Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

UPDATE 4/ 27/2017 I was thrilled to be able to purchase just the four-lid refill kit. I had 9 lids from three orders of the kit last fall and gifted one, and a pump, to a friend wanting to try fermenting. I also ordered four more glass weights, and when my 8 current ferments-in-progress are done, I will have 12 lids good to go for growing season. Every single ferment I have created since last summer has been successful except, sadly, on half-gallon jar of dill pickles this winter. It became moldy and had to be discarded :( but important knowledge comes from mishaps. I discovered that when I had tasted one of the smaller "taster pickles" I put at the top of the ferment, I had neglected to skim any loose pickling spices off the brine before I replaced the lid. I make my own pickling spices, and what caused the mold was a tiny errant piece of bay leaf that had been sucked up by the pump to where it was blocking the vent hole! Not all the oxygen had been pulled out of the jar, and no gases could be released. I have learned to diligently skim off any floating spices before I replace the lid and pump out the oxygen. I look forward to continuing the fermenting journey! UPDATE: 8/28 I just ordered another set Fermenter Lids, and am thinking of one more order to make 12 caps. I have been eating the most amazing dill pickles I have ever eaten, loving the crunch and the little bit of fizz you get inside a nicely fermented dill. I have made a few discoveries that I have tried and that I like in my finished ferment. These are only my opinion about what worked for me. 1. Celtic salt brine is the best. Himalayan pink salt brine is a close second. Mixing the two brines in a ferment is good, too, when there's not enough of either alone for the last jar of pickles! I made all 3 jars identical but for the brines so I could have a more controlled taste test. 2. Use smaller, whole pickling cukes. 3. The juniper berries and fresh bay leaves in my home-made pickling spice give such a lovely earthy flavor, as I am not a fan of allspice in dill pickles. 4. Fresh white oak leaves render a far better crunch than fresh grape leaves. I probably put about 5 (washed) in each quart jar of pickles. I used the smaller, newer leaves from the white oak trees in my yard. 5. Use fresh dill flower heads if you can get them. I am growing a ton of fresh dill next season! 6. Gently smash the garlic cloves with the flat of a knife blade to release the oils...no need to slice or dice unless you want. 7. I use spring water or distilled water for my brine, not tap water. Now I am waiting for my big half-gallon jar of indian-spiced saurkraut to be ready, but that takes much longer than the pickles. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ORIGINAL POST: I have never fermented anything in my 62 years of life, and after researching the importance of probiotics (and loving saurkraut), I decided it was time to stretch my culinary skills to pickles, kimchi, and saurkraut. I researched all the how-to's online and then looked at different ways to ferment in wide-mouth mason jars as opposed to a crock. I have the jars as I have canned on a small basis, and when I saw these lids and read more about them, I decided to give them a try. One way to keep motivated to learn something new is to have a measure of success, albeit not perfect, from the start. I had purchased two sets for six jars, and fermented a half-gallon of whole medium-sized sour dill pickles, a half gallon of spicy asparagus, a quart of red cabbage kimchi, a quart of saurkraut (still fermenting), and two quarts of big cucumbers sliced into spears. I put them in my basement, which is probably about 60 - 65 degrees, for slower fermentation since it has been so hot here and my AC fights to keep my house at 75 degrees. I enjoyed checking on them daily, as the kimchi and kraut foamed out the top of the fermenter. I have a sink in the room where they were kept and simply rinsed it off. I might have had them too full, but after three days or so, the foaming stopped coming out the top. I figured the fermenting lids were doing their jobs. They were! I left the kimchi and kraut alone, but opened and tasted the pickles and the asparagus after a week to see what was happening. The brine was cloudy, as it is supposed to be, but the pickles and asparagus spears weren't quite olive green yet. I could tell they would be delicious eventually, so I put the lid back on, pumped a few times to get the oxygen out, and left them alone...until today. They are amazing! I made my own pickling spices, along with fresh dill and garlic cloves, and used grape leaves in the jars to provide the tannins recommended for crispness, and they are delicious! I took off the fermenter caps, capped the jars with wide-mouth plastic lids (not too tightly), and they are all in my downstairs refrigerator chilling. AND they are crisp crisp crisp! I think, thought, that I will stick with whole small pickling cucumbers as opposed to the big salad cukes. They make a more satisfying crunchy pickle. And perhaps LESS garlic cloves in the asparagus next time. They are pretty pungent but with the right meal, they will be delicious. I did taste the red cabbage kimchi and loved the flavor (full of fresh ginger, Korean chili sauce, and a few pieces of Nori seaweed torn into small pieces). It probably should have fermented in the basement longer, to get the full flavors (I was too impatient) but it will continue to ferment slowly in the refrigerator. I tucked it in the back of the fridge to forget about it for a while. These lids are fantastic, and I am looking forward to tasting my one jar of kraut in maybe a few weeks. It has been a delightful beginning to my journey into the world of fermenting because of these lids! My opinion is based solely on my decision to purchase this kit based on my research and on my experiences with successful fermenting the first time I tried it. I never get offered a discount in exchange for my honest opinion. I just give my honest opinion. Period! ;)