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Comment by uxamanda | Hacker News Reader

Your method works, but to make it easier to keep the food below the brine, I put a tiny bowl (like you'd use for spices when prepping) inside the mason jar to push things down while still allowing it to bubble. Cover with a piece of cheesecloth and a rubber band.

Food below the brine is key, it will mold otherwise (as I've learned the hard way...).

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you can also get glass fermentation weights that are made to fit inside the mouths of mason jars. we've had good luck with those.

other nice simple one is the silicon nipple looking covers. just screw it onto the mason jar and it self burps

Yes for sure, I need to upgrade my system at some point. Another one I've used is a ziplock bag partly filled with water. I don't love the idea of plastic in fermentation, but it has worked in a pinch.

Look at e-jen containers, they're for kimchi normally but I use them for fermenting tons of things. They're great.

I wish that worked for me, I've found there are folds in the bag that seem to be good starting points for mold/infection. Unfortunately I'm not certain what in my process caused this, after a few tests I decided it wasn't for me.

Nipples are dandy, but one overlooked and very simple, effective method is a foodgrade plastic bag (sandwich, ziplock) placed over the mouth of the jar and held on with a rubber band. The flexibility of the rubber band allows gas to escape and if paranoid about the top layer, a leaf or more of cabbage (or something else) can help press the desirable layer beneath the brine. I've found that after 10-14 days the leaves become unappealing but do not affect anything beneath. Note: I ferment in Florida, with the AC rarely below 80f unless such occurs naturally. I have learned to increase the salt and decrease the time when the temp is above 77f.

Plastics do release (toxic?) subtances over time, especially in an acidic liquid.

I don't think he's describing the plastic being in the liquid, just acting as a form of lid that can release pressure.

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