While poking around Amazon looking at airlocks and yeast for that One Minute Wine someone was kind enough to post on the Main a few days ago, I found some other interesting equipment.
It turns out, that people are placing airlocks on Mason jars for lactic-acid fermented veggies. I never got real into this because my kraut has always been poor in taste, but a neighbor of mine makes amazing fermented vegetables, so I do know a good outcome is possible.
I won't bother with the Amazon links, but the equipment is easy enough to find. The home fermenting enthusiast can now get predrilled plastic mason jar lids, silicone seals for fitting the airlock in the lid, silicone rings for fitting the lid (air tight) to the mason jar, and glass weights are available (except they are expensive) for pressing down the vegetables under the brine. There are also tiny silicone bungs to plug the hole in the lid, after fermentation is done.
What bugs me about the plastic lids is that I tend to get mine mixed up, and a pint jar of yogart will ocassionally smell like kraut. Plastics still absorb flavors. However, people are now using the all glass jars with the wire bales for kraut. You can get silicone gasgets to replace the ugly orange rubber seals that crack. Furthermore, you can use an airlock. I found pre-drilled glass lids for these "Fido" wire bale jars (in my experience the Wallmart versions is flimsy, the extra cost for the Italian jars is worth it.) that come with a the silicone ring to fit the airlock.
Primal Kitchen (IIRC, that is the name) offers most of this. You can get the complete jar kit, or just get separate parts. There are other venders offering similar equipment on Amazon's site too.
It turns out, that people are placing airlocks on Mason jars for lactic-acid fermented veggies. I never got real into this because my kraut has always been poor in taste, but a neighbor of mine makes amazing fermented vegetables, so I do know a good outcome is possible.
I won't bother with the Amazon links, but the equipment is easy enough to find. The home fermenting enthusiast can now get predrilled plastic mason jar lids, silicone seals for fitting the airlock in the lid, silicone rings for fitting the lid (air tight) to the mason jar, and glass weights are available (except they are expensive) for pressing down the vegetables under the brine. There are also tiny silicone bungs to plug the hole in the lid, after fermentation is done.
What bugs me about the plastic lids is that I tend to get mine mixed up, and a pint jar of yogart will ocassionally smell like kraut. Plastics still absorb flavors. However, people are now using the all glass jars with the wire bales for kraut. You can get silicone gasgets to replace the ugly orange rubber seals that crack. Furthermore, you can use an airlock. I found pre-drilled glass lids for these "Fido" wire bale jars (in my experience the Wallmart versions is flimsy, the extra cost for the Italian jars is worth it.) that come with a the silicone ring to fit the airlock.
Primal Kitchen (IIRC, that is the name) offers most of this. You can get the complete jar kit, or just get separate parts. There are other venders offering similar equipment on Amazon's site too.