If you have a friend who absolutely LOVES fermenting and you want to get them some thoughtful fermentation gifts, this gift guide is for you! First of all, thank you for feeding that lucky person’s obsession! These are the perfect gifts for home fermenters and boy will he or she be happy!
1. Fermenting Vessels
In general, fermentation vessels make one of the best gifts for fermenters! As many as we have, it seems like we can never have enough. And then there’s that crushing moment when a favorite jar breaks. Our hunger for high quality jars to ferment in is practically insatiable!
I personally love Fido jars. If you are able to spring for Pickl-It airlock lids, even better! Fido jars are sold in 1/2L up to 5L. I mostly ferment in 2L and larger.
There are several other types of fermentation jars, here are just a few of them:
- E-Jen Containers with Inner Vacuum Lid
- Stoneware Fermentation Crock (crocks are heavy, but this one comes with weights and a kraut pounder, important to note as those are the next two items on this gift guide for fermenters!)
2. Weights
Weights help to keep food below the brine of the ferment and deter mold/yeast growth. There are many types, and many people who are frugal or new to fermenting don’t bother splurging on weights. Instead they might use a baggie filled with water, a rock, a small jar or something of the like. Getting fancy fermentation weights would be a thoughtful fermentation gift for sure!
Multiple weights are great as some ferments may use more than one, and of course because many of us obsessed with fermentation make multiple ferments at a time!
These are the weights I use, I get wide mouth because I use Fido jars.
3. Fermentation Tamper/Sauerkraut Pounder
Many fermenters just use their hands to push down the kraut, so a beautiful wooden tamper would make an amazing gift for home fermenters!
I love this one because it is beautiful and eco-friendly. It is made of acacia wood and you can use it to crush spices and herbs for food and beverages, too!
If you believe your fermenting friend/loved one would prefer stainless steel, then you may want to check this one out!
4. Mandoline/Kraut Shredder
I have been using the same mandoline for years to finely slice cabbage, onions, tomatoes and a variety of other things! But there are plenty out there, some more practical and some more decorative. There are also food processors that make great sticks, shreds, spirals, cubes and all sorts of interesting and fun shapes/textures to ferment foods!
Many people do all their cutting with a regular knife, and while it is possible, it tends to leave to uneven cuts and when fermenting large amounts it can cause muscle strain. Having special tools helps make the process easier!
Here is the mandoline I love.
Here are some other great tools that help to make preparing vegetables for fermenting easy and fun:
- Electric Slicer
- Mini Food Processor (chops and grinds)
- Multi-Function Food Processor (chops, grinds, dices, shreds, kneads, mixes)
- Wooden mandoline (made of wood and has an old-fashioned/vintage look)
- Deluxe Cabbage Shredder (this is for the expert sauerkraut fermenter who makes huge batches of kraut at a time! It makes cutting 100’s of lbs of cabbage in a very short amount of time a breeze!)
5. Decanting/Storage Bottles And Jars
Sometimes it is difficult to refrigerate our fermentation vessels, especially if they are huge. For this reason, decanting to storage jars is especially useful.
The same goes for fermented beverages–swing top bottles make perfect gifts for fermenters for two reasons. They make fizzier fermented drinks. They allow us to easily store in the fridge, sometimes in single serving bottles!
Smaller Fido jars as listed in section 1 make great storage jars. Bormioli Rocco, the company that makes Fido jars, also makes beautiful, strong swing-top jars. They are more pricey, but they are very well made, built to withstand the pressure of fermentation, and make amazing gifts!
Other great storage containers:
- 2L swing-top bottles
- 1.5L Fido Jars
- Wide-Mouth Mason Jars (if you can shop in person, you’ll typically find better prices at Walmart/Target!)
6. Dehydrator
A dehydrator can be used to dehydrate a variety of fruits and vegetables. It can also be used to dehydrate fermented goods, spices, seasonings, etc.! Large ones can also be used to ferment yogurt. This totally belongs on this list of fermentation gifts because it can be used to ferment, and it’s also likely that your fermenting friend loves to prep foods for long-term storage in this way as well!
I love my Excalibur 9-Tray dehydrator and have been using it for around 7 years now! The trays are removable to make enough space to hold Fido/mason jars.
7. Yogurt Maker
I personally love homemade yogurt and think it’s the only kind of yogurt worth consuming! Aside from having full control over what milk you use and what you put inside your yogurt, fresh yogurt also has a higher probiotic content and did I mention how delicious it tastes?
Before I was gifted my Excalibur dehydrator one wonderful Christmas day, I used to use this smaller yogurt maker. It wasn’t great for making larger batches for my family, but would work perfectly for someone who is only making yogurt for themselves.
Here are other products you may consider getting if you choose this yogurt maker:
- Extra Jars
- Extension Unit (allows you to make double the amount of yogurt at the same time)
- A dimmer switch (useful if your fermenting friend is on the GAPS/SCD Diet, and needs to ferment yogurt for 24 hours as this machine does not maintain temperature well if ran for extended periods of time)
Related Posts: Gifts For Yogurt Lovers | Gifts For Kefir Lovers
8. Starter Cultures
Starter cultures are not necessary for every ferment, but for things like milk kefir, water kefir, and yogurt, they are essential! I also personally prefer to use an established starter for sourdough and love this free one most.
When it comes to grains for making kefir, I much prefer live, active grains to dehydrated grains. While they require some attention as soon as you receive them, they are proven to work. Dehydrated starters sometimes don’t activate, or have lingering issues.
Here are some of the starter cultures you should consider gifting your friend who loves fermenting! These are the best of the best, from people/companies I personally get starter cultures from!
I highly recommend buying live, active milk kefir grains on Etsy. You can purchase directly from me through my Etsy shop by clicking here.
- This water kefir starter kit comes with water kefir grains and other essential supplies. I have not bought grains from this seller before, but the kit does seem convenient!
9. Sourdough Supplies
This section is probably one of my favorite. I absolutely adore sourdough! There are also so many fabulous products out there to help you make the most beautiful, airy sourdough loaves.
This starter kit has everything you would want to get started!
Additionally, these make super thoughtful gift for people who love to make their own sourdough!
- Grain Mill (for grinding fresh flour and making the most amazing bread!)
- A beautiful lame (to score designs on sourdough boules)
- Professional Dough Couche (for making delicious baguettes, comes with a lame)
- Silicone bread maker (to bake beautiful, moist, crusty bread in!)
- Dutch Oven (for baking beautiful loaves in)
- KitchenAid mixer (for automatic dough mixing & multiple other purposes!)
- Decorative banneton proofing baskets (these imprint awesome designs and make amazing gifts for sourdough bakers!)
