TIL my airlock-free crock outdoes my fancy jar setup every time

I ran a side-by-side with two batches of hot sauce, one in a $45 glass jar with an airlock and one in a plain old stone crock with just a cloth and a rubber band. After 3 weeks in my basement at about 68 degrees, the crock batch had a deeper, funkier flavor and way less kahm yeast on top. The airlock batch tasted fine but flat, like something was missing. I think the cloth lets a tiny bit of oxygen in, which helps the good microbes work harder. Has anyone else found that simpler setups beat the fancy gear for flavor?

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the_mary12d ago

Oh man, that totally tracks with a fermentation book I read last year, the author swore by open crocks for the exact reason you found, that tiny oxygen exchange keeps the lactic acid bacteria happier and more active. I’ve seen the same thing with my own sauerkraut, cloth-covered crocks always get a nicer tang while my airlock jars turn out kind of one-note. Guess sometimes the old school way really does win, even if it looks less fancy.