crock pot or glass jar

[marlo capoccia]

hi all,
i have some cabbage waiting for processing but hadn't really thought about what we'd process our sauerkraut in. any suggestions for a vessel or where to find one? i have some food-grade plastic buckets but would prefer not to use those...

thanks,
marlo

[Sharon Berger]

Glass jars work great. I got a huge one from my mother who buys pickles in enormous jars. You pack down the cabbage very firmly so you can get a lot in.

[Theresa George]

Hey there! We have bought pickles by the gallon for years, just so we can have the glass jars for food preservation and kombucha. You can still buy some bulk at the East Hill P & C in large glass jars and on lots of websites. I don't shop at anything Wal Mart related; however, a big warehouse like Sam's Club, Cosco and BJ's sells in large containers - usually plastic, though. I have found almost everything I could want on the internet in terms of storage - including glass tincture bottles, so I'm sure you can buy gallon glass there. Lehmann's has crocks, and I have one which I use for pickling; however, they're pretty expensive. The commitment to not use plastic is important, though. It leaches into everything. I rarely use it, even for dry goods. Be careful of "heritage" jars (large clear cookie style jars) - often made by Anchor Hocking - an old and venerable company, but these particular jars chip easily - especially the rims and the lids. Here are some other options that aren't too expensive:

http://www.specialtybottle.com/index.asp?PageAction=Custom&ID=27
https://www.containerandpackaging.com/item.asp?item=G004

Best, t.

[Sue Mueller]

The glass jars I use are at B&W for about $20 - I believe they're 2 gallons in size.

[Valerie McMartin]

where's b&w?

[marlo capoccia]

B & W is on the left as you go into farmers' market right on rte 13. it's a restaurant supply store.

[marlo capoccia]

thanks for all the great info, links, ideas. (you guys are awesome!) i realized after this discussion that my mom gave me a gallon glass jar we had been using to keep grain moths out of flour. i think it needs a new job...

[Theresa George]

I would not use plastic for any food storage except perhaps (and then with reservation) dry grain products. There is ALWAYS outgassing. You're better with any glass product at all. I found a few years ago a spaghetti sauce brand that sold in extra large jars (about 2 qts) and had wide mouthed openings so that I could use a canning funnel to put anything in them. So - in addition to anchor hocking glass boxes (which I've purchased online for years - Greenstar started carrying them about a year ago, but they're about 20% more expensive), I have almost complete glass storage. Wegman's organic spaghetti sauce comes in jars with wide mouths. You can put any leftovers easily in these glass jars with a canning funnel. The larger jars I got a few years ago started appearing with smaller mouths, so they aren't available anymore.

But - I would order glass gallon jars online or crocks from Lehmann's before I used plastic. Even though these products are expensive, they're cheaper than the deleterious effects on your immune system. And yes - you can find gallon sized pickle jars in some of the grocery stores, housing any variety of pickled products. The PC used to carry fairly decent pickles in gallon jars, but I haven't been able to find them recently.

[Liz Kitney]

I know this reply is late, but others will probably have the same question. I use an old crockpot pot for sauerkraut. Much cheaper than the special German crocks that go for over $100!

[Jase]

Leeners has very good prices on crocks...

http://www.leeners.com/condiments-pickling.html