The Best Vegetable Fermentation Kits, As Chosen by Experts
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For fermenting pickles, sauerkraut, hot sauce, and more from your summer vegetables.
Food & Wine / ChouAmi
The bounty of crisp, bright vegetables at the farmer’s market or in your garden makes it easy to feel inspired to jump into the kitchen. Fermenting veggies is healthy, easy, and delicious, but it also opens up a world of culinary possibilities — from fermented hot sauce and sauerkraut to pickle spears and beyond. We're fortunate to be in a moment where there are plenty of fermentation books for home cooks, so you'll have no shortage of inspiration. But maybe you’re not sure where to start when it comes to fermenting supplies.
Fermentation can be done with or without a kit, but if you're new to the process, a kit can be a nice way to make sure you have what you need on hand. There are many fermentation kits on the market today that offer a one-stop shop for making everything from pickles and beer to wine and cheese (and beyond!), but knowing which kit is best can be overwhelming. To narrow things down, we talked to an expert to find out the essentials when it comes to fermenting. Read on for our list of the best fermenting kits we found that are easy to use, durable, and, whenever possible, include everything you need (yes, even starter cultures) to get started right away.
Best Overall: Ohio Stoneware 2 Gallon Kit
Pros
This sturdy, timeless crock will last for years of fermentation enjoyment.
Cons
Stoneware crocks are larger and heavier than some other fermenting vessels.
Nothing brings fermentation to mind quite like a beautiful stoneware crock. Ohio Stoneware is consistently one of our top picks when recommending fermentation crocks and jars because these crocks hold up for years (decades, even!), and they have been used by generations of home cooks and pros to make sauerkraut, full sour pickles, kimchi, beer, and more. We love that the 2-gallon crock is big enough to hold large quantities of fresh produce and that the weights are the optimal size and shape to keep everything under the brine. The lid is perfectly sized to stay put, too, keeping out any foreign particles as your food ferments to pickled perfection.
Price at time of publish: $90
Includes: 2-gallon stoneware crock, 2 fermentation weights, and lid.
Best Value: Jillmo Fermentation Mason Jar
Pros
With two sets of everything (jars included!), this kit comes at a value that can’t be beat.
Cons
It doesn’t come with regular lids for storage.
Most fermenting kits you’ll find will include everything — except the jars, that is. But that’s not the case with this Jillmo set. Not only does it include two sets of all the supplies, like weights and airlocks, so you can try out multiple ferments at once, but it even comes with two wide-mouth jars. We love some of the special features you’ll find with this set as well, like the design of their glass weights, which allows you to easily insert and remove them from the jar. And you’ll also find that all of the parts are made from durable glass, plastic, or silicon, so they can easily be thrown in the dishwasher. The only drawback is that it doesn’t come with regular lids to cover the jars and store your food once it’s done fermenting. But it’s usually easy to find wide-mouth jar lids, or you could simply store your fermented confection in the glass storage container of your choosing.
Price at time of publish: $26
Includes: 2 (24-oz) jars, 2 fermentation weights, 2 airlocks, silicon grommets, and silicon seals.
Best Starter Kit: MasonTops Fermenting Kit
Pros
This all-in-one kit includes everything you need and more to turn a regular wide-mouth jar into a fermentation system.
Cons
It doesn’t include jars.
Masontops makes a suite of fermentation products we love, particularly their soda glass Pickle Pebbles, which are sturdy fermentation weights with indentations on top that make them easy to pick up and place in a jar. This set includes four of these weights, along with silicone airlocks and an acacia wood vegetable tamp, which makes it easier to pack your sauerkraut or other shredded vegetables into a jar while pressing out any air bubbles. While this kit does not include jars, it's a great choice for those who already have some lying around or who don't mind purchasing them. And it includes enough supplies for a nice variety of fermentation projects too, with enough weights and airlocks for four wide-mouth jars.
