Easily Make Your Own Pickles and Sauerkraut With Kraut Source
Raise your hand if you don’t love mason jars. Nobody? We thought so. Mason jars are not just for granny to can her jam or trendy restaurants to serve their drinks in. Not only can they be repurposed for a TON of DIY projects (we came up with 100 ways to use ‘em), but they can also be used to make some of the best tasting fermented foods (pickles, sauerkraut, chutney or kimchi). Okay, we know the word “fermented” probably freaks you out, but really it’s just the process of converting carbs to acid. Plus, fermented foods contain probiotics, enzymes and vitamins, so they’re super good for ya.
It all started with a large kitchen pot, as most successful ventures do (we kid). The folks behind the overwhelmingly successful Kickstarter project, Karen Diggs and Eric Klein, were fermenting the traditional way, submerging vegetables under brine. But they discovered a major problem: The batches were seriously inconsistent. And the ones that came out well had to be transferred into jars… and those jars were cluttering up the fridge. Plus, all the jars from the same batch had the same flavor. At this point, the jarred stuff at the local grocery mart was looking better and better.
That’s when the pair created Kraut Source, a cool lid with super powers that fits on standard mason jars. The new invention allows you to make different varieties of gourmet vegetables in an easy and economical way — all in the comfort of your own kitchen.
Here’s how it works. The lid keeps fresh air out and a compact spring keeps the vegetables completely submerged, while a water moat provides a one-way out for air. Once the fermentation process is complete, replace Kraut Source with the regular, mason jar lid and stick that sucker in the fridge.
Kraut Source’s streamlined design is stainless steel, dishwasher safe and fits on all wide-mouth mason jars. To contribute to the already raised $108,000+, and to pre-order the Kraut Source, check out the Kickstarter page. Based upon the pledge amounts and rewards, we’d guess that the price will be around $30 for the gadget (plus a mason jar) once it hits stores.
We love that this awesome metal lid encourages DIY and creativity for the home chef. You can make flavored sauerkraut for your hot dog BBQ, chutney for your Indian feast — you can make homemade pickles for hostess gifts! It would also make a really great gift for pickle-lovers… and we know quite a few. Oh, the possibilities!
Would you use the Kraut Source? Let us know what you’d make with this cool new kitchen gadget in the comments below!
