Easy Fermenter Wide Mouth Mason Jar Lid Kit
Simplified fermenting in jars
Since April 2016 Amazon has been selling this lid-kit. I’ve used it to make hassle-free (no-“burping”) kimchi. Once fermenting is complete, these lids can be reused to make new batches and replaced by standard lids. (The latter can be air-sealed with the Food-Saver Wide-Mouth Jar Sealer reviewed on Cool Tools)
The kit contains:
- Three lids utilizing a “waterless airlock valve technology [that] lets carbon escape. But also makes sure zero oxygen can enter.” Low-profile lids that “are a fraction of the size [i.e., height] of those clunky three-piece airlocks. This means we can store our jars almost anywhere a mason jar can fit.” This is a strong selling point to me. I put them in a kitchen cabinet, not on a countertop.
- A “date setter [built into the rim] keeps track [of] when your ferment started so you always know when it’s almost complete.”
- “An “integrated easy release tab” that allows a thumb-assist when unscrewing the lid.
- An air extractor pump “to suck out the oxygen during the later stages of your ferments.” (E.G., after opening the lid for taste testing or eating partial contents.)
- “A 30-page getting started guide, Fermenting recipe e-cookbook and access to our ask the experts’ forum”
It’s rated 4.8 stars on 657 Amazon reviews. I suggest not pumping out too much air after partially consuming the contents, lest it becomes a struggle to unscrew the lid after it’s been in the fridge. I suggest leaving a full inch of headspace and employing a weight to keep the contents from rising too much during fermentation, to keep brine from escaping through the valve. (But it only forms a little pool that can be rinsed away if it does.)
A few Amazon reviewers complained that the pump pooped out on them and that there was no plain and convenient way to get a new one. However, as of April 19, 2017, the Pump for fermenter jar alone can be bought on Amazon.
Easy Fermenter Wide Mouth Lid Kit
