& design studio
I am a enthusiastic fermenter and began creating these fermentation crocks to use in my own kitchen. Over the years, I have prototyped many different designs and have found that a simple traditional open crock is the easiest & most straight forward. I love teaching folks about the beauty & simplicity + radical nature of fermentation and am the founder of Boston Ferments and the Boston Fermentation Festival.
the crocks
For the folks that love to ferment sauerkraut, kimchee and pickle vegetables at home, my handcrafted ceramic fermentation crocks are perfect! They are handmade and hold close to one gallon. Each crock also has a lid that fits inside to weight down the vegetables and hold them submerged under water -- so they ferment. They utilize the 'open crock' method endorsed by Sandor Katz which is the simplest & most straight-forward. My stoneware crocks are made with thick sides for good temperature regulation and they are fired to a very high temperature (over 2200 degrees) for durability. I use all non-toxic materials too so they are safe.
how to ferment using my crocks
If you've never tried it, fermenting & pickling is easy, ancient, low-tech & healthy. I often explain that making your own sauerkraut requires only 3 ingredients: cabbage, salt & time. It is super easy and my crocks are super helpful. And eating live fermented foods promotes diversity among microbial cultures in your body. Check out my step-by-step instructions on how to ferment plus lots of recipes here. And purchase my crocks online.
media on my
fermenation crocks
**interested in my wholesale fermentation crocks? please contact me!
handmade fermentation crocks
the politics of fermentation
Many of my crocks state 'ferment' on the front and 'foment' on the back. According to Merriam, 'foment' means, 'to promote growth or development,' and is synonymous with instigate, incite, or provoke. These words all nicely describe what is happening inside the crock, where micro-organisms are fomenting, growing, creating lactic acid, and changing the veggies into nutritious & tasty fermented food. And on a deeper level, to foment can mean to provoke change as in, 'fomenting a revolution.' In a way, the type of wild fermentation that these crocks lead to IS a revolution. It is a transformation of both food & our food systems. Its a bit of an uprising against our homogeneous food system. In fact, fermentation is the opposite of homogeneity and uniformity - so these crocks will help us create our own heterogeneous DIY fermented foods in our kitchens and foment both health & diversity!