Okay, now I have a starter and need a jar. Do I need something special. Certainly can do better than the expensive one from KA. My big question is does it have to have air flowing or does it need a tight seal? Can I use a mason jar with the metallic lid? Can I use a quart canister that has a rubber seal and a small metal clamp? Maybe it is not that important, but I want to do this right. Thanks for your help.
New Baker
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I put my starter in a plastic container - not too tight of a lid is best - you want to be able to have the sir expand. Once it starts to double - if you're not using it pop it in the fridge. Good luck!
I buy jars from thrift stores - the type with a clamp and rubber gasket. I remove the gasket and in fact sometimes they are already missing. The jars are easy to clean and can go through the dishwasher. A.
seems to be the choice of many SD bakers. If you keep your starter on the counter, feeding it often, leave the top loose about one turn so that carbon dioxide pressure doesn't build up. If you keep it in the refrigerator, feeding it infrequently. Leave the top loose for 36 hours after you feed it, then it's OK to tighten it. The yeast and bacteria activity will have gone dormant in that time.
I only keep 150g of starter (stored in the refrigerator) I found snap-top, reasonably widemouth pint-sized glass jars at Goodwill: $1.00 each.
David G
I use the cheap, nearly throwaway plastic containers available in WalMart or supermarkets marketed by companies such as Glad or the generic equivalent. They're small- I try not to keep a lot of starter, they won't break if dropped, the level of starter is visible, and the top will pop off if the gas pressure builds up. Admittedly, they're not elegant but I already had quite a few and they serve the purpose.
I found some plastic containers with a little vent hole in the lid that you can open or snap shut.I think they are made for hot liquid storage so when the liquid ( soup maybe ) cools down you can snap it shut.I think I found these at Meijers ( In Michigan ) and they come in different sizes.
I have tried a variety of crockery but have found, as others here have, that the 1 qt wide-mouth Mason jar is the best. Always leave the ring loosely closed (to allow fermentation gases to escape). These are readily available, easy to clean and because they are glass, you can readily see the fermentation process in action.
...are good bets for pottery jars and the like at a good price. I picked up a 1 qt blue crock with lid (and a porcelean duck for a handle no less) for a couple of bucks.