(Part 2) Top products from r/fermentation

For books, I highly recommend Fermented Vegetables and Fiery Ferments. The Kindle editions of both go on sale regularly. In fact, Fermented Vegetables is currently $2.99.

For lids, I assemble my own. The new Ball Leak-Proof Storage lids aren't leak proof, but they're better than the old-style white ones. Sturdier too. Buy them at your local grocery store—they'll be way cheaper than Amazon. You'll also need 3/8" x 5/8" rubber grommets, which you can find in your local DIY store in the electrical section—you want ones that have a 3/8" inner hole and fit into a 1/2" hole, with an outside diameter of 5/8". Finally, 3-piece airlocks, which are going to be cheapest at your local homebrew store (they should be a $1, maybe $1.50). 3-piece are easier to clean than the 1-piece. From there, you just drill a 1/2" hole in the lid, insert the grommet, and then insert the airlock. Support the lid around the hole as you insert the airlock so you don't crack the plastic.

Other equipment:

• Sauer Stones are my favorite glass weights. Right now they're $10.95 for four. I think I have 20 or 24 of them at this point. They work great in conjunction with a cabbage or horseradish leaf to keep everything under the brine.
  
• You can never go wrong with having a couple of food-grade 5-gallon buckets kicking around for mixing kimchi, or salting large batches of sauerkraut, or even fermenting in. Again, these are cheapest at your local DIY store. Get a lid with a gasket, and make sure you grease the gasket with food-grade grease.
  
• Jars. Stop at garage sales, thrift stores, and rummage shops. You'll occasionally find a good deal on mason jars, or a unique Fido jar, or who knows what. The more you ferment, the more you're going to end up in situations where you need odd-sized jars. If you come across Fido jars with bad or missing gaskets, these work really well.
  
• More jars. If you need larger jars or want to buy new, Fido jars from EverythingKitchens.com by way of Google Express is the cheapest I've found them. Free shipping for buying a certain amount, sometimes you get a discount from Express for your first order, blah blah blah.
  
• Even more jars. If you need gallon sized jars that you want to fit with an airlock, this is the cheapest I've found them. Get the plastic lids, then see the instructions above. If you need extra lids (for storage), these fit and are of good quality. The 1-star review is from some dumb-dumb who ordered the wrong size.
  
• Oh. One more thing. Pouring things out of mason jars sucks. They always dribble, etc. But they're also the best way to store, say, fermented cordials, or to mix up your brine (cap and shake the shit out of it). These lids do not come cheap, but they are well worth the purchase price. Leak-proof, with a removable rubber gasket, we use them for everything from drinking to storage. And they pour like a dream. Easy to clean too.
  
• Actually, one more one more thing. Get yourself a good strainer/filter/funnel set. This one is, again, not super-cheap, but I got rid of all my other ones and use it exclusively. It disassembles, screws to wide-mouth mason jars, has a plastic strainer for the first stage and a fine-mesh filter for the second stage, the narrow bottom part is silicone and is removable, and you can put a coffee filter in the fine-mesh filter portion if you need to.
  
  One last thing. I see folks suggesting sanitizer. It's absolutely pointless for lactic fermentation. You're not sanitizing the vegetables that go in, or your hands, so there's no point in using anything more than soap and water on your equipment. If you're talking about brewing beer or cider or wine or something where you're looking to introduce a specific strain of bacteria, yeast, or fungus, then you need to sterilize.

I used the recipe from America's Test Kitchen DIY Cookbook. It uses a ratio of 3 Tbsp kosher salt to 5 lbs of cabbage (.6 Tbsp salt per pound of cabbage). I don't remember if I actually used 5 pounds of cabbage - I think it was more like 3.

I don't know how much you already know, so I'll operate as though you're just beginning (like I was a few weeks ago). I'll point out that it's important not to use table salt or iodized salt. You want a clean, natural mineral salt.

Cut the cabbage into wedges, cut the core out of each wedge and then thinly slice the leaves. Put half into a really big bowl, then half of the salt, then the rest of the cabbage and the rest of the salt. Now you mix and knead the cabbage for a good ten minutes. You want to use some force when you do this, squeezing it, pressing it with your fists, etc. Don't go TOO hard, but don't go lightly either.

In ten minutes, the cabbage will have released quite a lot of water (creating your brine) and reduced in volume fairly significantly. Next I added a few teaspoons of caraway seeds for some extra flavor, and the cookbook makes lots of other suggestions - juniper berries, dill seeds, black peppercorns, red pepper flakes, celery seeds, or chopped herbs. At this point it gets packed into a crock. I bought the smallest Sauercrock and that made plenty for me. You pack a little in and tamp it down with your first or a giant wooden dowel if you have one - I used a french rolling pin - or you can buy a big wood tamper just for this purpose. So you continue packing and tamping until it's all in the crock, then pour any remaining brine into the crock. There should be enough to submerge all of the cabbage.

