Topic: UK supplier of pickling jar needed

[Svea]

hey folks,

i am looking for a UK supplir for ceramic pickling jars needed for my sauerkraut :D
what i have in mind is something like this

the lid sits on a rim which is filled with water to ensure an airtight seal yet allow gases out. also included is a 'weighing down stone' to press the pickles down.

they seem very common on the continent - well germania anyways - and i would love to get hold of one - especially as my white cabbage is all ready to eat :o or pickle :)

there was mention on one site that most pickling jars are actually made 'abroad' - i.e. abroad from germany. does anyone have any leads for me?

thanks
svea

[Gadfium]

Svea, so far I cannot find anything UK based. However it may be that p/p within the EU may make it equally viable to source from the continent.

There are some for sale on ebay...

Searching on google using terms like 'keramik' and 'sauerkrauttopf' also brings up some options, but I haven't found any definitive supplier.  :( . Must be there, just haven't stumbled across it.

In the past, I've ended up purchasing various items from a german specialist supplier (he phoned to make sure I was really ordering from the UK), and my experience was that the process was simple & easy; the postage a little dearer, and the goods were top notch. Of course ceramic crocks are going to weigh a lot, but perhaps still worth pursuing, if other UK lines of enquiry fail to find a supplier?

[Svea]

thanks gadfium

i was fearing as much. was just wondering if anyone knew of anything round here, is all, to save on the postage which will be expensive.
people round here surely pickle too? ???
i was just thinking maybe 'ceramic pickling jar' isnt what they are called round here and hence i didnt have any hits?

svea

PS: any other ideas? i can offer my grandma's secret sauerkraut receipe in exchange for suitable information ;)

[Svea]

well, checking on ebay, it appears there are some german sellers who are willing to send to the UK.
i was quoted 36 euros incl. postage, which is £10 in old money (or about £24 in new) for a 4.5l pot. just how much sauerkraut do two people need i wonder?

time to ring my grandma :)

cheers
svea

[Gadfium]

I don't think that sauerkraut pickling ever caught on in the UK, as a nation we seem more into onions and beet, so we never really developed the proper pots to cope with the process. The koreans did, with their, what was it, kimchi? or something like that? But we stuck to coleslaw and boiled (usually to death) cabbage.

I tried looking for other types of pickling jars in the UK, but only ended up with the usual glass ones with screw/seal lids. I also searched on 'ceramic' and 'crock' and other variants... but came up with a bit fat zilch. The only hits I got were from the USA (imported crocks from Germany), and German (and maybe Austrian) sources themselves.

A 4.5 litre pot sounds quite a nice size, that's certainly a lot of portions of sauerkraut. Lovely.

Wouldn't mind a dribble over your Grandma's recipe. Any chance?

 :)

[Svea]

well, if you keep it between you and me ;) i will see what i can do.
missed the ebay auction this morning - typical!
but i think will go for the 4.5l pot. rang my sis who said 'that's much too small, we have a 50l pot!' :o  hmm, but they also eat the stuff all year round. i am happy to supplement my winter vegetable offerings.

(btw, gadfium, could you edit your first post and delete the long ebay link you gave there - it's breaking the board ;))

cheers
svea

[Bionic Wellies]

We use Kilner (type) Jars for our pickles/fruit/jams - but they are clear glass with metal (or plastic) lids and screw rings to hold them on.  I have found a site where they are shown www.waresofknutsford.co.uk but have never actually used them because we buy ours from the local kitchen equipment shop.

-- Hope this helps

[Svea]

i did contact them, BW, with my question about the ceramic jars. but they couldnt help me
i have now purchased the pickling jar from germany :)

will let you know how my sauerkraut production is going

[Svea]

update:

sauerkraut pickling jar has arrived! :D
it came in a box the size of a small country, all padded with shredded wood ??? looks like straw but is definately wood. surely there is some use i can put it to on my allotment? (i dont have strawberries to mulch but what else? bedding the pumpkins on?)

apologies gadfium for not yet getting back to you about the receipe - havent had a chance to speak to my folks :)

the adventure begins....(well, it will on the weekend)

svea

[Svea]

ok, behold, a sauerkraut maker in the ...erm...making ::)

receipe very simple: 1kg of cabbage finely shredded to 100g salt
layer into pot, mushing/pushing down with either wooden implement or something akin to a potato masher, until water starts to seep out. add another layer of cabbage and salt and repeat until all is used up.

grandma's secret is to use lots of dill, and i mean lots. i chopped off quite a bit of my flowering dill, but at the point where it can all resprout and grow more.
used the leafy side shoots as well as the flowers. layer in with the cabbage etc (didnt use the very tough strong dill stem!)

weigh down with stone (my pot came with stones of its own) and ensure there is liquid above the stones, about 1/2 inch or so - if necessary, fill up with boiled (and cooled) water to top up.

put water in rim, put on lid. blubbering should start in the next couple of days :)
ready in, well, about 40 days? ;)

svea

[wardy]

Svea  I've never tasted saurkraut but I think I will now :)  I was talking to a German shop assistant in M & S the other day as they now have different nationalities of staff working in all their stores (good idea) and he was telling me that M & S don't sell saurkraut  :o   He told me that he thought that the Lidl brand was very good  :)  I will go and get some before embarking on making it myself.

Thanks for the inspiration to try it.  Looked for raspberry vinegar in shops today but couldn't find any .  I'll probably have to make that too

[Svea]

yes the lidl stuff is ok, sainsbury's also have a good one (usually found above the freezers, along with the chutneys and other pickles)
PEK is a polish brand and decent :)

hopefully you get the 'uncooked' version - dont buy tins because the stuff will have been boiled to mush before you have even started. ideally, it is crunchy out of the glass and can be eaten in this raw state (beware the wind though :o ;D)
otherwise, boiled for about 20mins, with finely chopped carrot mixed in, and grandma's secret: chunks of pineapple (both the pineapple and carrots should only 'speckle' the sauerkraut, not compete in terms of quantity)

the fresh - homemade - stuff has to be boiled for a little longer, about 30 to 35 mins - due to not having suffered through a potting process yet


svea

[carloso]

ok i had a bit of time heres a few i found but no time to see what was cheap etc


http://www.waresofknutsford.co.uk/products_level3.htm?cat1=preserving&cat2=Jam+Jars


http://www.thecookingshop.com/cookshop.nsf/Sectioncs?OpenForm&cat=DESIGNER+PRODUCTS    :-X bit pricey !!!!!!

germanyyyyyyyyyyy