The day my kimchi went fuzzy and I figured out my airlock was a lie

Honestly, I've been making kimchi for like 2 years and thought I had it down. I always used this cheap plastic airlock from Amazon that cost me $8. Last month I opened a batch after 5 days and it was fuzzy on top. I was so annoyed. Then my buddy who runs a small ferment shop in Portland told me to check the seal. Turns out my airlock wasn't even tight enough to keep oxygen out. I had been letting bad air in the whole time. Now I use a glass weight and a rubber gasket for $15 total. Has anyone else figured out their airlock was junk after a fuzzy batch?

3 comments

3 Comments

elliot_patel17d ago

and I read this thing from Sandor Katz (you know, the fermentation guy) where he basically said most cheap airlocks are more for show than function. Once I switched to a simple rubber stopper setup everything stopped molding up on me.

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ivanross17d ago

Honestly, the cheap airlock thing is so real. I had the same issue for months until I realized those little plastic three-piece ones were just letting too much air sneak past the gasket. Once you said "more for show than function" that clicked for me too. Ngl, I switched to a solid rubber bung with a drilled hole and a hose into a jar of water. It’s basically a homemade bubbler but way more consistent than those flimsy store bought ones. Tbh, I think a lot of those cheap airlocks are designed to look cool on a shelf rather than actually seal properly.

the_william17d ago

Totally agree, @ivanross. Sandor knows his stuff, those cheap ones are a joke lol.