Brined - Korea
Kimchi
Note what this is and is not. The bulletin documents the brining step precisely - a salt solution, a number of hours, a resulting salt content in the cabbage - and then stops. The seasoning paste that makes kimchi kimchi is named on the tradition page and not quantified anywhere in the source, so it is not quantified here.
5 steps, every one quoted from FAO Bulletin 134 6.2.3. The step labels are this site's; the sentences under them are not.
Salt, at a batch you might actually make
2.0 to 4.0 % w/w, of the weight of the vegetable.
| Vegetable | Salt at 2% | Salt at 4% |
|---|---|---|
| 1 kg | 20 g | 40 g |
| 2 kg | 40 g | 80 g |
| 5 kg | 100 g | 200 g |
The arithmetic, at 2 kg
salt = vegetable weight x percent / 100
= 2.000 kg x 2.00% / 100
= 40.0 g
Total after salting: 2.040 kg.This is a percentage of the vegetable, not of the finished brine. The two conventions differ, and the calculator sets out by how much.
Every number the source states
- Salt in the cabbage after salting
- 2.0 to 4.0% w/w
- Salting solution
- 8 to 15% salt in water
- Time in the salting solution
- two to seven hours
- Organisms named
- Lactobacillus plantarum, L. brevis, Streptococcus faecalis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides, Pediococcus pentosaceus
The prepared cabbage is placed in a salt solution (8-15%) for two to seven hours in order increase the salt content of the cabbage to between 2.0-4.0% (w/w).
The prepared cabbage is placed in a salt solution (8-15%) for two to seven hours in order increase the salt content of the cabbage to between 2.0-4.0% (w/w).
The prepared cabbage is placed in a salt solution (8-15%) for two to seven hours in order increase the salt content of the cabbage to between 2.0-4.0% (w/w).
Among the two hundred bacteria isolated form kimchi, the important micro-organisms in kimchi fermentation are known to be Lactobacillus plantarum, L. Brevis, Streptococcus faecalis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Pediococcus pentosaceus.
Method
Numbered for your place in the list. Every sentence below is the source's own, verified against the page it came from when this table was last built from the sources.
Choose the cabbage
Appropriate cultivars of Chinese cabbage, with light-green coloured soft leaves and compact structures with no defects, are required for production of kimchi.
Trim and cut
After removing outer leaves and roots from the cabbage, it is cut into small pieces.
Brine
The prepared cabbage is placed in a salt solution (8-15%) for two to seven hours in order increase the salt content of the cabbage to between 2.0-4.0% (w/w).
Rinse and drain
It is then rinsed several times with fresh water and drained to remove extra water by centrifugation or by allowing to stand.
Mature
After fermentation, the product can be left to mature for several weeks if refrigeration is available.
What else the source says
- The organisms
- Among the two hundred bacteria isolated form kimchi, the important micro-organisms in kimchi fermentation are known to be Lactobacillus plantarum, L. Brevis, Streptococcus faecalis, Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Pediococcus pentosaceus.
- It is a family of products, not one
- Kimchi is a general name for a range of closely related fermented products.
What is doing the work
- Lactobacillus plantarum
- Streptococcus faecalis
- Leuconostoc mesenteroides
- Pediococcus pentosaceus
- Leuconostoc citreum
- Leuconostoc gasicomitatum
- Leuconostoc kimchii
- Leuconostoc inhae
- Weissella koreensis
- Weissella kimchii
- Weissella cibaria
- Lactobacillus sakei
- Lactobacillus delbrueckii
- Lactobacillus buchneri
- Lactobacillus brevis
- Lactobacillus fermentum
- Pediococcus acidilactici
Before you make this
This site is a reference and not a food safety authority. It reports what named sources published and does not certify that any preparation is safe. The safety page sets out what the sources themselves say about acidity, about surface growth and about when to throw something away, and equipment lists the instruments the numbers above cannot be checked without.
The full record for this pickle, including every source consulted and the ones that disagree, is on its tradition page.
Other brined recipes
- Fermented dill pickles, USDA home method
- Green mango pickle
- Lime pickle, brined
- Black olives
- Brined vegetables, the general method
- Green olives, Spanish style
- Kanji
- Brined cucumber pickles
Method and asides from FAO 134 Battcock, M. and Azam-Ali, S. (1998) Fermented fruits and vegetables: A global perspective. FAO Agricultural Services Bulletin No. 134. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome. Numbers from the same source, extracted separately and listed on methodology.