Equipment
The instruments a parameter requires
The test for admission to this page is whether a figure published elsewhere on this site is unmeasurable or unholdable without the thing. Nothing here is on it because it is nice to own.
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Measure
The four numbers this site publishes are a weight, a temperature, a salinity and a pH. Each needs an instrument.
Kitchen scale reading to 1 g
Every salt percentage on this site is a percentage of a weight. A cup measure cannot produce one, and the USDA says so itself: flake salt varies in density enough that it is not recommended for pickling.
Kitchen scale reading to 1 g
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pH meter
Terminal pH is the parameter that decides whether a vegetable ferment is preserved. 21 CFR 114.90 sets out how the agency expects pH to be measured in an acidified food; a meter is the instrument that reads it.
pH meter
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YINMIK Food pH Tester with pH Calibration Storage Solution Digital pH Meter
- Lowest new
- $36.99
- Brand
- YINMIK
- ASIN
- B0CTX34QMH
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pH test strips
Cheaper than a meter and coarser. Adequate to tell 3.4 from 4.6, which is the distinction that matters, and not adequate to certify anything.
pH test strips
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Salinity refractometer
The FAO bulletin says the strength of a brine falls as the vegetable gives up its water, and that a cucumber brine must not drop below 12%. Reading that requires an instrument.
Salinity refractometer
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Salinity Refractometer with ATC 0~28% Saltwater Brine Refractometer
- Lowest new
- $17.99
- Brand
- Hallocool
- ASIN
- B0B5WSMXLH
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Room and refrigerator thermometer
The USDA gives 70 to 75 F with a soft kraut above it and no fermentation below 60 F. Those are the ends of a band, and a band needs a reading.
Room and refrigerator thermometer
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- Lowest new
- $7.99
- Brand
- RIY
- ASIN
- B07RN7Z2RT
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Hold
Vessels. The differences between them are about how air is kept off the surface.
Water-seal fermentation crock
The vessel the sauerkraut process was standardised in. A water moat lets carbon dioxide out and keeps air off the surface, which is the whole mechanical problem of an open ferment.
Water-seal fermentation crock
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- Lowest new
- $63.16
- Brand
- RDRDR
- ASIN
- B0FQ41NHTR
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Onggi
The Korean earthenware jar, traditionally buried to hold a cold, steady temperature through a kimchi fermentation.
Onggi
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Wide-mouth jars
Glass, so the brine line and the colour change are visible without opening anything.
Wide-mouth jars
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- Lowest new
- $24.98
- Brand
- Galssmagic
- ASIN
- B0CCXC72H4
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Kimchi container
A sealed container with an inner press, made for a ferment that continues in the refrigerator for months.
Kimchi container
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Submerge
Weights and lids. The one instruction every source agrees on.
Fermentation weights
Every source consulted here says the same sentence in different words: keep the vegetable under the brine. A weight is how.
Fermentation weights
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- Lowest new
- $12.98
- Brand
- eleganttime
- ASIN
- B098WLW7RW
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Airlock lids
Lets the carbon dioxide out without letting air in. The FAO bulletin describes the same job being done by a hole in a sealed earthenware pot.
Airlock lids
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Cut
Thickness and pressure, both of which change how fast the ferment starts.
Mandoline
Even thickness is not a presentation question. It decides how fast salt reaches the middle of the piece, and therefore how evenly the ferment starts.
Mandoline
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Mandoline Slicer, Adjustable Stainless Steel Vegetable Slicer for Kitchen
- Lowest new
- $16.99
- Brand
- MASTERTOP
- ASIN
- B09NXLT93S
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Cabbage shredder
The dedicated board, for the one preparation where the whole batch is shredded at once.
Cabbage shredder
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Wooden Cabbage Shredder for Coleslaw & Sauerkraut - 17.7x7 in Slaw Slicer
- Lowest new
- $39.99
- Brand
- SHSH trade group
- ASIN
- B083QCHXZH
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Vegetable tamper
Dry-salting depends on mechanical pressure to expel the juice. The FAO bulletin's word is 'pressed'.
Vegetable tamper
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- Lowest new
- $16.95
- Brand
- Fermentology
- ASIN
- B01H7G1MJ2
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Salt
Purity, and a known weight.
Canning and pickling salt
The USDA asks for canning or pickling salt specifically, because anti-caking agents cloud a brine. The FAO bulletin lists what the common impurities do: lime lowers the acidity, iron blackens the vegetable, magnesium turns it bitter, carbonates soften it.
Canning and pickling salt
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Mrs. Wages Pickling and Canning Salt, 3 lb Resealable Pouch, 6 pack
- Lowest new
- $17.97
- Brand
- Mrs. Wages
- ASIN
- B003RRFBVG
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Coarse sea salt
The alternative where a pickling salt is not sold. The requirement is purity and a known weight per volume, not provenance.
Coarse sea salt
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Sea Salt Superstore Kosher Sea Salt, Coarse Grain, Non-Iodized, 30 oz Bag
- Lowest new
- $9.76
- Brand
- Sea Salt Superstore
- ASIN
- B0C7SLS5H1
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