I was sure my grandma's pickle crock was just a heavy old pot until I tried a glass jar

For years I kept her big stoneware crock in the basement, thinking it was just a heavy, ugly thing. I started making sauerkraut in a clear glass jar because I liked seeing the bubbles. My first batch got mold on top. I tried again, same thing. Out of pure frustration, I dug out the crock, filled it with cabbage and salt, and put the heavy lid on. Three weeks later, I had perfect kraut, not a spot of mold. The crock's weight and the small water seal around the lid kept everything under the brine in a way my jar and its little weight just couldn't. Has anyone else had a simple piece of old gear completely outdo the modern, see-through option?

2 comments

2 Comments

quinn_carr11d ago

So what else did she make in it?

mia44211d ago

That part about the weight and the water seal making all the difference is so true. I had the same thing happen with my great aunt's old cast iron pan versus my nonstick ones. Nothing sticks to that heavy old thing, it's like magic.