What we publish, and where it comes from
Every figure on this site is traceable. Specifications carry the sheet they come from, research carries its authors and its year, and the rating carries the number of buyers behind it. Nothing here is rounded to sound better.
What a jar has to satisfy
Five properties decide whether a jar is worth keeping on a counter for years. They are the reason this one is the only jar on the site.
- Readability. A printed scale on the glass, in units fine enough to tell a double from a half-rise. This jar is marked every 100 ml from 100 to 900, readable at arm's length in ordinary kitchen light.
- Temperature. A reading taken from the glass itself rather than the room. The stick-on strip covers 64 to 93 °F, which spans a cold winter counter and a warm summer kitchen.
- Cleaning. Straight walls, so a spatula takes the whole side down in one pass and nothing collects under a shoulder.
- Handling. A 3.9 in mouth and a shape you can hold full in one hand. A jar that is awkward when loaded is a jar that ends up in a cabinet.
- Gas. A lid that rests rather than seals, so carbon dioxide leaves at the culture's most active and condensation does not fog the scale.
Where the numbers come from
There are two kinds on this site, and each is labeled.
Technical sheet. Capacity, dimensions, heat rating, the range of the thermometer strip. These are the figures published for the product, cited as such, and reproduced without rounding.
Published research. Where we cite a study we name it, its authors and its year, so you can go and read it. The 500-starter survey published in eLife in 2021 is the one that comes up most, because it is the largest of its kind and it reframes a lot of received wisdom about how starters behave.
Where a figure is a calculation rather than a specification — the headroom table on the home page is one — the arithmetic is shown so you can check it against the capacity yourself.
The reviews
The rating on this site comes from verified buyers of this jar, and every written review appears with the photo its own author sent. They are on the reviews page, in their own words.
Who writes here
Nora Whitfield has kept a rye starter since 2016 and has written about home fermentation for eight years. Everything published on this site is signed, and the guides are written for the question a baker actually asks rather than the one that ranks.
Behind every order
A 30-day money-back guarantee with free returns, and free shipping in both directions. The risk sits with us. If the jar does not suit your kitchen, send it back and we will refund it.