With lacto-fermentation, choosing the right fermentation vessel can make the difference between a successful batch of crisp, flavorful pickles and a disappointing jar of what may as well be garbage. Your choice of container also determines which scales you'll be able to operate at. You don't see bulk food products being distributed in glass gallon jars, right? The container you ferment in, whether it’s a mason jar, ceramic crock, plastic bucket, or stainless steel drum, directly influences its utility for your use-case in addition to the safety, flavor, and consistency of your results. Each material interacts with the ferment differently, affecting temperature stability, oxygen exposure, and even the ease of cleaning and maintenance.

For beginners working in a home kitchen, the decision often comes down to convenience and availability. For larger-scale or commercial fermenters, cost, durability, and regulatory compliance play a bigger role. Understanding the strengths and weaknesses of each storage option helps prevent contamination, ensures a proper anaerobic environment, and keeps your finished product both safe and delicious.

In this article, I’ll compare common container types used for lacto-fermentation and examine their materials, capacities, advantages, and drawbacks so you can choose the most suitable vessel for your goals, whether you’re fermenting a single head of cabbage or a fifty-gallon batch of sauerkraut.

Small Scale: Home Kitchens

For small-batch fermentations in your home kitchen, practicality and accessibility are key. You don’t need specialized equipment to get started, and in fact many of the best containers for home use are inexpensive, easy to find, and perfectly suited to small quantities of vegetables or dairy. You problably already have a number of suitable vessels on hand. The most common options include glass jars, ceramic crocks, and food-grade plastic containers, each with distinct advantages.

I'd recommend determining your desired batch size first. Do you want to start with a quart? A gallon? Five gallons? I recommend starting with a quart or half-gallon. Any smaller than a quart and the ferment becomes much more susceptible to changes in the temperature of the environment. It also just seems a little silly to wait a whole week or two for what amounts to a few bites of sauerkraut or a handful of pickles.

When thinking about the size of your ferments, it's helpful to know how much of your chosen vegetable you'll need to fill each vessel. It is, by the way, very important that you completely fill your vessel, leaving a small amount of room for expansion as the microbes start to release gas.

As an example, I can usually pack six or seven medium-sized cabbages into a gallon container before it's sufficiently full.

Most Convenient

At small scales up to about a gallon, glass is perfectly servicable. My glass gallon jar fits neatly into the door of my fridge, so it's easy to stop the fermentation process once it gets to where I like it. It also fits on the bottom shelf of the fridge, too. The only qualms I have about the thing is that it seems pretty fragile. I find myself being pretty careful when pressing cabbage into it because the bottom of the jar seems relatively thin for its size. Moving the thing when it's full is also a slightly harrowing experience.

The advantages of glass, on the other hand, are its non-reactivity, ease of cleaning, resistance to scratches, and its transparency. It's nice to be able to see through it to get a sense of how it's progressing without disturbing it. By non-reactivity, I mean it won’t absorb or leach flavors, acids, or salts. This can be a problem for poorly-made ceramic pieces, and plastic totally immune from this issue, either.

Plastic vessels, on the other hand, are also lightweight, durable, and inexpensive, which makes them very incredibly convenient at any scale, including small scales like you'd find in a home kitchen. In fact, I think you'll find that as you increase the scale of your production you'll increasingly come to appreciate this option.

For home cooks, the key is ensuring that the plastic is food-safe and non-reactive. Look for containers labeled HDPE (High-Density Polyethylene), PP (Polypropylene), or sometimes LDPE (Low-Density Polyethylene). These plastics are widely used in commercial food handling because they resist acids and salts, which are both central to lacto-fermentation. Avoid containers made from polycarbonate or unlabeled plastics, as they can leach harmful compounds like BPA or absorb strong flavors and colors over time.

The biggest caveat with regard to plastic containers: you may want to have dedicated containers for your most pungent ferments, like kimchi or garlic-heavy recipes, whose aromas tend to stick to the plastic and influence future batches made in the vessel. Proper maintenance of these containers can mitigate this somewhat, but in my experience it's just not as easy as with glass.

