{"id":3339,"date":"2015-06-05T20:55:56","date_gmt":"2015-06-05T20:55:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wpmigration\/?p=3339"},"modified":"2015-06-20T05:18:59","modified_gmt":"2015-06-20T05:18:59","slug":"fermenting-large-vs-small-batches","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/articles\/fermenting-large-vs-small-batches\/","title":{"rendered":"Fermenting: Large vs. Small Batches"},"content":{"rendered":"

You can pickle nearly anything<\/strong><\/a> following the same basic steps in this article.<\/a> Really. My family doesn\u2019t really care for pickled carrots, but I absolutely adore pickled garlic, onion blooms, and radishes. And of course, there is always sauerkraut <\/a>too! If you are interested in pickling eggs, please read this article.<\/a><\/p>\n

\"pickled-carrots\"<\/a> \"pickled-garlic\"<\/a><\/p>\n

When I ferment anything, I no longer use the large \u201ccrock\u201d method. Perhaps that is because I have never owned a real fermenting crock but have tried other hacks such as food grade buckets. I much prefer fermenting in very small batches and so I stick with mason jars.\u00a0<\/strong> This is purely experiential opinion, but you’re welcome to it:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Less Risk.<\/strong> If you’re new to fermentation, I better tell you right now: you will have some go bad.\u00a0 It’s just part of it.\u00a0 If you have a vat of sauerkraut go bad, you cry when you have to bury the whole vat to keep the animals from getting sick in it. If you have a jar go south, it\u2019s not so sad. And you will also find that each jar somehow tastes ever-so-slightly different\u2014it\u2019s like fine wine or fine cheese (which makes sense, they’re fermented too)!<\/p>\n

Faster Fermentation.<\/strong> Because I want it yesterday. You need to check your fermentation frequently anyway, but there\u2019s something about checking it that makes me wish it was table-ready now; smaller batches ferment much faster.\u00a0 A glass jar of pickles will be ready in 3-5 days (depending upon preference).\u00a0 A food grade bucket can take a month or more.\u00a0\u00a0 If I want a slower fermentation or have a crazy-large harvest to preserve, I will use multiple 1\/2 gallon jars.\u00a0 They take a least a week longer to ferment properly.<\/p>\n

\"half-gallon<\/a>
half-gallon mason jars<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Easy storage.<\/strong> While your food is fermenting, you need to allow it to rest in a fairly warm place. I keep them all on a shelf that is positioned over a heating vent when I start fermentation in the winter, whereas the counter is good enough in the summer. But once the fermenting concoctions are perfecto (mwah!), you will need to move them to the refrigerator, cold and dark basement, or some other nook or cranny. Well, some of us are short on that space and smaller jars are easier to navigate this requirement.\u00a0 Check out “Cold Storage for Fruits & Vegetables”<\/a> or “Root Cellaring”<\/a> to learn more about cold storage.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"pickles<\/a>
The Mason Tap <\/a>allows the gases to escape during fermentation.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Great gifts.<\/strong> We frequently have dinner guests, and because of how we eat and cook, I\u2019m often asked about old-fashioned kitchen skills like fermentation. People cannot believe they actually enjoy sauerkraut or fermented vegetables; I\u2019ve converted more than a few. And I usually send them home with a jar of something. This means I never make enough, no matter how I increase production from year to year, but alas\u2026I\u2019ll probably send you home with something. It\u2019s a bit awkward to do in a barrel.<\/p>\n

Recycled Jars.<\/strong> I save my canning jars for canning. I save every other glass jar like a hoarder ready for a cable network reality show.\u00a0 Glass jars from sauces or other store-bought foods are great for fermentation.\u00a0 Yes, I would love to have a German-made fermentation crock one day but I could never justify that expense.\u00a0 I love have many foods fermenting and at various stages in the process.\u00a0 A crock doesn’t allow for that.\u00a0 I have used food grade buckets, but then you are back to plastics.\u00a0 Glass is the way to go!<\/a><\/p>\n

–Chaya<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n
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Do you share Chaya’s opinion, or vehemently disagree?\u00a0 <\/em><\/p>\n

Let us know in the comments section!<\/em><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You can pickle nearly anything following the same basic steps in this article. Really. My family doesn\u2019t really care for pickled carrots, but I absolutely adore pickled garlic, onion blooms, and radishes. And of course, there is always sauerkraut too! If you are interested in pickling eggs, please read this article. When I ferment anything, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3342,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"footnotes":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[229,19,297],"tags":[284,403,404,405],"yst_prominent_words":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/pickled-carrots.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9Fvks-RR","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3339"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3339"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3339\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3342"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3339"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3339"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3339"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pantryparatus.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=3339"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}