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My whole view on airlocks flipped after a trip to the farmers market in Boise
I was at the Boise market about 3 months ago, talking to an old guy selling his own hot sauce. He saw my jar of fermenting peppers and asked why I used a fancy airlock. I told him it was the only way to keep things safe from bad air. He just laughed and showed me his setup: a simple cloth lid held on with a rubber band. He said, 'I've made over 200 batches this way and never had a problem. The air needs to move a little.' I went home and tried it with a half gallon of cabbage, and it worked perfectly. Now I'm torn. One side says airlocks are a must for a clean ferment, but the other side says a simple cover is fine and maybe even better for some ferments. Has anyone else switched away from airlocks for good, or do you think that's asking for trouble?
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elliotl243mo ago
That cloth lid trick works great for my kraut too.
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cora4001mo ago
I guess I just don't see why it matters that much either way. Airlocks or cloth lids, both seem to do the job if you're not overthinking it. Plenty of people have been making kraut for centuries without any fancy gear. Maybe it's just me, but @elliotl24 is probably fine with their cloth trick and campbell.logan is fine with their airlock. Why turn it into a whole debate about safety when it's just cabbage and salt, you know?
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