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I regularly make a Japanese side dish of fermented cabbage that's simply pressed down for a day and salted. I'd just jury rigged something up, but it finally broke so now I'm looking to see if there is an actual device I can buy. I'd like to steer clear of plastics too.

The device needs to apply a good amount of pressure and I'd like to make the pressed cabbage in large amounts, but it doesn't have to be huge (say enough for a single cabbage).

jhawes
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    I don't know about the japanese style fermenting ... but for saurekraut, you can get weights for most major brands of fermenting crocks. (you'll want to match the brands, or make sure that the outer diameter of the weights are just a little smaller than the inner diameter of your crock) – Joe May 29 '15 at 20:30
  • Would you by chance be able to show me where to purchase these online? Just by looking at them I could probably tell if they'd work. – jhawes May 30 '15 at 00:11
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    http://www.amazon.com/TSM-Products-31060-Fermentation-Harvest/dp/B00JG77G8M/ – Joe May 30 '15 at 11:19
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    Is the point to keep the juice that gets pressed out or to discard it once the cabbage is done weeping? – Derpy May 30 '15 at 19:32
  • The juice that is pressed out is all discarded... the cabbage is then rinsed off as well (if that matters at all). – jhawes May 30 '15 at 20:24
  • That looks like a good recommendation Joe. A German Style Fermentation Harvest Pot with Stone Weight. If you mark that as the answer I'd be glad to give you credit - thank you as well! – jhawes May 30 '15 at 20:26
  • You also might find this question, the pictures, and the answers relevant: http://cooking.stackexchange.com/questions/54095/fermenting-sauerkraut-should-i-stir. – Jolenealaska May 31 '15 at 03:46

2 Answers2

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In Asian style ferments where the juices are discarded you can omit the weights completely. My kimchi process looks something like this:

  • Salt and massage cabbage in mixing bowl. Let sit for an hour.
  • Massage again and let sit for an hour or longer.
  • At this point the cabbage has pretty much given up all its juices and is ready to be drained and rinsed.
  • Rub the cabbage with your seasonings and stuff into hermetic jars.

A hermetic jar such as this, combined with the steps above provide a consistently vigorous and healthy fermentation, without the cost of the German stuff. http://www.amazon.com/Pieces-Italian-Hermetic-Recycled-Canning/dp/B001QYMMSW

Weights serve a number of purposes, many of which are negated when using a hermetic or airlocked fermenter and pre-sweating your vegetables.

Derpy
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  • Also worthy of note is that swing top jars are good, but some of the vintage stuff you find on ebay like Fidenza Vetraria are of incomparable quality. – Derpy May 30 '15 at 22:30
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I use a square cambro container filled with product. Then insert another cambro container on top filled with water or other weights. This keeps your product submerged in brine or weighted down.

moscafj
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