward to my next batch.

The short review: Tamper--made things easy, nicely made; probably not absolutely required if you don't have space or spare money Glass Weights--did their job perfectly BUT were a pain to remove Silicone Lids--effortless fermenting; set the jar on a shelf and forget it for a few weeks The wordy review: I just opened my first jar of fermented sauerkraut last night using this kit and it turned out great! This is my first attempt at fermenting, so I'm not sure about the other options out there, but this couldn't have been easier to use. The hardest part (and it was just because it was time consuming) was shredding all the cabbage. I couldn't believe how much it took to fill that little jar (which is why I invested in a spiralizer--haven't used it yet with cabbage, but I'm hopeful that it speeds up the shredding process. A food processor would probably be good as well, but I wanted a spiralizer for vegetable noodles also). UPDATE 1/23/18--Used my Paderno spiralizer tonight to make batch #2 & 3 of sauerkraut and boy did that speed up the cabbage shredding time! I went back and forth about purchasing the kit with the wooden tamper and I'm glad I finally decided to do it. I feel like it made the whole process go a little faster, which is important to me because it means I'll be more likely to use the kit over time. I'm sure there are work arounds to having the tamper if you are shy on funds or space in your kitchen, but I'm glad I've got it. The glass weights in conjunction with a large leaf of cabbage worked great to keep the shredded cabbage below the brine level. I didn't have any pieces float above and mold. But I do have to say I was a little frustrated trying to remove it from the jar to see if it was done. I read a review that said they didn't have any problems removing these weights without the grips in the top (like other companies have) so I didn't worry about it much. As I was trying to pull the weight out with two steak knives shoved into the top of the jar, I might have said a swear word. Or two. They eventually came out, but it was not a smooth process. Anyone have a hint to make that part easier? I have the large mouth jars if that makes a difference. I'm considering making a sling of nonflavored dental floss that I can use to pull it out. It is the reason for knocking one star off--if I find a way to remove them easily I'll update my review and the stars. If I start fermenting a lot, I will probably be trying out some other options instead of these glass weights. The silicone lids made the "watching" part effortless. I literally put it on a shelf in the pantry and let it go for 2 1/2 weeks. I don't know what the burping and water-lock systems require, but just peeking into the pantry to see what was happening to the sauerkraut was not hard work at all. And I could have forgotten about it during the 2 1/2 weeks and it would have turned out exactly the same! I don't know how this part could get easier than using these silicone fermenting lids.

A very good product. Easy to use. Great recipe book.

Jumpstart your healthy fermentation experience with this excellent kit.

Love this set directions and kit easy to use

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.

Great quality, very easy to use. Allows you to recycle any canning jars you have lying around instead of buying a whole fermentation crock.

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 .

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