Most people, as well as my book, suggest putting some kind of weight on top to keep the cabbage below the brine or it'll tend to float, which could encourage mold growth. The Sauercrock comes with some weights, or you can buy weights just for this purpose. Alternatively, you can use a small plate with a very clean and sterilized rock on top of it. I followed the advice of others and kept a cabbage leaf intact to put on the top of the sauerkraut and then put my weights on top of that. Little bits of cabbage will tend to escape around the weights if you don't, which isn't a huge deal, but I'm a perfectionist.

Finally, you need to cover everything. Lots of fermenting crocks have a water-sealed lid. The sauerkraut will produce a lot of CO2 at for several days so air needs to be able to escape your fermenting vessel. If you use a jar or something like that, you can cover it with several layers of cheesecloth or a towel to keep dust from getting in.

I tried making a batch in a big jar before this one but I just had too much trouble keeping things submerged. Also, due to the amount of gas produced in the first few days, the contents of the jar kept rising and lots of brine leaked out of the top. I tossed that batch out.

So....after I got everything packed into the crock I left it for 18 days. For the first couple of days (and several times the first day) you should check it from time to time to make sure it's staying submerged - push down on the weights if it isn't. I think I started tasting it after a week, but continued to let it go. I live in a fairly warm climate (Houston) and things will ferment more quickly in warmer temps. At 18 days it was quite sour, but still had a great amount of crunchiness and squeaky-ness.

Have you ever made sauerkraut? Are you planning to?

I also try to minimize leaving the house. I like DIY projects so I made airlocks using plastic mason jar lids.

You can also get the entire mason jar fermenting lids pre-fab ready to go

I got silicone seals to make them airtight.

I drilled 9/16" holes and inserted plastic grommets.

Then I use 3 piece acrylic airlocks. I think that 3piece makes it easier to clean and acrylic is sturdier than plastic but that's just me. They make plastic ones.

I found this to be pretty cost-effective especially since I don't already own any reCAP lids. It was an easy-peasy project. Just be sure to clamp the lids to something otherwise you can't drill proper holes.

I am super happy with them; they work great and I didn't have to leave the house ;)

Edited because I hit "save" prematurely

I don't know much about it yet either - but just wanted to say, make sure you follow tmgastronaut on instagram, he posts a lot of cool stuff! Also, this doesn't help a lot on growing your own koji, but I bought a bag of it on Amazon to make miso with and it worked out well. I've tried all the Asian markets in my area and no one seems to have heard of koji.

Here's the product I used: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004FH67ZQ/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

edit: I know this isn't exactly what you're looking for, I'm just excited to see more people interested in koji :)

Blogging and/or having a website that you update regularly is great:

• provides writing practice
  
• provides writing samples, if you ever need them
  
• serves the role of a diary (albeit a public one)
  
• helps you organize your thoughts
  
• helps you meet other people (bloggers and otherwise)
  
• builds your brand
  
• helps you market any other products and services you may have (books, edibles)
  
• makes it much easier to get a book contract
  
• if you have enough traffic, can earn you money
  
• can get you press passes to things
  
  I use Blogger. Many serious food bloggers use WordPress. WordPress gives you more tools for doing cool stuff, but it also requires way more care and feeding.
  
  At this point, most of my energy goes into offline stuff.
  
  I started as a blogger, at http://FeedMeLikeYouMeanIt.com/ .
  
  I have run lots of events, and will do more: http://FeedMeLikeYouMeanIt.com/events .
  
  Two and a half years ago, my book was published: Real Food Fermentation.
  
  (If you have questions, please ask!)

OK, here's my feedback:

1. I prefer to experiment in quart jars, then scale up to half-gallon. But that's totally a personal preference. I don't see any issues with the sizes you listed at all. Maybe throw in a couple half-gallons in case he decides to go big.
   
2. Airlocks make a world of difference. No more burping, and much less chance of mold and kahm yeast. I just recently ordered these to augment some other ones I have, and so far they are fantastic.
   
3. Normal jars are just fine
   
4. If he's doing kraut, sure...grab one. A simple wooden one is all he'd need.
   
   The only other thing I'd add is maybe a heating mat like this if it gets cold inside where you are. I have one and another on the way, and they really help ensure an active ferment.

Haha it's these things. I got a glass weight set for Christmas
https://smile.amazon.com/dp/B06Y3BFV3C/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_WqwwCbM8RZPZQ

And thanks! Good luck to both of us

You can't "make" grains from scratch. You're gonna have to buy them or get some from a friend.

I got my grains from THIS SELLER on Amazon. They have over 2,300 excellent reviews, and others in this sub have also purchased grains from them. I highly recommend them. [No, I'm not affiliated with them in any way]

Hi,

Caveats to below:

1. This is copied from a previous response on another thread on this topic.
   
2. I emailed the manufacturer of my fermenting container about lead...NO lead in their porcelain...also...on their site...container is good for 'fermenting kombucha'...ultimately, the question is do you believe this...I did/do.
   
