(8 of 9) Sandor Katz - How to Make Sauerkraut: Packing, Weighting & Venting 

It's supposed to bubble; that's the process of fermentation you're seeing. Leave it alone. As long as everything is submerged under the brine, it's all good, and you can just let it do its thing. Don't even think of disturbing it before 4wks.....better even 6wks. That's with the small batch, Mason jars & tops. With the old, giant batch, crock method, I didn't even peek at it before 6months. I checked it to make sure there were no overflows, or underbrined situations, but with the Mason jar method, it's so much quicker & easier. I love the self-burping, silicone nipple tops; they're brilliant, no fuss helpers, & the wood plunger, is not only useful, especially to arthritic hands, but is an aesthetically pleasing sight, on my pantry shelf. I washed, dried, & oiled it with coconut oil when I took it out of the pkg, & I also do this after each use. The oil not only protects the wood from any spices that would penetrate & linger, or transfer to subsequent ferments, (Kimchi) but it brings out, & darkens the wood grain. It looks beautiful.

ffs

Hi B R, although it would be possible to use a rock in theory, in reality many rocks are quite porous so truly sterilizing them is difficult, plus they can absorb and let bacteria fester during the process. Our Pebbles are intentionally made of non-porous soda lime glass (same glass Mason jars are made from) for that very reason.

@@Masontops Thank you, that answers a longstanding question.

@@br5448 Yes sorry! We don't check our RU-vid comments as often as we should. Thanks for great question though.

I disagree. Sandor first demonstrates making the ferment WITHOUT the Masontops products. Since each product is sold separately, the consumer can decide for herself.

Check out the other videos, especially #9 for education without products.

Its literally on the Mason tops channel so not sure what you were expecting.

I love being aware of commercial products I can use to make my life easier if I want to. I certainly don't have to.