Great kit – before purchasing the Masontops Kit I had made quite a few batches of beer, wine, and carbonated lemon-lime drinks sort of like 7up or Sprite. But I’d never made my own fermented food. Now, courtesy of this kit, I’ve made Korean kimchi and traditional German-style kraut many times. With four of the little pretty-much-goof-proof airlocks, you can keep several batches going at once. Ferment four different things, or do a little experimenting on four jars of the same veggie.
Almost everything you need to get started is here. Four very simple-to-clean, simple-to-use airlocks, four weights to place in the tops of your fermentation jars to keep your veggies from floating up to the top; and significantly, a great wooden “tamp” of sorts to push things like cabbage into the bottom of the jar. The tamp-thing can also be used to mash the cabbage or other leafy veggies to get them macerating even before they land in the fermentation jar. (Many things, you won’t want to mash at all; but if ‘kraut or kimchi are in your future, this wooden tool will work great for you, you’ll be glad you bought a kit that includes it.)
You will need to get your own quart-size mason jars, and a food or mixture of foods to ferment. But just make that just a head of ordinary cabbage, if you want to start with the super-simple. And you’ll need salt – any granularity of food grade sodium chloride will do in a pinch. Well, you need more than a pinch of salt…but you really don’t need much salt at all, and that surprises some people. Maybe they’re thinking that they need a bunch of salt to preserve the incipient product. Definitely not. Be careful not to overdo it on salt -- you want the correct type of bacteria to be able to grow above all else; that’s the natural process that will ferment your product and render it delicious!
I love the fact that this kit doesn't presume a particular food that the buyer wants to make. If you’re buying a higher-end starter kit like this one, you might very well have something other than a head of cabbage or a cucumber in mind for your starting point. While kimchi, sauerkraut, and pickles do get their "fair ups" in the short illustrated recipe book, the company clearly acknowledges adventurous folks who are sooner-or-later interested in the fermentation of foods in the more general sense. There is no expectation to restrict yourself to their recipes…it’s just a neat prepackaged starting point, and it does a great job of explaining how to use their product to make everything easier for the small-batch home fermenter. If someday you want to take a little break from the fermenting hobby, the box is super-sturdy, and is tailored with snug spaces to stow and protect each item in the kit.
If you’ve tried something of this ilk before and have been frustrated because your pickles weren’t as crisp or tasty as you’d hoped, this could be your chance to jump back into the hobby. The presentation of other opportunities in the recipe book will have you back in the produce department, farmer's market, or in your own garden to find great new items to ferment – and some day you can try pickles again, too, maybe with a different sort, or fresher batch, of Kirby cuke.
If you’ve tried ‘kraut, even if it was the sterilized kind that comes in the cans at the grocery store, you’ve already done more than enough mental prep. This makes the kit a great gift for pretty much anyone who’s not afraid to eat something that doesn’t smell the same way it did when they dropped it into a jar.
The only caveat here is that you would not want to buy this for someone who isn’t willing to follow some instructions – we’re looking for certain desirable biological process when we ferment things, and with this kit, that is almost certainly what you’ll get. Follow the instructions and all will be well – more well for you than before, perhaps, since your recipient will be dining on a probiotically enhanced diet, and having fun doing it. And fermenters love to share! :)
If you, too, are willing to store a vegetable outside of the refrigerator, give this a fermenting thing a try. There are a few people out there who will forever refuse to eat anything that’s intentionally left to stew in bacteria or fungi – but if you have read this far, that’s definitely not you. Bet you can taste that tangy, zesty product now!
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Fermenting with Masontops Kit
I am new to Fermenting and I had to do my homework before I invested in this kit and numerous jars etc. I watched a lot of You-tube and found that this kit was very helpful. The only thing that I was disappointed in was that it came with regular mouth tops and weights versus wide mouth. No big deal, I went out the next day and purchased regular mouth mason jars instead. My veggies are fermenting currently and I don’t know how they will taste, but this is suppose to be no fret (you don’t have to burp each day, just let the tops do the work) and you really need the weights! The veggies HAVE to be kept under the brine. I highly recommend and hope my ferment comes out good since it’s suppose to be SO good for the gut.
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on May 12, 2024Size: Wide Mouth With JarVerified Purchase
my husband wanted to make his own fresh kraut with more crunch and better flavor than what you get in a store. This is the perfect kit for that. I am sure we will find even more great uses. This is super easy for clean up, that is important to me. you want to start with clean utensils. this is not a huge crock to make really large batches but enough for those dinners at home, with fresh product that you made. that silicone seal, its super strong. it keeps the right pressure on as gasses escape and it sticks back down, this burps itself. the glass weight keeps all the food bits under the liquid solution at all times. its just so basic but so perfect. if you ever want to try your own hand at homemade, and control the ingredients and quality, this is for you. it will get a lot of use from us. not just for sauerkraut, we will try some fun pickles and peppers too. the price seems high for what it is, but it does work so well. saves money in the long run. we love it.
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- Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2025Size: Wide MouthVerified Purchase
I purchased this Masontops Complete Mason Jar Fermentation Kit (largemouth) as a holiday gift to myself. I love fermented everything and wanted to start making my own. So, my review will come to you from someone who is an absolute beginner.
Perfect For Beginners; Beautifully Packaged, Hint Expensive
Reviewed in the United States on January 1, 2025
First impressions:
The overall kit (sans jars) is beautifully packaged, and I got everything I expected.
* A lovely wooden tamper
* 4 silicone pipes/jar vents
* 4 hefty glass weights
* Basic instructional booklet
I started my jars (3 of them) a few days ago and have been marking them and keeping a log of my first fermenting experiment with cabbage, carrots, celery, salt/pepper, filtered water, and apples. So far, so good. Everything looks and smells as I would expect it to after marinating in a watery brine for several days. No weird mold or unpleasantness (yet). I have them in a small bin in case there is any spillage of brine. So far, I've tended to my jars like an overly enthusiastic newbie. Wish me luck.
Thoughts:
The kit is a hint on the expensive side, but the quality of the wooden tamper, the silicone vents, and the weights seem good to me. I wish it had come with a more extensive recipe booklet, but I have dozens of them ready to reference when I'm ready to make my next yummy batch of something after this series is complete - assuming I'm successful. I wish, too, that the glass weights were a hint larger in diameter. But they do what is expected and are easy to handle and clean. And, of course, I wish it had come with more of the vents.
Overall, I'm pleased with the purchase, and if I'm successful, I'm sure I will acquire more tools to play with in the future.
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Top reviews from other countries
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Cliente AmazonReviewed in Italy on January 11, 2020
Set Fermentazione
Size: Wide MouthVerified Purchase - Amazon CustomerReviewed in India on August 11, 2019
The product does not have Mason Jars as being displayed on most of their images
Size: Wide MouthVerified Purchase
They should clearing display what is inside your KIT. They do have "In your KIT" which we get after delivery.Amazon CustomerThe product does not have Mason Jars as being displayed on most of their images
Reviewed in India on August 11, 2019
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- Steve NicholsonReviewed in the United Kingdom on December 28, 2024
Nice little kit that does work - but expensive for what it is
Size: Regular MouthVerified Purchase
