Baechu kimchi
Napa cabbage salted, seasoned with a paste of gochugaru, garlic, ginger and salted seafood, and left to sour through lactic fermentation; Korea's everyday winter preserve.
Equipment · glass-vegetable-fermentation-jars
Wide-mouth glass vegetable fermenter
glass vegetable fermenting jar · wide-mouth fermentation jar
A modern wide-mouth glass jar for vegetable fermentation, often paired with a gas-release lid or airlock and follower weights. This accessory arrangement distinguishes it from general preserving jars and stoneware crocks.
A jar designed around vegetable fermentation
The defining form is a clear glass jar with a wide opening, sold or assembled for vegetable fermentation. The broad mouth gives direct access for packing vegetables, fitting an internal weight and removing the contents. A current Kilner 3 L set illustrates one specific configuration: the manufacturer's listing describes a glass jar, silicone lid, airlock and two ceramic weights. Its stated dimensions are 17 by 17 by 32 cm. Those details belong to that model, not every glass fermenting jar.
In a typical set, the weight presses buoyant pieces below the liquid while the closure accommodates gas from fermentation. The Kilner page says its lid and airlock release gases and its ceramic weights submerge the food. Airlock shapes, lid materials, jar shoulders and weight designs vary. Some jars are used with a vented cap or a loose cover instead; those arrangements should not be collapsed into one invented universal design.
Sources for this section
Fermenting jar, preserving jar and stoneware crock
This is not simply another name for a canning or preserving jar. Their glass bodies can overlap, and ordinary Mason jars can also be used for some vegetable ferments. The National Center for Home Food Preservation notes both that food-grade glass can substitute for a stone crock and that sauerkraut may be fermented in quart or half-gallon Mason jars. Here the distinction is the jar's intended fermentation arrangement—especially its internal follower weight and gas-managing closure—not glass as a material or an absolute ban on other jars.
The related stoneware crock is a different vessel class: it is a heavier fired-clay pot and may use a fitted lid, ceramic weights or a water-filled rim channel. Those features are not implied by a glass jar. Nor does a fermenting lid turn this jar into a heat-processing closure: Kilner lists its lid and airlock as fermentation-set components, while the archive's preserving-jar subject concerns sealed-container heat preservation. A glass fermenter can hold a batch during active fermentation; smaller storage jars can be used later, as the Kilner listing itself describes.
Sources for this section
How the components work together
Vegetables and brine occupy the jar; a follower weight helps restrain floating pieces below the liquid; the lid and its gas-release fitting manage the mouth during active fermentation. These are separate functions. NCHFP guidance describes keeping cabbage and cucumbers under brine and using a plate with weights in a larger vessel. In the purpose-built Kilner set, two ceramic weights replace that improvised plate-and-weight arrangement at small-jar scale. The jar itself does not determine salt concentration, temperature, acidity or completion. Use an appropriate tested method for the food rather than treating the equipment as process control.
The Kilner product page advises washing the set before use, avoiding direct boiling-water contact with its jar and handwashing the airlock. These are model-specific care instructions. Other brands and lids can differ, so follow the instructions for the particular jar and closure.
Sources for this section
Current examples and geographic limits
The type is contemporary household equipment, not a claim about a historical regional vessel tradition. Kilner's current UK product catalogue lists the 3 L fermentation set and gives the company's Liverpool address. That establishes a named current commercial example and UK-market documentation; it does not establish that this set is manufactured in Liverpool, or that wide-mouth glass fermenters originated in England. NCHFP's U.S. guidance provides a separate practical reference for glass containers and weighted vegetables, not a point of origin.
An outside photograph by Bdubay shows cabbage fermenting in a large clear glass jar with a metal twist cap. It is a useful visual record of cabbage inside a glass vessel, but it does not depict the Kilner airlock-and-weight set; its CC BY-SA 3.0 terms and attribution are recorded with the image.
History
The cited sources document current glass fermentation jars and a current Kilner 3 L accessory set, but do not establish when the equipment class began.
Equipment details
Made of
- Clear glass — jar body
The Kilner 3 L example is a clear glass jar; exact glass composition is not needed to define the equipment class. - Silicone — lid on the Kilner 3 L example
The manufacturer's product page specifies a silicone lid for this model. - Ceramic — follower weights on the Kilner 3 L example
The manufacturer lists two ceramic weights; not every product set necessarily uses these exact materials. - Airlock — gas-release fitting on the Kilner 3 L example
The product page lists an airlock but does not specify its material.
Places
United Kingdom
Documented use · Country evidenceKilner's UK product catalogue lists a current 3 L glass vegetable-fermentation set and gives a Liverpool business address. This records current UK commercial documentation, not where the jar is manufactured or where the type originated.
United States
Documented use · Country evidenceThe National Center for Home Food Preservation accepts glass containers for vegetable fermentation and describes Mason-jar kraut; this is U.S. guidance, not evidence of a U.S. origin.
Related
Used for
Red cabbage sauerkraut
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Sources
Kilner / Rayware LimitedForm · Materials · Capacity · Function · Care · Geography · Use
Fermentation Set 3 LitreThe current catalogue describes one 3 L glass jar with a silicone lid, airlock and two ceramic weights; it states dimensions of 170 × 170 × 320 mm and gives model-specific care instructions. The page lists vegetable-fermentation uses including sauerkraut and kimchi, and gives a Liverpool business address. It does not establish this set's manufacturing location or the class's origin.
Cited in: A jar designed around vegetable fermentation; Fermenting jar, preserving jar and stoneware crock; How the components work together; Current examples and geographic limits
National Center for Home Food Preservation, University of GeorgiaFunction · Comparison · Use
Suitable Containers, Covers, and Weights for Fermenting FoodThe guidance identifies food-grade glass as a substitute for stone crocks, says sauerkraut may be fermented in quart or half-gallon Mason jars, and describes keeping vegetables under brine with a plate and weights. It also notes that small Mason-jar fermentation may have more spoilage losses.
Cited in: Fermenting jar, preserving jar and stoneware crock; How the components work together; Current examples and geographic limits
Wikimedia CommonsVisual reference · Form · Rights
Sauerkraut Jar.jpgThe photograph shows cabbage and onions fermenting in a clear glass jar with a metal twist cap; it does not show the specified Kilner lid, airlock or follower weights. The file page records CC BY-SA 3.0 licensing and attribution to Bdubay.
Cited in: Current examples and geographic limits