Guest guest Posted February 22, 2011 Report Share Posted February 22, 2011 If it's high fire clay, lead doesn't leach easily. The crocks they sell in our local hardware store are beige, and high fire, and are probably safe enough. I would imagine that if a crock is made to hold drinking water, that it's been tested? I gave up on crocks some time ago for another reason: it's hard to keep flies out. The only one that really seals is the Harsch crock. Also the crocks are very heavy for me, and I have to do another step to decant the kraut to put it in the fridge to " season " . So, what I finally did was to just use jars. My favorites are half-gallon jars from Kimchi, tho quart jars are ok too, and gallon jars. I use plastic lids, which deform a bit to let gas out. And I use a piece of ceramic or a " condiment cup " to keep the kraut forced under the brine. Basically you can see the process here: http://www.dunkers.us/ For vinegar I use a " sun tea " jar. I glued a bit of cloth over the hole in the top, to let air in (and keep bugs out). I float the " mother " on wine corks which makes it easier to pour fresh wine in after decanting. Makes amazing vinegar! <http://www.dunkers.us/> On Tue, Feb 22, 2011 at 2:05 PM, Al <alpinekid@...> wrote: > Hi, > I'm new to this world. I'm starting with Sauerkraut and/or vinegar. > > My first worry was the crock. I have found a number of ceramic crocks that > should hold a few head of cabbage. I'm worried about the glaze or > specifically lead in the glaze. There are just cheap Chinese made things. > One is a base for a 5 gal water jug. That one I have reserved for vinegar > because of the tap. Some were for flower vases or flour, sugar etc. > Basically anything ceramic I could find at the second hand store. > > Do I need to be worried about the vinegar acid or ferment leaching lead or > other bad things for unknown glazes? > > Al > > > > ------------------------------------ > > Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 I like the idea of using glass jars for the kraut. I still like the idea of a crock for the vinegar. It seems that having a tap to draw off vinegar and then adding wine to the top is a good one. I had thought about using the sun tea jars. I see them at the second hand store once in a while. Thanks, Al --- In nutrition , Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted February 23, 2011 Report Share Posted February 23, 2011 The taps work great. The only issue with the sun tea jars is that they are fragile, and transparent. A crock would work better as long as you can keep the flies out. Flies love vinegar! On Wed, Feb 23, 2011 at 12:26 PM, alpinekid <alpinekid@...> wrote: > I like the idea of using glass jars for the kraut. I still like the idea of > a crock for the vinegar. It seems that having a tap to draw off vinegar and > then adding wine to the top is a good one. I had thought about using the sun > tea jars. I see them at the second hand store once in a while. > > Thanks, > Al > > - Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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