   Interesting you bring up glass...I used a Walmart 2 gallon glass jar for months (no problems with mold due to use of grow mat with thermostat...at least this is why I think I did not have mold) and decided I like continuous brew (had this going in a 2.5 gall glass lemonade dispenser seperately) So I went to kombucha Kamp to see what they were selling for continuous brew...NO glass...they had porcelain, 304+stainless and one other material if I recall correctly, but no glass. This made me really start to wonder....why???...why are the kombucha experts not selling glass. I knew about glass possibly containing lead (no relationship to your original post...I think)...but this fact alone...that kombucha Kamp was not selling glass for their kombucha continuous brew made me retire all my glass when I switched over to continuous brew. I decided on porcelain...and found 2.5 gal continuous brew setups for very cheap online.
   In my opinion the biggest reason for mold is temps too cold...glass, without insulation looses heat quickly....especially in winter.
   My setup: Brew Container: https://foryourwater.com/collections/water-dispenser-crocks/products/solid-black-crock-dispenser-porcelain-silver-faucet-fyw-cksblk?variant=5588511457311
   Germination mat: VIVOSUN Durable Waterproof Seedling Heat Mat Warm Hydroponic Heating Pad 3'' x 20" for Kombucha Tea & Beer Brewing, Fermentation, Seedlings & Plant Germination https://www.amazon.com/dp/B073PTZCJ4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_taa_Y0QMCbVKHEB93
   Thermostat: VIVOSUN Digital Seedling Heat Mat Thermostat Controller 68-108℉ https://www.amazon.com/dp/B015F4VFGI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_taa_81QMCb2K5YSWK
   Stainless steel dispenser: Oak Leaf Replacement Spigot for Beverage Dispenser,Water Dispenser Faucet, Stainless Steel Spigot for Drink Dispenser, Food Grade, 2-Pack https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07JZ6KJQJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_taa_T2QMCbJTK12ED
   And insulation in colder weather...Reflectix for inner and outer layer and middle layer of thick insulating fabric...velcro to hold it all together....insulation saves money in cold weather....cutout where the spigot is.
   Place germination mat wrapped around upper part of brewing container.
   Hope this post is not too long.

I recommend sauerkraut, sourdough starter (I add a tsp of honey to mine starter), kombucha, rejuvelac, pickles, and / or kimchi.

Also Wild Fermentation by Sandor Ellix Katz, this is a great book full of a great store of fermentation wisdom.

This one:

https://smile.amazon.com/Fermented-Vegetables-Creative-Fermenting-Chutneys/dp/1612124259/

Got it for Christmas a couple years back, it's a really great resource with some good recipes. If you're into spicy foods, the same authors also wrote this:

https://smile.amazon.com/Fiery-Ferments-Stimulating-Fermented-Condiments/dp/1612127282/

I've got one too and am just about to start fermenting. In their brilliant book 'Miso, Tempeh, Natto and Other Tasty Ferments' Kirsten and Christopher Shockey give lots of tips for using a bread proofer, as well as other methods.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tempeh-Natto-Other-Tasty-Ferments/dp/1612129889/ref=sr_1_3?qid=1574363244&refinements=p_27%3A+K.%5CcKirsten+Shockey&s=books&sr=1-3&text=Kirsten+Shockey%2C+K.

Just remembered there are instructions for how to make tempeh on the Brod and Taylor website.

https://brodandtaylor.com/how-to-make-tempeh/

I’ve bought it online where it’s been completely dried and shelf stable. Like this https://www.amazon.com/MIYAKO-Malted-making-Pickles-Isesou/dp/B004FH67ZQ

I’m not looking to fully dehydrate it, but just want it dry enough that I can easily blend it into a powder. It’s too moist to do that out of the fermenter.

Just buy some online. Several people in this sub (including myself) got their grains from this seller on Amazon. They're cheap, and the seller has 2,600+ excellent reviews.

I bought one of these kits not long ago and honestly, it's day and night. It's 100% set it and forget it.

​

I know there are other options that are cheaper, but I can't vouch for how good they are because I haven't tried those.

​

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0789QYV52

I'm really enjoying Fiery Ferments right now.

Sandor Katz's the Art of Fermentation is good, but wordy. I started out with Real Food Fermentation because it's got pictures to demonstrate the steps.

Not OP, but you can get these on amazon or there are cheaper options from some different wholesale glass bottle manufacturers that you can easily find using google.

https://www.amazon.com/Kitchen-Scale-Bakers-KD8000-Weight/dp/B00VEKX35Y/ref=mp_s_a_1_28?ie=UTF8&qid=1540695922&sr=1-28&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65

There is no other scale. I own a restaurant and these things are precise and durable. I went through dozens of scales before finding these. They are the best out there, hands down.

