Canning and Preserving Batch Record
Trace any jar on the shelf back to the day it was filled, the produce that went into it and the recipe you worked from.
HP-05 1 page
Food preservation and pantry · HP-07
Fermentation Batch Record
A free printable fermentation record — one jar or crock from start to cold storage, with the brine or culture as you made it and a dated line for each day you check it.
Download Free · no sign-up
One page. Choose your paper size — both versions are laid out identically, so neither one gets shrunk to fit.
Print it and write on it
Fill it in type and save
The fillable versions have real form fields — open them in any PDF reader, type into them and save. Printing help.
What this sheet is for
Learn what your own kitchen does to a ferment, by keeping the day-by-day observations that tell you why one batch worked and the next one did not.
Who it is for
Anyone fermenting vegetables, kraut, kimchi, pickles, kefir or a sourdough starter at home, and small producers keeping a record per vessel.
How to use it
- Fill in the header block once: what is fermenting, the vessel and the date started.
- Write your brine or culture into the block as you actually made it.
- Add one line each time you look at the jar — appearance, smell, taste and anything you did.
- Record burping, topping up or skimming in its own column so the pattern is visible.
- Write in the date it went to cold storage as soon as it moves.
What is on the sheet
One page, top to bottom:
Printed under the title: One ferment from start to cold storage — what is in the jar, the brine or culture as you made it, and a dated line for each time you looked at it.
Write in your own brine or culture. Salt ratios, culture quantities and how long a ferment runs are all part of the recipe you are following — write yours into the block below rather than looking for one here. The value of this sheet is the day-by-day column: it is how you learn what your own kitchen does to a jar.
Write-on lines: Batch ref · What is fermenting · Date started · Vessel · Brine or culture, as you made it · Where it is kept · Moved to cold storage
Day by day — one line each time you check it
Table, 11 rows: Date · Day · Temp as read · Appearance · Smell & taste · Burped, topped · Action taken · By
Questions
Why is there no salt ratio printed on the sheet?
Because it belongs to the recipe or tradition you are working from, and it varies with the vegetable, the temperature and how long you intend to ferment. There is a blank for yours instead, which also means the sheet still works when you change it.
One sheet per ferment, or one per year?
One per ferment. The day-by-day column is the point of it, and a single jar can easily fill a page of observations before it goes into the cold.
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