[CH] Burying Kimchi
George Nelson (70431.3065@compuserve.com)
Sun, 20 Jan 2002 18:35:48 -0500
Kimchi is buried to get a low, even temperature for the fermentation.
There was a study done relating kimchi fermentation time and temperature
and the keeping quality of the final product. (D. -S. Lee & K.-S. Lee
Journal of Fermentation & Bioengineering 1993 75 (5) 392-394).
Fermentation times were very rapid at room temperature (2 to 3 days at
25°C), but slowed down to well beyond ten days at 8.5°C. Since the earth
temperature stabilizes at 12°C (55°F), burying a fermenter below the frost
line would give more predictable results. One other result of the Lee &
Lee study was that the "shelf life" of the final product was longer when
fermented at a lower temperature.
A practical application would be to conduct the fermentation in the
refrigerator (4 to 5 ° C). It would take two or three weeks, but the
pickle quality might remain several months. My room temperature
fermentations yield a product with a keeping quality of only 4 weeks, but
the best quality is between 1 week and 3 weeks from the start of the
fermentation.
Of course, if you are in a hurry to try it and you know you will eat it all
up in a short time, r. t. is the way to go.
George Nelson