2018 Fermentation Gift Guide [PERFECT PICKS]

Are you looking to buy a gift for your food-obsessed friends or relatives?

Do you need help selecting that perfect gift for a special someone who is into fermentation?

Would you like to share your passion for making sauerkraut with family and friends by gifting them a few prized fermentation gadgets?

Or, perhaps you want to gift yourself that tool you have been coveting but have yet to purchase?

In this 2018 Fermentation Gift Guide, you will find perfect picks for beginner fermenters and pros alike, from the budget-conscious to the splurge-worthy. Selections range from a beautiful sauerkraut recipe PDF file (a free gift from me to you for the last-minute gift giver) to the Cadillac (Tesla?) of fermentation vessels as well as links so you can shop as you read. And, be sure not to miss the beautiful Kilner Fermentation Kit towards the end of this post.

I personally own and gratefully use just about every item recommended and discuss them each in even greater detail – with product review posts – on my Fermenting Supplies page. Dive now into my Fermentation Gift Guide.

1. Personalized Gift Certificate For a Sauerkraut Making Lesson

 

If you have already learned to make sauerkraut and would like to share your newly developed fermentation skills with a friend. Invite them to your home for a hands-on lesson on how to make delicious sauerkraut.

To make it extra easy for you, I put together a gift certificate. Just click the double arrows (>>) in the upper right-hand corner of the frame above and select “Print”

Fill in this gift certificate, put it in an envelope and Voila! you’re done. Well, at least until it comes time to teach the time-honored skill of fermentation.

When you get ready to share your skills, pull together everything you need: the jars, weights, cabbage, and perhaps a bottle of wine and a few nibbles. You could even invite over a few extra friends and call it a party!

2. Fermentation Gift Basket: Sauerkraut, Recipes and Fermentation Weights

If your friend could just taste some of your homemade sauerkraut you know they would be hooked. It really does taste spectacular! Just look at all those beautiful colors. How about sharing some of the goodness?

I put together a SureFire Sauerkraut Complimentary Recipe Set eBook that you can gift to a friend or loved one. In a PDF file are all 6 of the sauerkraut recipes currently found on my website, including the somewhat hidden recipe for Firecracker Sauerkraut. I even updated many of the images. It’s amazing how my food photography skills have improved over the past couple of years. 🙂

You’ll have to opt-in to receive the PDF since it is too large to load on this page. It will be emailed to you.

Here’s is what you could put into a gift basket for that special person in your life:

3. Fermentation Weights for Care-Free Fermentation

Any fermenter will greatly appreciate a fermentation weight. They are used when fermenting in Mason jars and are designed to hold the ferment below the brine so that yeasts and molds won’t spoil a precious ferment. Here are my three favorites:

Glass Fermentation Weights by The Easy Weight, $21.99
The grooved handles on these glass weights make it a bit easier to insert and remove them. I reviewed a similar glass weight here.

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PicklePusher LITE (3, red), $15.99
The Pickle Pusher  does a great job of holding even the “strongest” ferment below the brine. I reviewed the Pickle Pusher here.

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Plastic ViscoDisc Canning Buddies
These are simple, cost-effective and work splendidly! Be sure to order the WIDE mouth set WITH the Inserter. I reviewed the ViscoDisc Canning Buddies here.

4. Just The Essentials: Scale + Salt

The best sauerkraut is made when you can weigh your ingredients and add in just the right amount of salt. Required items?

A digital scale and some iodine-free salt.

Not everyone has a digital scale or that extra-special salt in their home. Help your friend get started on the right foot by gifting them a scale and some salt.

And, don’t forget to direct them to my teaching recipe: How to Make Sauerkraut in a Jar in 7 Simple Steps [Healthy, Flavorful, Easy]

 

KD8000 Digital Scale by My Weigh
Believe me, they will really, really appreciate this gem. It is the Cadillac of scales. I love that it doesn’t automatically shut off and is so versatile. I reviewed the MyWeigh KD8000 scale here.

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Sherpa Pink Gourmet Himalayan Salt, 5 lbs Fine Grain
I love the depth of flavor that a mineral-rich salt imparts to a batch of sauerkraut. This is the only salt I use in my home and is what was used for all my recipes on my website and in my eBook.

5. A Super-Slick Fermentation Kit

Either one of these fermentation kits would be much appreciated. They each have some type of airlock that allows the gases to escape and keep the good stuff in without having to open your jar.

 

Kraut Source Fermentation Lid
I treasure this fermentation lid for its versatility, solid construction and well thought out design. It fits onto any wide-mouth canning jar. Read my in-depth review here.

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PickleHelix Fermentation Weight PLUS Lids
The PickleHelix automatically adjusts to your changing ferment volume and compresses down to the thickness of a glass weight when the jar is full of veggies.
Fermentation kit includes stainless steel lids with one-way valves (“waterless airlocks”) that prevent oxygen and pathogens from entering your fermentation while allowing carbon dioxide to escape.

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Masontops Complete Mason Jar Fermentation Kit
The Pickle Pipe included in this kit is my favorite airlock lid. Also included are glass fermentation weights and a wooden Pickle Packer. Read my in-depth review here.

For my Canadian readers who get frustrated trying to find many of the items I’ve shared, please be aware that you can purchase some of the MasonTops products online at WalMart.

6. Perhaps a Favorite Book? My Top 3 Picks

Fermented Vegetables: Creative Recipes for Fermenting 64 Vegetables & Herbs in Krauts, Kimchis, Brined Pickles, Chutneys, Relishes & Pastes

Currently, my favorite fermentation book. Anytime I get a question from a reader wanting to know if they can ferment beans, cauliflower, basil, okra or whatnot,  I recommend this book. Great for a gardener or that foodie who makes weekly trips to the farmer’s market.

Their Fermenting Vegetables A to Z chapter comes in real handy. Just harvested a bunch of beets? After sharing their knowledge on beets, recipes for Simple Beet Kraut, Curtido Rojo, Curried Golden Beets, Beet Kvass and Golden Ginger Beet Kvass with Meyer Lemon follows. Endless inspiration with recipes that work for any vegetable under the sun. Review here.

The Art of Fermentation: An In-Depth Exploration of Essential Concepts and Processes from around the World

For the person who likes details, historical insights and coverage of every ferment conceivable, this encyclopedia – 500 pages – on anything and everything that can be fermented will be greatly appreciated.

Author Sandor Katz was instrumental in getting fermented foods on the map. Though his recipes are not often detailed, there is plenty of in-depth information to get you headed in the right direction.

The SureFire Sauerkraut Recipe Collection: 12 Creative Recipes & Tips to Make Fermenting a Breeze

You can never have too many sauerkraut recipes. My first ebook contains 12 delicious, mouth-watering sauerkraut recipes that range from classic Juniper Berry Sauerkraut to popular Hawaiian Sauerkraut with turmeric, pineapple and a few other goodies.

Four Bonus Recipes introduce other types of ferments: Citrus-Pickled Red Onions, Cranberry Orange Relish, Simple Simon Carrot Sticks and Thyme for Leeks Relish.