Kimchi ~ A Flavour Explosion
The Kimchi is now in jars after 7 long days of fermenting. It’s been interesting trying something completely NEW to us. In fact, we’ve never tasted Kimchi nor have we ever made it. The process of fermentation is so different from a lot of the other canning and preserving that is done in our home. Most things are jarred in a day or two and three at most. But, fermenting foods can sit on the counter for days just bubbling away…making their magic. The neat thing about this is that you can taste your veggies every step of the way and decide how you like them best.
The Kimchi initially tasted really garlicy…we thought that perhaps we’d gone a little over board. But, over the course of the next few days the flavours changed from spicy heat to a salty, more mellow flavour. Matt describes it as a “flavour explosion”.
Your “flavour explosion” should be ready to pack into reuseable jars with tight-fitting lids after about a week. If your home is cool or you are doing this in a cellar the fermentation process may take a little bit longer. Once it tastes ripe it is ready to move to its’ new home in your refrigerator. It should keep for at least 6 months but be warned ~ it does have an addictive taste so we doubt it will last 1 month. Remember the flavour will continue to change with time.
Put up Total:
- 2 x 1L jars (reused mayo jars)
- 2 x 500mL
Putting Up With The Turnbulls 
Yum! I’ve never seen kimchi that wasn’t red before. What kind of pepper flakes did you use?
Matt and I are at opposite ends of the heat spectrum…he could put hot sauce on everything and I am learning to like the different heats. So, to compromise we didn’t puree the hot red peppers. Instead, we removed the seeds, cut in half, and added whole…that’s why it’s not red (kinda too bad) but we don’t think the flavour is compromised. Next time, we might crush some of the red peppers and add some whole…I don’t want it to be too hot.
All the kimchi that we’ve made at home has never been red in color (unlike store-bought), even though we put a good bit of peppers in. We’ve also never pureed the ginger and garlic, but rather finely minced them–I like the little bits of flavor that way. Also, we noticed that if the kimchi stays in the fridge for longer than a month and a half or so, the smaller bits start to disintegrate. We tried to ration our first batch, so ended up with it sitting around for that long. Since then, we’ve learned to have a batch going every few weeks! It’s great!
Thanks so much for the info. Next time, I think we will just mince the ginger and garlic ~ I don’t really like mushy things and that is kinda what the the paste is like (but the flavour is great). And, thanks for the shelf life update…good to know!
Yeah–for some reason, it didn’t dawn on me that the kimchi would continue at a slower rate of fermentation in the fridge, thus disintegrating. I think that first time we made it, we also grated the carrots, and ended up with a orange soupy mess by the end of the month and a half. Sorry I keep commenting on the kimchi posts, I just completely understand your excitement–it was our first fermentation attempt, and I am so absolutely happy about it on a daily basis.
If you like kombucha, you should try making that, too!
ok, so flavor explosion in a good way I hope… I would really like to try kimchi – I think I have to be in a brave mood. I love going to restarants and seeing the little dishes of the condiment. I think the thing that prevents me from trying it is that I really need to assure that it’s “clean” (like waiters aren’t dumping the stuff back in a vat if people don’t eat it, for instance). Making my own would definitely solve that problem.