Price at time of publish: $50
Includes: 4 fermentation weights, 4 silicone airlocks, 1 vegetable tamper, and a bonus fermenting guide and recipe book.
Most Versatile: FarmCurious Fermenting Kit
Pros
This affordable, easy-to-use system offers kitchen ingenuity at its best.
Cons
The jars are not included.
If you're looking for a simple system that's easy to use and easy to clean, we love the FARMCurious Fermenting Set. Its affordable price point makes it more accessible than some other fermenting kits on the market, and it's adaptable to any wide mouth jar, giving you the ability to ferment large or small batches of veggies based on your needs. The kit includes two reCAP lids with removable airlocks, so you can have two batches of pickles going at once. And once they’re done, you can simply take off the airlocks, snap the lids closed, and store. While the kit does not include jars, it fits a range of widely-available brands, like Ball and Kerr. And, if you're like me and love to hoard jars (or maybe just have one or two extra lying around), this will help you put those jars to use without taking up too much precious cabinet space.
Price at time of publish: $29
Includes: 2 reCAP lids, 2 stoppers, 2 airlocks, recipes, and gift box.
Best Stainless Steel: ChouAmi Fermenting Kit
Pros
This sturdy kit keeps your ferments securely under the brine and is easy to clean.
Cons
Setting up the spring is slightly more work than other fermentation weights.
The ChouAmi wins our hearts not only for its adorable name (cabbage friend!) but for its functionality, too. The kit’s 1-liter jar is large enough to fit a good number of pickles, and its wide mouth makes it easy to fit hands and utensils inside to add or remove veggies. Its lid packs a one-two punch with a spring-loaded fermentation press, which holds your ferments firmly in place under the brine, plus a metal airlock. We love its airlock, inspired by traditional fermentation crocks with airlock channels, which is effective but also more attractive and sturdy than the usual plastic airlocks. Plus, all of its stainless steel parts are dishwasher-safe, making it one of the easiest-to-clean airlock kits we've come across.
Price at time of publish: $48
Includes: 1 (1L) Le Parfait jar; 1 stainless steel fermentation device with spring press, moat and gasket, and cap; screw lid; and sealing cap.
Best Large Capacity: Kilner Fermenting Kit
Pros
This easy to use system is sturdy, attractive, and includes a large jar for bigger batches.
Cons
It doesn’t come with a normal lid for storing your ferment when it’s done.
We love Kilner's sturdy, beautiful jars, and the one in this kit is no exception. Its 3L capacity is bigger than most standard jars included with the other kits on this list, which makes it great for slightly larger batches. However, the weights are a bit different than other jar-based sets, which use a spring or a single-piece weight. Instead, the Kilner set relies on two ceramic stone weights, akin to those that might come with a more traditional fermenting crock (and worth noting, some customer reviews say the stones are hard to replace if broken). But we love the two-piece weight set because it holds your veggies down from edge to edge inside the jar. Plus, the whole thing is dishwasher-safe, so it's easy to clean.
Price at time of publish: $45
Includes: 1 (3L) jar, 1 silicone lid, 1 airlock, 2 ceramic stone weights, and recipe booklet.
Best for Gifting: Ball Fermenting Kit
Pros
This perfect all-in-one kit includes everything, even the salt.
Cons
It can only accommodate small batches.
If you're looking for an affordable gift for someone who wants to dip their toes into the world of fermentation (or just a gift for yourself), this set is a great choice. It includes everything you need — down to the salt — so you can get started right away. We love this kit because we're longtime fans of fermenting in Ball jars, but this one also comes with a spring-loaded weight to help keep your ferment under the brine where it belongs. Plus, its non-corrosive lid won't rust or discolor from salt and acid, making it a great choice for pickling. Ball is a reliable brand for home preserving (they even wrote the book on it!), so you know their jars will hold up to years of use. Plus, they’re easy to find and replace. So if you make a ferment in one jar, it's simple to pop the lid onto another and start the process again.