Most Authentic

Ceramic crocks have a deep and widespread history in food preservation. Long before glass jars and modern plastics were available, earthenware and stoneware vessels were the cornerstone of fermentation in homes and farmsteads across the world. In Europe, particularly in Germany, Poland, and Scandinavia, ceramic crocks were central to sauerkraut and pickle-making traditions, often kept in cool cellars throughout the winter. In East Asia, similar clay or earthenware jars, such as the onggi in Korea, douqi in China, and tsubo in Japan, were (and still are) used for fermenting kimchi, miso, soy sauce, and rice-based ferments. Each culture refined its own vessel design, but the underlying principles were the same: durable, non-reactive, and capable of maintaining a stable environment for beneficial microbes to thrive.

For the modern home fermenter, ceramic crocks bring both functional and aesthetic advantages. Their thick, insulating walls buffer temperature changes, which helps maintain consistent fermentation even in cooler or fluctuating home environments. This temperature stability promotes more even lactic acid production and can enhance flavor complexity. Ceramics are non-reactive and impermeable when properly glazed, so they won’t leach chemicals or metallic flavors into the brine, the key phrase here being "properly glazed."

I've had some bad experiences with ceramic vessels with bad glazing. I had a three-gallon crock with a water-sealed lid that I used to use for sauerkraut and pickled cucumbers. I probably used it for six months to a year before I noticed the outside of the vessel would become encrusted in mineral deposits (mostly salt) when I had a ferment going in it. This is usually an indicator of an incomplete, cracked, or porous glaze.

The ceramic body beneath the glaze (the clay itself) is porous by nature. If the glaze layer has tiny pinholes, thin spots, or microcracks, salty brine can slowly seep through by capillary action. As the liquid reaches the outer surface, it evaporates, leaving salt deposits behind. Over time, this can also cause damp patches or “weeping” around the crock’s base or sides.

In a well-made and properly fired crock, the glaze should form a continuous glass-like seal, making it impermeable to both liquid and salt. So visible salt deposits are a clear sign that the glaze failed in some area, which is less-than-ideal for fermentation. The seeping moisture can weaken the structure, harbor bacteria in microscopic cracks, or eventually cause spalling (flaking). If the glaze flaw extends deep enough, it might also leach minerals from the clay body into the brine.

If you need to test a suspect vessel in the future, you can do a simple leak test: fill the crock with plain water and leave it overnight or for a few days. If you see moisture or salt marks appearing on the outside, that confirms it’s not fully vitrified or sealed.

Medium Scale: Artisans and Ambitious Home Cooks

For those who’ve mastered the basics of small-batch fermentation and are ready to expand their production, medium-scale setups bridge the gap between home kitchen convenience and small business practicality. This stage often includes artisanal producers, farm-to-market fermenters, or serious home enthusiasts who make gallons rather than quarts at a time. At this level, equipment choices begin to resemble those used in commercial kitchens, emphasizing efficiency, safety, and scalability, without sacrificing the quality and nuance that define handcrafted ferments.

Large Ceramic Crocks

Large ceramic crocks remain a traditional favorite among artisan sauerkraut and kimchi makers. Their thick walls stabilize temperature over long ferments, and many offer built-in water seals to maintain an anaerobic environment with minimal maintenance. They excel at producing consistent, richly flavored batches, especially in cooler cellar conditions. However, their size and weight become more challenging to manage. They can be difficult to move when full, and cleaning them thoroughly between batches takes effort. A five- or ten-gallon crock, while beautiful and effective, requires both physical space and a careful handling routine.

Food-Grade Plastic Buckets & Barrels

Food-grade plastic barrels (HDPE or PP) are increasingly common among small producers and ambitious home cooks who value practicality over tradition. They’re available in a wide range of volumes, from 5 to 50 gallons, and are easy to find through restaurant supply stores or online food processing suppliers. Their biggest advantages are lightweight durability and affordability. They can be fitted with tight-sealing lids, spigots for easy brine draining, and airlocks for gas release. Because they’re non-breakable and easier to sanitize than ceramic, they’re particularly useful for those fermenting large quantities of vegetables, kimchi, or hot sauce. The main drawback is that plastic can absorb odors over time, and older containers can scratch or stain, so it’s important to reserve them exclusively for fermentation.

Stainless Steel Vessels

Stainless steel containers represent a higher investment but offer near-perfect sanitary control. Grade 304 or 316 stainless steel is fully non-reactive, resists corrosion even in acidic environments, and can last decades with proper care. For medium-scale fermenters, stainless steel vessels with tight-sealing lids or built-in airlocks combine professional quality with longevity. They’re also much easier to clean and sanitize, a critical advantage when cycling through multiple batches or experimenting with different vegetables. The main tradeoff is cost: stainless equipment can be several times more expensive than plastic. For those planning to ferment regularly or sell their products, it’s an investment in both safety and consistency.

