Lactic acid fermentation is a natural process that creates delicious products like sauerkraut, pickles, and even salsas. But one of the natural byproducts of fermentation is carbon dioxide aka BUBBLES and pressure! You can ferment food in a mason jar with the metal lid it comes with, but if you forget to burp the jars to release the pressure, you will end up with a shattered glass explosion.
With a product like Pickle Pipes from Masontops, you will never have to worry about your ferments being ruined by an explosion. They are silicon and reusable, so you can buy them once and keep them forever. They truly make fermentation easy if you are busy and have forgotten to burp your jars in the past.
So what makes MasonTops so great? I’ve been using these Pickle Pipes for years n my ferments and I have found them to be much better than canning lids. They are an investment though, because you have to buy them in addition to the jars – and hey they already come with lids! These are the best for anyone who is busy or a new fermenter who wants to make fermentation as fool-proof as possible!
1. They are reusable and made from silicon so they don’t rust.
Over time, the metal lids that come with mason jars will rust. This is true especially if you’re fermenting in them, when they will be exposed to liquid and salt repeatedly. Once they rust, they shouldn’t be used with food anymore – which means that you will have to keep replacing them over time. The lid part is really the biggest concern for rust, the metal ring doesn’t come into contact with food so it doesn’t need to be replaced unless you think the rust will be able to contaminate the food).
Pickle Pipes are made from silicon and will not rust or degrade over time – so you buy them once and have them forever. This is also a more sustainable option for the environmentally- and frugally-conscious consumer, because it’s a single time purchase and no matter what, you will eventually have to repurchase metal lids. This creates more waste and even though canning lids are fairly cheap, their price fluctuates with the season and can even go out of stock.
Hot Tip: I suggest hand-washing any silicon items for longevity and to prevent the scent from dishwashing soap from permeating the silicon. I have had a lot of issues with scented dish soaps especially in the dishwasher “flavoring” my silicon implements for weeks, so I opt to just hand wash with unscented soaps.
2. They come in multiple sizes.
Pickle Pipes by Masontops can be purchased in regular mouth and wide mouth sizes, so you will always have a size to fit the jar you want to use. Some ferments are easier to manage in wide mouth jars like lemons or pickles, whereas others don’t matter like sauerkraut or a chutney. The Pickle Pipes are great for any kind of ferment and the fact that you can buy the size according to the jar you already have is great for the wallet!
You can buy the size of Pickle Pipe based on the jars that you most commonly want to ferment with. If you prefer canning in wide mouth jars and have a lot of regular mouth jars sitting around, then you can first get the regular mouth Pickle Pipes and fills those empty jars with beautiful ferments.
Already have both jars or wondering which kind to buy for fermentation? If you are picking out individual items from the jar to eat, then usually it’s better to use a wide mouth jar. Get both sizes of Pickle Pipes and you won’t have to fret over which jar to use or not being able to ferment something because you ran out of that size.
3. They prevent any pressure explosions.
Probably the most important reason to get these kind of tops for fermenting is to prevent explosions from gas buildup. Because carbon dioxide is a natural byproduct of fermentation (and what allows us to create things like homemade sodas and fizzy Kombucha and Jun), it’s necessary to periodically open your jar lids slightly to release gas pressure when it’s in its main fermentation stage.
If you don’t do this, the pressure will build up until it’s strong enough to shatter the glass container. This is actually why soda bottles are made from plastic and shaped the way they are – to prevent the bottle from exploding if the carbonation builds up too much. Coming home to shattered glass and fermented foods covering your kitchen is no fun (trust me) and terrible to clean up, so to avoid that, just get these lids and never worry about that again!
The tops have an innovative design so that carbon dioxide is released through the slits, but no outside oxygen gets in that will spoil the ferment. Lactic acid fruit and vegetable ferments are anaerobic, so allowing too much oxygen into the jar will cause it to go rancid before it can build up enough acid to preserve the food.
When you first purchase your Pickle Pipes and start fermenting, you may see the top start to bubble up with pressure. Don’t worry if this happens! Sometimes the slit at the top of the pipe is stuck together and not allowed to open and release the gases. To fix this, you just need to squeeze the top open manually. Once you do that, it releases the slits and allows the Pickle Pipes to function normally.
In Summary…
You should absolutely buy these Pickle Pipes from Masontops and you should aim to buy them in both sizes. They make fermentation so easy and you never have to worry about shattered glass in your kitchen (or wherever you keep your ferments). It really becomes a “set it and forget it” type of process where you only need to watch for the ferment to finish instead of having to worry about a warm day or some bright sunlight causing it to produce too much gas and explode before you have a chance to burp the jars.
I also recommend setting your ferments on a tray or plate because if your ferment is very active and the liquid level is too high, the liquid can bubble out of the top of the Pickle Pipe. This prevents any glass shattering in your kitchen, but could create a bit of a liquid mess if you don’t have the jar on top of anything. A cheap tray from the dollar store or an extra plate from your pantry will do the job just fine.
The concept of having Pickle Pipes is basic, but it gives you peace of mind and removes one more daily chore from your list. The price point is totally reasonable so head over to Amazon here to pick up your wide mouth size and here for your regular mouth size. If you’re a first time fermenter, you can get their starter set here on Amazon which also contains glass weights and a sauerkraut pounder, both of which are great to have on hand as you’re building up your fermentation supplies!
