Ball Fermentation Lids and Springs, 32oz, Metal

Awesome

These are my favorite of all the systems, wish I could buy more

Worked great. Easy to use.

I use these after my ferments are complete (and have been moved into the fridge for consumption.) They are great and keep my ferments fresh by keeping the compacted veggies under the brine.My routine is to ferment for 3-4 weeks (mostly cabbage) with glass weights in (1-quart, wide mouth) mason jars following the measurements and recipes in the book, “Fermentation Made Easy!” by Holly Howe. Ms. Howe recommends saving a cabbage leaf to create a barrier between the veggies and the weight, to keep floaters from rising to the top of the jar, (where they can be exposed to oxygen and thus mold or rot.). That barrier is especially important for shredded produce.While I prefer to make the ferments with glass weights, I don’t feel that they keep the completed product submerged once I start eating it. That’s where this product shines.The spring, (WITH that intact cabbage leaf), compresses the sauerkraut and keeps it well below the brine line, ensuring that, when I’m ready to eat out of that jar, that it’s crunchy, fresh and perfectly preserved. Usually I scoop a weeks worth into smaller jars and stick the glass weights in those, so I’m not messing with the “master” jars on a daily basis.The pic illustrates the different levels of compression between the glass weights (small jars on top) and this Ball lid/spring product, (larger jars on bottom). I can see how pickle spears or other whole ferments might not be suited for this item, but for shredded produce, it works great and perfectly suits my needs.

I have been working with lacto fermentation for the last two years in a process that started with trying to brew a better pepper sauce. I have since adopted the process for preserving sliced peppers as well. While my experiments have been somewhat limited in that they all revolve around various peppers, here is what I have determined. Let me go through pros and cons.Pros:- The lid design is amazing in its simplicity. It's a flat rubber circle with a tiny rubber "spike" that pokes through a hole in the lid to hold it in place. Underneath that flat circle are four tiny holes that when pressure builds beneath, force the rubber piece to move slightly above the four holes and release gasses. It reverts to its position. keeping additional air from entering. While I was suspicious that this would work, it does. Quite well.- The spring presses down on the contents of the jar keeping them below the brine level. The spring is powerful, but not difficult to work with. It maintains nice downward pressure and won't break your hand when you screw on the lid.- I have had ZERO issues with kahm yeast. Granted, I usually keep my fermentations to 1-3 weeks, but I have not experienced any yeast issues.- I have found all components to be dishwasher safe. I do an extra cleanse of all parts before using, but if you like to clean and refresh your parts in the dishwasher, you can. Top rack for the lid.Cons:- I find that any fermentation kit costs more than I think it should, this one included. Still, hard to complain as it works.- The spring is great but not perfect. If you use thin slices of small vegetables, they can get through the bottom of the spring. I solve that by generally using larger pieces and stacking them on top of the smaller ones to prevent floating. A cabbage leaf also works.- The little silicone circle that rests over the holes that release pressure sometimes gets water and salt underneath it. I try to wipe it down a time or two during each ferment to ensure it doesn't "stick" or accumulate crud.- Like any fermentation, conditions dictate outcome. My only issue ever has been the accumulation of clear thick slime in two of my batches. This is not alarming and is common. I find washing it away when preparing for final jarring to be sufficient.The only other device I'd recommend is the kind with the lid that allows you to pump out air. It is also quite good and works tremendously well. I often use that as well with glass weights, especially when canning smaller pieces.The silicone lids with the extended nipple that fit into your lid rings (used with weights) have always resulted in kahm yeast buildup for me. The two systems above are the ones I much prefer.

I have only used this once but so far so good. The spring feels very high quality, heavy duty, and pretty strong which can make closing and opening jars a little precarious. The weave of the bottom of the spring is fine enough that even pretty small carrot and onion slices are held down if you pack correctly. The real winner is the lids! It has the simplest possible fully-washable airlock design. They are very low profile and due to the construction, unlikely to accidentally break. Since the airlock rubber can be totally removed from the plastic lid for washing, you can be certain there is nothing clogged in it that will get creepy when it's time to ferment something new. Delightfully low maintenance and seems very sturdy. Overall I like the lids much more than the spring and I wish they sold the lids separately! I can imagine owning (a slightly exorbitant) 10 lids but I would run out of storage room for 10 springs (unquestionably exorbitant). I would still keep the springs if I had a full set of other weights because they work great and I'm sure are the ideal tool in certain applications but a 1:1 ratio of springs to lids is impractical. Absolutely love the minimalistic lid but not a huge fan of spring loaded jars.

Whether you are a novice or have been fermenting for years this little kit is great for small batches. Small pieces of food can get past the spring, but you can use a coffee filter to reduce it. The one-way valve on the lid allows gasses to excape, but doesn't let in oxygen.