PSA: My $80 airlock mistake on a big batch of kimchi

I tried to save a few bucks last month and bought a set of cheap plastic airlocks from a random online seller. They looked fine at first, but after about a week on my 5-gallon kimchi crock, one of them cracked right at the base. The whole batch got exposed to way too much air and developed a weird, slimy film. I had to throw out the entire thing, which was about 15 pounds of veggies and spice paste. That's easily $40 in ingredients down the drain plus the $40 for the faulty locks. Has anyone found a truly reliable brand for larger ferments that won't fail like this?

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3 Comments

walker.jana5mo ago

My plastic airlock cracked last winter and turned my hot sauce into a science experiment. You win some, you lose some.

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william_taylor6mo ago

Man, that's brutal. I've had good luck with the Easy Fermenter lids from Masontops for my bigger crocks. They use a silicone gasket and a glass weight, and the airlock is a solid piece. I've had the same set for three years now my big sauerkraut batches. It's a higher upfront cost but you won't be replacing them every season. Losing that much kimchi is just heartbreaking.

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ryang656mo ago

Oh man, that's a bummer. Those Masontops lids are great, but they're actually for wide-mouth jars, not big crocks. (I wish they made a crock version!) For crocks, you usually need a different style of lid with a water channel.

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