My neighbor insisted I needed a $12 airlock for my first batch of sauerkraut

He said a sealed jar would explode, so I bought one and used it for a month. The kraut came out fine, but I tried the next batch with just a cloth cover and it worked exactly the same. Did I just waste that money, or is the airlock only for specific ferments?

3 comments

3 Comments

ellis.victor3mo ago

Did your neighbor maybe mean it's for ferments that build up more gas? Sauerkraut doesn't pressurize much, so a cloth is fine. Airlocks are more for things like beer or wine that can really explode. You might still use it if you try a different ferment later.

butler.mark3mo ago

Yeah that makes sense, my neighbor gave me one too when I first started. Honestly @ellis.victor, I just used the cloth for kraut like you said and it was fine, no issues. I ended up using the airlock later when I tried making some fermented hot sauce, which definitely bubbled way more. It's still sitting in my cabinet for the next time I try something fizzy.

margaret_flores172mo agoMost Upvoted

Totally get what you mean about the cloth being fine for kraut. I was the same way, thought airlocks were just extra stuff. Then I tried brewing ginger beer. Big mistake without one. The plastic bottle swelled up like a balloon. Scared me half to death. Now I see the point for anything that gets really fizzy.