Another important advantage over plastic: imperviousness to flavor and aroma absorption. You can ferment garlic-heavy kimchi one week and a delicate batch of carrots the next without cross-contamination or lingering smells. The smooth, non-porous surface makes cleaning easy. All it needs is a rinse with hot water and a mild detergent (or a quick pass with a steam sanitizer) to restores it to its original, pristine state. This level of hygiene is why stainless steel dominates commercial food production: it simply doesn’t hold onto residues that can interfere with the next batch.

For medium-scale fermenters, stainless steel comes in several practical forms. If you have a large stock pot with a tight-fitting lid, it can double as a fermentation vessel. If you need even larger containers, there are stainless steel drums and tanks of various dimensions and volumes, like the 55-gallon drum.

Large Scale: From Artisan to Systems of Production

At the larger scales, when fermentation shifts from a craft to a system of production, the priorities change fundamentally. What once revolved around flavor nuance and artisanal charm now must also balance efficiency, hygiene, consistency, and regulatory compliance. Whether you’re a small food business producing hundreds of jars per month or a full-fledged fermentation company supplying restaurants and distributors, the choice of storage vessel becomes an operational decision, not just a culinary one.

Stainless Steel Tanks

At this level, stainless steel reigns supreme. Large fermenters are typically made from 304 or 316 food-grade stainless steel, engineered with fittings for temperature probes, sampling ports, drainage valves, and CIP (clean-in-place) systems. These tanks are designed to be airtight, easy to sterilize, and completely non-reactive, which ensures consistent microbial environments and repeatable flavor profiles batch after batch. Some systems even feature jacketed walls for temperature control, allowing warm fermentation for lactic acid bacteria or cooler conditions for prolonged storage, along with built-in pressure vents for CO₂ management.

In contrast to traditional crocks or open vats, these vessels allow fermentation to occur in controlled anaerobic environments, minimizing contamination risks. For products sold commercially, like sauerkraut, kimchi, pickles, hot sauce, kefir, or kombucha, these sanitary controls aren’t just about quality, they’re a regulatory requirement. Food safety plans under the FDA’s FSMA (Food Safety Modernization Act) demand that producers maintain traceable, controlled processes for any food that undergoes microbial transformation. Stainless steel fermenters and brine tanks simplify compliance by providing measurable, cleanable, and auditable conditions.

However, stainless systems also come with significant investment costs. Even modestly sized fermentation tanks (100–300 liters) can cost thousands of dollars, not counting accessories like fittings, gaskets, and temperature control systems. This expense often pushes smaller-scale artisans toward a hybrid approach, using large food-grade plastic brine tanks or drums for active fermentation, then transferring finished products into stainless tanks or smaller vessels for storage and packaging.

Plastic Drums

High-density polyethylene (HDPE) drums, ranging from 15 to 55 gallons, are common in mid-tier production environments. They’re affordable, lightweight, and resistant to acid and salt, making them suitable for bulk vegetable ferments or brine aging. Many are available with airtight lids, spigots, or bung openings that accommodate airlocks. The main drawbacks are longevity and sanitation: over years of repeated use, even high-quality plastics can scratch and absorb strong odors, which risks cross-contamination. Therefore, most serious producers treat plastic as almost disposable goods, rotating or replacing vessels regularly to maintain food safety standards.

Some operations also use fiberglass-reinforced plastic (FRP) tanks or food-grade epoxy-lined concrete vats, especially in traditional or industrial contexts such as European sauerkraut factories or East Asian soy sauce breweries. These materials balance cost with scalability, though they require careful maintenance to prevent surface degradation and ensure non-reactivity with acidic brines.

Some Final Notes on Scale

At the larger scales, you start to enter the territory of process engineering. You're no longer just cooking. You're maintaining a whole system with moving parts, dependencies, and all the problems that implies. For producers transitioning from artisanal to industrial, the vessel becomes part of a system: tanks, pipelines, chillers, and filtration units all working together. Stainless steel may seem sterile and soulless compared to the hand-packed crocks of old, but it represents the culmination of centuries of experimentation, a way to preserve the ancient art of lacto-fermentation with the precision and safety demanded by modern food production.