I'd try searching for "vegan cheese." This book seems to have good reviews. https://www.amazon.com/Artisan-Vegan-Cheese-Miyoko-Schinner/dp/1570672830

I’ve been using the plastic screw lids that have the small rubber stopper, and have not had any problems so far. It also came with a small pump to pump out the air from the sealed jars, which I feel is a help.

https://www.amazon.com/Wide-Mouth-Fermenting-Day-Sauerkraut-Probiotics/dp/B071GQJJJW/ref=sr_1_20_sspa?keywords=Fermenting+lids&qid=1568979360&s=gateway&sr=8-20-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUExMFNJT1NNTVBGNFhMJmVuY3J5cHRlZElkPUEwNjMzMzYxMjdSTExGOVI5VUE1MSZlbmNyeXB0ZWRBZElkPUEwMTA4MjI1M0NFMklYTUFORU1RTiZ3aWRnZXROYW1lPXNwX210ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=

It's an S type airlock. You can find them at any homebrew store for less than a buck. I drilled a half inch hole in the center of the lid and attached a rubber grommet to create the seal.

It's a lot cheaper than buying the pre-made airlock lids.

I tried this once and it left my veggies with an odd taste. I think the brine ate into the plastic and contaminated the ferment. I had to throw it out. I use glass pebbles instead. They're effective and don't leave behind a bad taste.

https://www.amazon.com/Sauer-Stones-Fermentation-Preservation-Pickling/dp/B01GVSHK8O/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1479056031&sr=8-5&keywords=glass+weights

These are the ones I bought

It took some searching to find ones that weren't ridiculously pricey.

The silicone lid gaskets I have

I don't recall if I used 1/2" or 9/16" as recommended on the grommet packaging.

Here you go: https://www.amazon.com/Ball-Pickle-Crisp-Granules-Pack/dp/B003IOEWL8

I basically follow this recepie:
https://www.tempeh.info/maketempeh/how-to-make-tempeh.php

But I learned how to make tempeh from the book Miso, Tempeh, Natto

As an Incubator I use a reptile heating mat and a thermostat. I place the tempeh directly on the mat and the temperature sensor directly onto the tempeh to maintain a internal temperature of 30 Deg Celsius. It took about 44h

May I point you towards the book Wild Fermentation: The Flavor, Nutrition, and Craft of Live-Culture Foods.

Nakpunar 12 pcs Glass Flask Bottles with Black Tamper Evident Cap - 200 ml https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071D7RVQB/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_oBCJBbCCH2XYK

It's used all the time in brewing and regular pickling. http://www.amazon.com/Ball-Pickle-Crisp-5-5-oz/dp/B003IOEWL8

These are the exact ones I went with! https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B06Y3BFV3C/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Amazon is where mine came from.

https://www.amazon.com/Lactic-Acid-Vegetable-Sauerkraut-Fermenter/dp/B00IPQTVEW

Even using those airlocks? Pressure could build up and blow out the little orange airlock thing in the middle and spray that sauce everywhere when shaked.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0789QYV52/ref=psdc_979850011_t3_B0791V942S

I have the KD-8000, but others should do.

IMO, the feature you need to look for (which sadly didn't exist on my particular HF scale, though it does for some) is the ability to turn off auto-power-down. Two or three minutes seems like a lot (on some it's only one minute, and they'll tout it as a feature), but it often isn't long enough, and then you lose your tare. I got the scale I got because I knew for certain I could turn that off. So far, I'm one and a half years into the first charge on the batteries, even leaving it on accidentally for a day or two at a stretch.

You are right, there is no mention of vinegar in the recipe I have linked to.

The vinegar is optional, it just lower the ph level of the brine more quickly, increasing the odds of getting crunchy pickle. I use the recipe in this book Real Food Fermentation, which suggest, as an optional ingredient, to add some pre-boiled apple cider vinegar or red wine vinegar.

Here's a cookbook that has a lot of information on everything you'd want for exactly that.

As /u/goodmary said, it's generally fermenting some form of grain followed by blended nuts, thickeners, and other flavors. Having experimented a bit with the recipes in the book, some keys for cheese at least are following the directions very precisely, otherwise it ends up different and many times weird tasting. Also, make sure the nuts are blended very finely otherwise the cheese gets really grainy.

I have tried to make my own coconut yogurt by adding some live-cultured vegan yogurt to a jar of coconut milk, and while it kind of thickened, it was very sour and tasted really, really bad (both flavor-wise and food safety-wise).

I would experiment further, worst case scenario is you waste some almonds, best case you get some nice cultured almond milk.

I've had nothing but success with these. No mold, no problem. But like /u/JoeDaddio said, they aren't necessary.