My $200 fermentation crock cracked on batch three

I bought this big stoneware crock from a local kitchen supply shop in Portland about 6 months ago. It was one of those fancy 5-gallon ones with the water seal around the top. I was so excited to make sauerkraut and kimchi in bulk. First two batches came out perfect, really tangy and crunchy. Then on my third batch I noticed a hairline crack running down the side. I tried to patch it with food-grade silicone but the kraut started smelling off after a week. I think the crack let air in and mold got started. Had to toss the whole batch and now I'm stuck with a $200 paperweight. Has anyone else had luck repairing these things or should I just switch to glass jars?

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3 Comments

oscar_ellis5mo ago

Oh man, that's rough, sorry that happened to you lol. I had almost the exact same thing happen with a stoneware crock from a farmers market here in Austin, paid like $180 for it and it cracked on batch two. Tried the silicone patch too and got the same weird smell, ended up tossing a whole batch of hot sauce I was really excited about. Honestly, I've switched to using 2-gallon pickle pipes on wide mouth mason jars and haven't had a single issue since. Way cheaper and easier to clean, plus I don't have to worry about the whole thing breaking apart on me again.

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milesj705mo ago

Ngl, I gotta disagree a bit here. Those pickle pipes work fine for small batches but I've had mold issues with them on anything that ferments longer than a week or two. Honestly, I'd rather deal with the occasional cracked crock than babysit weird fuzzy growths on a batch I've been nursing for a month.

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mark_thomas4mo ago

Totally changed my mind about them, just ordered a set based on this.

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