Equipment

Fermentation needs less gear than the catalogs suggest. The only items you cannot fake are a digital scale (because every salt % is by weight) and, for anything you intend to keep at room temperature long-term, a calibrated pH meter (because pH is the only safety test — taste is not). Everything else is convenience.

The two things that decide success

A ferment goes right when the salt is weighed accurately and the vegetables stay under the brine. A scale solves the first; a weight solves the second. Buy those before anything fancy.

Info

Salt by volume is unreliable: a level tablespoon of fine sea salt weighs roughly 18 g, but the same spoon of flaky Diamond Crystal kosher salt weighs about 10 g — a ~45% difference that moves a 2.5% brine to ~1.4% and out of the safe range. Always weigh. See the salt converter.

Required vs optional

Item	Status	Spec / why
Digital scale	Required	1 g resolution; 0.1 g for batches under ~500 g so the salt is accurate to ~0.1%. Tare function essential.
Fermentation vessel	Required	Wide-mouth jar, Fido/bail jar, or glazed crock. Glass, food-grade stainless, or unleaded stoneware only — never reactive bare metal.
Fermentation weight	Required	Glass disc, ceramic weight, or a brine-filled zip bag. Keeps veg below the brine; exposed veg molds.
Non-iodized salt	Required	Pure NaCl: pickling/canning salt, kosher, or fine sea salt. No iodine, no anti-caking agents (they cloud brine and can inhibit LAB).
Calibrated pH meter	Required for shelf-stable	Resolution 0.01, calibrated against pH 4.0 and 7.0 buffers before each session. Strips read in ~0.5 steps — fine for a rough gut-check, useless near the 4.6 line.
Airlock or pickle pipe	Optional	Vents CO₂ without letting air in. A loosely-set lid you “burp” daily works just as well.
Lid / silicone “pickle pipe”	Optional	Convenience over burping; not a safety device.
Thermometer	Optional	Useful to confirm your ferment sits in the 18–22 °C / 64–72 °F lacto band.
Mandoline / food processor	Optional	Uniform shreds ferment evenly; a knife is fine.

Caution

A pH meter is the only instrument that tells you a finished, shelf-stable ferment is safe. Strips and “it tastes sour” are not safety tests. If you cannot measure pH, keep the product refrigerated (2–4 °C) and treat it as a fresh food, not a shelf-stable one. For canning, follow a tested process from NCHFP.

Tip

Start with one wide-mouth quart jar, a pair of glass weights, a 0.1 g pocket scale, and a bag of pickling salt. That kit ferments kraut, pickles, and hot sauce — total cost under a fast-food lunch — and you can add a pH meter when you move to shelf-stable work.

Note

Reactive metals (aluminum, bare cast iron, copper, unlined steel) corrode in acid brine and can off-flavor or discolor the ferment. Stick to glass, glazed ceramic, food-grade plastic, or 18/8 stainless.

See also

• Safety First — the pH 4.6 line and the salt floor
• Your First Ferment — put the kit to work
• Glossary — terms used across the site
• Brine salinity calculator — size an equilibrium brine