buying fermentation crocks in Canada = crooks?

Coming from Europe I was wondering if anyone knows why quality fermentation crocks cost so much in Canada/united states.

Not sure whether I am allowed to post an example link of prices in Europe otherwise I would, but you can find 5 liter ones for under 20 euro. The cheapest I could find in Canada is just under $60, which is like double the price.

Could anyone point to a source of quality crocks in Canada which is not crooked (ripping off prices)? Thanks!

Yeah. They are (almost) all made in Europe, and shipping plus limited market makes them EXPENSIVE here. Only U.S. made one I know of is priced just as high.

Gallon pickle jar and a wine fermentation airlock cap.

There are a couple of ways to find cheap ones. One is at a garage sale or thrift store of course. Just try to find one where you can put some kind of a plate in it,and then something heavy like a rock to keep it down. If it fits your'e in cheaply. ANother possibility is Ace Hardware, which in the United States will deliver them from Ohio Stoneware, for free to your local Ace. I have no financial connection w ith them, it's just where I got a high quality, lead-free, large crock with no shipping cost.
John S
PDX OR

You see the same message over and over, the darn things are so expensive.
It doesn't have to be pottery, as a matter of fact I think glass is a better product for this application. For the last couple of years I've been using a glass cylinder about 4" by 16" and it's been fantastic.
The crock itself isn't really the hard part, it's getting a good weight to hold things down whether you have a little or a lot in your container. Most crocks are tapered and something that fits well at the bottom is a sloppy fit near the top.
Tall and skinny makes for a consistent amount of liquid above the food for a perfect ferment every time. Clear means you can see whats going on at all times in the fermenter.
This particular one is a glass vase but I'm looking for a supplier of something a bit thicker and stronger. I used a disk cut from a plastic cutting board and a jar of water for weight.
A plastic 2l ice cream tub does a fine job of an airlock - I haven't needed to skim anything off the surface since I started using this system.
http://i828.photobucket.com/albums/zz206/Indyyeti/GEDC1418_zpse2222c96.jpg
I'll let you guys in on a little secret - a much refined product will be for sale "soon" at a very reasonable price.

Watch for the Zeli Veda fermenter. You saw it here first!!

Glass is a good deal and can be bought easily at thrift stores and garage sales. I wouldn't use a plastic container or lid with something acidic like sauerkraut. Eating plastic is a toxin. Especially because in the winter I leave some of them in for a month or longer. My two cents.
JohN S
PDX OR

1 gallon pickle jars are the cheapest easiest way I have found to do a decent volume in glass. otherwise 2 quart mason and 1 qt mason jars all work well. Unless you were going to do 40 gallon of kraut this works great.

The ball pint and a half asparagus jars are great for small batches. Narrow mouth plastic kids make goods "stones"

Roy Hinkley wrote:You see the same message over and over, the darn things are so expensive.
It doesn't have to be pottery, as a matter of fact I think glass is a better product for this application. For the last couple of years I've been using a glass cylinder about 4" by 16" and it's been fantastic.
The crock itself isn't really the hard part, it's getting a good weight to hold things down whether you have a little or a lot in your container. Most crocks are tapered and something that fits well at the bottom is a sloppy fit near the top.
Tall and skinny makes for a consistent amount of liquid above the food for a perfect ferment every time. Clear means you can see whats going on at all times in the fermenter.
This particular one is a glass vase but I'm looking for a supplier of something a bit thicker and stronger. I used a disk cut from a plastic cutting board and a jar of water for weight.
A plastic 2l ice cream tub does a fine job of an airlock - I haven't needed to skim anything off the surface since I started using this system.
http://i828.photobucket.com/albums/zz206/Indyyeti/GEDC1418_zpse2222c96.jpg
I'll let you guys in on a little secret - a much refined product will be for sale "soon" at a very reasonable price.

Watch for the Zeli Veda fermenter. You saw it here first!!

I like how you can order a framed print of the photo!!!

Seriously, some good improv, I've used a glass paperweight in the past and I'm trialling an old coffee jar - it's not air tight because I took the cardboard bit out of the lid so still lets gases out when it's closed.

I use glass "cookie jar" type containers from Walmart/target. Total cost $5-6 each. The larger of the two I got from Walmart was 2 gallon I think and probably 12" inside diameter, either way it holds more kraut than I could ever begin to use. Purchased weight stones fit it well also.

Personally I find them preferable as I can actually see what's going on in the brine, handy as the first time I tried I got some kind of infestation in the jar lol.

I like glass too. It's far too easy for nasty bacteria to hide in a tiny, almost invisible crack in pottery.
Large diameters allow too much surface area to be exposed to the air inviting contamination and most of all evaporation of the brine. If any of your contents are exposed to the air it's the death of your batch.