Price at time of publish: $12
Includes: 1 Ball wide mouth jar, 1 fermentation lid, 1 spring-loaded weight, Ball salt for pickling and preserving, and 1 recipe book.
Our Favorite
We love the variety of fermentation kits on the market, but we continue to adore the Ohio Stoneware 2 Gallon Crock Kit for its timeless versatility, sturdy materials, good looks, and large capacity.
Factors to Consider
Ease of use
If your fermentation kit is simple to use, it's more likely to be used often. We love kits with minimal moving parts and mess because they're easy to set up and clean. Speaking of cleaning, check if all the parts of your kit are dishwasher-safe: Some kit components are hand-wash only.
Supplies included
Most fermentation kits will include all the equipment you need to ferment vegetables easily: A jar or crock with weights, a lid, and an airlock, for example. But what they don't usually include is the salt or seasonings (or, of course, the veggies themselves). Before you start, make sure you get sea salt or Himalayan salt — not a salt with iodine or anti-caking agents — plus any herbs or spices you might want to add, if your kit does not include them.
"Look for kits that are well-made for multiple uses,” says Christina Ward, the Master Food Preserver for Wisconsin. “Any kit containing disposable items is wasteful. Depending on the size of your fermenting plans, look for kits that can work with existing tools." One example of this? Many airlocks and jar lids are made to fit onto existing canning jars and work well on quart-sized and half-gallon jars — just make sure you know if your kit works for wide-mouth or regular-mouth jars. That will make it easy to adapt your kit to accommodate that large batch of kimchi you’re planning so you can test out some new kimchi recipes.
Frequently Asked Questions
What do I need to start fermenting?
"As with any kitchen-food art, one can spend as little or as much as one desires,” says Ward. “There are numerous ‘high-end” fermentation kits for beginners on the market, yet all that’s really needed is a container, a lid, and a bit of salt. At a minimum, a fermentation crock made of dense stoneware — which acts as a temperature-stable vessel to hold the ferment — and a lid that allows gasses to escape while preventing pathogenic bacteria to enter."
What does a fermentation spring do?
"A fermentation spring is a tool that helps keep the fermenting foodstuff submerged in liquid,” Ward says. These are similar to those spring-loaded weights found in the ChouAmi or Ball fermentation kits we recommended.
What is the best beginner ferment?
"The first ferment I teach to beginners is sauerkraut,” says Ward. “At its most basic, sauerkraut is cabbage and salt (and sometimes a little distilled water). Making sauerkraut beautifully demonstrates the power of vegetables + salt + temperature + bacteria + time. People see, smell, and taste the alchemical transformation!"
Do I need a starter culture to ferment vegetables?
"Not always!” Ward says. “A simple lacto-bacterial ferment can be started by adding the correct ratio of salt to a vegetable." Sauerkraut is a great example of this!
Can I use a vegetable fermenting kit for kombucha?
Making kombucha at home is a surprisingly simple process. And yes, you can use many of the same tools you’ll find in a vegetable fermenting kit. The main difference is the ingredients you’ll need to start the fermentation. Instead of vegetables and salt, you’ll use tea and a special starter culture called SCOBY to start your ferment.
Our Expertise
Julia Skinner, PhD, is a writer, fermentation educator, avid gardener, and food preserver. She is the author of award-winning fermentation history book, Our Fermented Lives. She writes about and teaches fermentation and food preservation through her business, Root. You can follow her work on social media (@bookishjulia and @rootkitchens) or through her newsletter.
Christina Ward is an author, editor, and the Master Food Preserver for Wisconsin. She is the author of Preservation-The Art and Science of Canning, Fermentation, and Dehydration, which explores the history and science of food preservation while sharing 100 fool-proof recipes that make the science real. She has appeared as an expert on Milk Street Radio, Padma Lakshmi's "Taste the Nation," and numerous NPR programs. In addition, she has contributed to Serious Eats, The Wall Street Journal, Maggot Brain, and more.
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