Ball 14400108211 Fermentation Lids and Springs, 32oz, Metal

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 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.

I wasn't sure about the metal spring (since so many recipes say to use glass bowls and non-metal spoons). However, the outcome of the fermented veg I've made has been spectacular. With the vent, I don't have to worry about a mess. The spring keeps the ruffage smashed down beautifully under the liquid. I keep my jars of veg inside a dark cabinet while it transforms and check on it every few days. I transfer the finished product to another jar and start a new batch. Very happy! Yummy outcome! Fast shipping from seller. Thanks! (pic is tumeric infused sauerkraut)

I put them in two mason jars: a half gallon and a quart size. It worked well in both jarsBUT !!! you need some kind of barrier to keep the small pieces of veggies under the water. I usea 4 inch "ME Fan silicon cup lids" (search for that here on amazon) for the half gallon size. A smaller (wide mouth size) mason jar lid cap for the quart. The Lid cap silicon is justenough to completely cover the inside of the jar below the wide mouth. I cut some holes in the caps to let bubbles out. I bought only one box (has 2 in it) and I just bought another box.admittedly it's a little expensive but (as of Nov 7) I bought two more. why? Because the springs are a little TOO strong while holding down the food. So I cut them with a hacksaw - filed down the end so it was smooth and then bent a 1/4 inch on the end so it wouldn't poke thru the plastic lid. I took off 3 windings on one and 2 windings on the other (because the quart size jars only need a short spring.But remember !! you need something inside to spread out along the whole inside of the jar so the food doesn't come up . (plus I usually put enough olive oil on top to make sure no air gets to it. Plus I do a vacuum suction with a lid that gets all the bubbles out from between the food pieces. Air is BAD. (specifically: Oxygen)But these springs WORK GREAT !!