I've been fermenting my own sauerkraut for years - straight up cabbage kraut, as well as cabbage & carrot. I've used half-gallon Fido type bail wire jars exclusively, without airlocks or weights .. only once a failed batch that had to be thrown out.

A large 4lb cabbage .. or 3 lb cabbage + 1 lb carrots .. shredded and salted, will fill a half-gallon jar, tightly-packed plus a little extra brine to cover. In cold weather, can take 5 or 6 weeks to become fully fermented and sour enough for my taste. In spring/summer, takes 3 to 4 weeks. Room temperature matters!

As mentioned above, I normally use half-gallon bail wire jars. Lately been interested in making smaller batch fermented recipes .. a single pint or quart (liter). So I bought a MasonTop kit. Fits any size jar with a wide mouth. Love it. Love, love, LOVE it!! However, I think a smaller bail wire jar would work just fine.

The MasonTop website has a lot of great info about fermentation (link) .. but especially this free download (pdf) booklet ..https://www.masontops.com/pages/fermentation-guide. Lots of tips and advice for success, as well as some simple, small-batch recipes. I'm looking forward to making a small batch each of Curry Kraut and White Kimchi

Note** .. you don't need to use a MasonTop kit to make these recipes. Please use whatever method you choose. Fermentation is fun, not a "do it this way or die" project. Have fun. I certainly do!!


Please share your SMALL batch ideas. What has worked for you?


Doreen