The Kilner® Weights included in the fermentation sets will help to weigh down food and allow the anaerobic fermentation process to take place.

To allow enough room for this brine, it is recommended that you leave 1-2 inches of headspace in your jar. It is hard to know the safety of non-food glass items such as marbles or Glass Floral Gems, all which I used as weights early on in my fermentation journey.It includes a grooved handled to make removal easier and it is thicker and weighs about 30% more than the Pickle Pebble.

However, for a full fermentation and a complete flavor profile, it’s nice to have your ferment below the brine for 3-4 weeks. Our weights are made of high quality borosilicate, which can work excellently even with boiling water. You may find that some of the glass weights are not heavy enough to hold a very active ferment below the brine. A fermentation gateis a device locked into the neck of the jar to prevent your ferment from moving upwards in the jar or “heaving. Some bacteria like mold and yeast that can ruin your ferment always grow and thrive in an aerobic environment that has enough air.After this experience I was reluctant to use a cup for fermenting again, so I went on to find a better solution. The 2 glass weight stones hold veg­eta­bles down under the lev­el of the brine, reduc­ing expo­sure to air in the jar. There will still be some oxygen in the jar to begin with so they are not foolproof but do you need fermentation weights? Water or brine can be used, brine is good if you think the bag may leak as it won’t dilute the brine in the ferment. Whether you're fermenting sauerkraut, pickles, or kimchi, our weights at Cultures for Health are designed to simplify the process and deliver great results.

If you need fermentation weights for your large crock, I highly recommend the lead-free glass weights sold by Stone Creek Trading as an alternative to the traditional porous ceramic weights which are sold with most fermenting crocks. Please do not throw away any broken goods until we have confirmed it is ok to do so as sometimes the couriers ask for the goods as part of their investigations. That's why Masontops created an entire suite of products for fermenting vegetables in Mason jars, including Pickle Pebbles. Fermentation weights are critical to keeping your fermenting products submerged in brine and away from harmful oxygen and air exposure that can lead to unhealthy bacteria production as well as fungus and mold growth.Porous weights work great, just make sure they are completely dry before storing, else mold can grow on them. The Pickle-Helix can also be purchased in a kit that includes stainless steels lids complete with waterless air-locks. The problem I see with this is that a portion of the vegetable is above the brine and exposed to air. And do share in the Comments your preferred method for a Floaties Trap or fermentation weight along with sharing any I may have missed. There is a fine line between making them thicker for more weight and making them too thick that there is no room left in the jar for the brine.