Serious question, has anyone else had a fermenter lid blow off? Happened to me in my kitchen last Tuesday.

I was doing a big batch of kimchi in my 5 gallon glass jar, the kind with the airlock lid. I guess I packed it too tight or the cabbage was extra juicy, because after about 36 hours I heard this loud POP from the pantry. The lid and airlock shot off like a rocket, hitting the ceiling, and kimchi brine sprayed everywhere. My whole kitchen smelled like garlic and fish sauce for two days. I lost about a quart of liquid and had to clean the walls. Now I'm paranoid and leave my jars in a big plastic tub for the first few days, just in case. Has anyone found a better way to handle really active veggie ferments so you don't have a mess?

3 comments

3 Comments

grantt112mo ago

Ever had a kraut volcano? My sauerkraut did the same thing, lid blew and left cabbage on the ceiling. I just use a bigger bucket now and leave way more headspace.

bettywilson2mo ago

Honestly @grantt11, how did you even get cabbage on the ceiling?

the_drew1mo ago

Wait, were you using one of those glass jars with the rubber gasket and clamp lid? Cause those can actually hold WAY more pressure than a regular airlock jar lets out, I had a batch of tepache pop the rubber seal clean off last summer and it sounded like a gunshot. Switch to a jar with just an airlock and no compression seal, that stopped it for me.