5-Pack - Easy to Grasp - Grab Them with Tongs - Glass Fermentation Weights with Handles for Wide Mouth Mason Jars

I am new to fermenting, but I did a lot of research about airlocks and using glass weights, etc, and so I purchased 3 different glass weights (and 3 different airlocks). These are the best weights by far of the 3 I purchased (I purchase these, some "Nourished essentials" brand and some from "Galahome" which were part of a fermentation kit with another airlock design I wanted to try). Of the three, the design of these is the simplest, and such that the brine can be (and will be) release back into the jar without getting trapped into the weight itself when your vegetables (sauerkraut and kimchi in my case) expel gasses and rise. The "lip" on the handle does help tremendously when fishing it out if needed (I use gloves because I am paranoid) but with the other weights you will have a harder time because the brine can get trapped in the grooves and not be released back to the ferment itself. I check my ferments every couple of days, if the vegetables get too high, I gently press the weight back into the jar, and consequently the vegetables themselves. With this weight, the brine has always been above the vegetables every time, so repacking was probably unnecessary, but definitely easier. The glass is smooth as advertised. There are small bubbles inside the glass, but they are trapped and only add to the aesthetic appeal and don't harm the effectiveness of the weights themselves. So far I am very happy with the weights as they are the most effective in all aspects of their purpose. The only downside to these weights is the "1 per customer" restriction, I am not sure why that is but I will be ordering more if they let me.

Unlike most of the other canning weights I could find on here, these have flared handles. It's only a slight flare, but it's enough that I can grab a weight covered in water and yeast out of a jar with my bare hands, no problem. I haven't tried grabbing it with tongs as that seems pointless and just asking for a bad time. Heavy enough to keep batches of peppers, sliced radishes, or radish seed pods submerged. Weights are the perfect width for all the 1 pint wide mouth mason jars I've tried. Unfortunately, they're a bit too narrow to use alone in the quart size widemouth jars, since those get wider under the neck, but that's just how it is - I don't think you can manufacture a single-piece fermentation weight that is simultaneously narrow enough to fit in a wide mouth opening and wide enough to keep everything down in a quart size jar. However, there is an easy workaround if using a quart size jar: only ferment larger items, or (as is often suggested) stuff a large cabbage leaf over the top of everything you're fermenting, then place the weight on top of that.If you're like me and are stressing about finding the right canning weight or have spent way too long looking at every single glass canning weight offered on amazon, just pick this one. 4 stars for "easy to remove" just because I don't think it's a good idea to pick up these (or any) glass weights using tongs.

I don't understand the reviewers who say these are too narrow because they are a bit tricky to get through the top of a widemouth jar as it is and don't their jars have shoulders? At any rate, I haven't had mold or yeast film on sauerkraut since I started packing using these rings, lids, and weights, and no pickle book's recommendation for keeping sauerkraut under the brine EVER worked for me. Whitish yeast film at best, that plus mold most always.With these weights, Masontops Pickle Pipes, and Masontops Tough Rings, the brine is clear and the ferment clean and pleasant smelling. Also, the finished sauerkraut seems to stay crisp forever once I get it into the fridge. A few shreds of cabbage always escape (nothing I tried ever stopped that!) but they don't seem to mildew or soften.There are now other glass weights, but I really like the shape of the 'handle' -- easy to grip and tilt to get out of the jar.I give them a quick scalding under the tap when I stir the sauerkraut and re-pack, and wash by hand or in the dishwasher when the ferment is finished.Note: I ferment sauerkraut in quart glass jars and find Leifheit one-liter jars easier to work with than standard Mason jars. They need to be stood in paper bags to keep light out.

I was excited to use the weight in a big ferment I had planned. It kind of sunk to the middle of the ferment so that solids still came up and above it. I had an airlock, so it was ok in the end, but I guess I'll use these in really packed ferments from here on out.

After making my head spin reading all the reviews for glass weights similar to this product, I ended up purchasing these. Boy am I pleased! These weights are so perfect. They keep my veggies under the water and they are easy to grip to take out of your jar even if they are wet! So many reviews for other similar products mentioned the weights being difficult to get out. This product has a handle with a slight edge that makes it easy to grip and pull right out of the jar. I just made sauerkraut and the weights worked perfectly. I use these weights with wide mouth Ball canning jars. Overall I am so pleased with my purchase!