Nik Schmitt Fermenting Crock Pots 5 Liter

This crock is a great size for "smaller" batches of sauerkraut or other vegetables. Two heads of cabbage fill the crock approximately half-way. It has a nice wide mouth, which makes it easy to place your vegetables inside. The two stones are a good weight and fit into the crock very nicely. The lid and mouth design are a great idea - pouring a bit of water adds an additional seal to keep air and bacteria out of the crock, but still allows the carbon dioxide to escape. The finish on the crock is consistent and very well done. I would like the handles to be slightly larger to provide a better grip when moving the crock when it contains vegetables. But, the handles being slightly small for me was certainly not enough to lower the rating. It is a great crock for fermenting vegetables!

I have a genuine Gartopf Fermenting Crock and there is no comparison. The Nik Schmitt Fermenting Crock I received is defective. It has so many imperfections in the glaze that I gave up counting them. It is as if there is sand in the glaze. One glob of glaze in the water seal channel prevented the lid from sitting flush as designed. This glob of glaze measures approximately 1/4 inch long X 1/8 inch wide X 1/16 inch high and is surrounded with space with no glaze at all. Overall, the glaze is uneven in thickness. In addition, the lid was chipped due to poor packaging. Final quality control inspection would easily prevent this particular crock from being shipped. I received a refund from Amazon for the cost of the product and I was told not to return it. I bought this for a birthday gift, so my experience has been especially disappointing and inconvemient. I would have given this product a zero rating, but one star was the lowest rating available.

Excellent price and very well made. I used it immediately. Works well. I love it.

This product arrived in perfect condition. I have my first batch of sauerkraut fermenting now. The included recipes were useful, but perhaps not adjusted to the size of the pot. The Sauerkraut recipe calls for 25kg of cabbage, which would never fit. I could fit two heads of cabbage into the pot and (barely) place the weights on the shredded cabbage. What I did was to shred 1 head of cabbage and massage 1.5tbsp of sea salt in to it in a large bowl, and then put the cabbage into the pot. I did the same with the second head. I used a tamper (purchased separately) to press this down. This mixture shrank to about 1/2 of the pot within 12 hrs or so, and within about 48 hrs, the liquid was above the weighting stones. At 3 days, the cabbage is already tasting pretty good!

After only being used twice, the glaze on this crock failed leading to leaching of the brine to the outside of the crock. This is called glaze crazing and is the result of faulty glaze in the manufacturing process. I would recommend a person choose a different manufacturer.

The Germans have created a perfect form for this function! It's easy to use, clean and I find it attractive too! The weight is a necessary component, so why buy it as an option with the other brands? I'm very pleased with my crock and the incredible cultured vegetables I ferment in it! I've had it for 5 months now and it is always in use... I expect that this will be an heirloom for the next generation, it's that well made!

Ibgot the 5ltr pot. Flawless craftsmanship. Comes with stone weights and was packaged very well. I right down to shredded 3 heads of cabbage. Tamped down it filled the pot just over halfway. The hardest part will be to remain patient while delicious Sauerkraut is under way.

Have used to make Kimchi and fermented pickles and it works like a dream. Delivery was quick and the thing was packaged with enough bubble wrap and foam to withstand being launched from a catapult. Nice quality with my only knock being the handles which are just slippery angled protrusions.