Wasted $80 on a fancy fermentation crock that cracked in 2 weeks

I bought this nice stoneware crock from a local shop in Portland, thought I was getting a deal. Set up my first batch of sauerkraut, had the weights and everything. Around day 10 I noticed a small hairline crack on the outside, figured it was just a glaze thing. Then day 14 I find brine leaking all over my counter, the crack went all the way through. Contacted the shop and they said no returns because it was a clearance item. Now I'm out $80 and stuck using a cheap glass jar I got for free. Has anyone else had stoneware fail on them like this, or did I just pick a bad brand?

2 comments

2 Comments

shane24412d ago

Oh man, is that the one from that shop on Hawthorne by any chance? I had the exact same thing happen with a similar stoneware crock I bought at a farmers market last fall. Mine looked beautiful on the shelf, all handcrafted and rustic, but around day 12 of my first batch of pickles I found this tiny crack near the bottom that just grew and grew until it was weeping brine like a sad little faucet. The seller basically told me tough luck since it was "artisanal and can have minor imperfections" which is code for "yeah, it's gonna crack, sorry." Honestly I've switched to using those big glass pickle jars I get from the deli and they work way better for like 1/100th of the price, so maybe you dodged a bullet on future frustration.

patp7912d agoTop Commenter

Artisanal stuff is usually just marketing for lower quality control these days.