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I find that store bought kim-chi is not very fermented. Real kim-chi, as I understand it, is pickled and then buried in the ground for a year.

Can I just bury store bought kim-chi in my back yard for a year to improve it, or will that not work? (Note that I live in a place with a climate similar to Korea)

Drisheen Colcannon
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3 Answers3

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First, as noted in Sneffel's answer, "real" kimchi is eaten at a variety of fermentation levels.

It is possible the fermentation would resume in store-bought kimchi, but only if it is raw and unpasteurized. A lot of store-bought kimchi is pasteurized (depending on where you buy it), which would kill off the bacteria that would typically be used for fermentation. Kimchi that is not pasteurized would typically be sold in a refrigerated section and would perhaps have a container/lid that would allow for gases to be released as fermentation continues. (The only real way to tell would be labeling or contacting a manufacturer.)

In general, I would not advise trying to resume fermentation on a store-bought product, as you don't really know the conditions it was made under or whether continued fermentation would proceed safely. (Chances are that commercial kimchi would be processed in a way to ensure its safety, even if stored at low but not refrigerated temperatures, but again, this is difficult to know.)

Kimchi isn't that hard to make to begin with, so if you can't find what you like in the store, I'd suggest just making it yourself and letting it ferment to the stage you prefer.

Athanasius
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    It turns acidic faster in summer than winter. I adjust my recipe accordingly. Apples and mangoes make a good replacement for that half cup of sugar many recipes call for; and Bok Choy makes a nice addition to Napa cabbage. – Wayfaring Stranger Oct 15 '19 at 23:51
  • Fermenting store-bought kimchi is fine. It's full of lactic acid; in a low-oxygen environment there's not much else it can turn into. (I've never seen shelf-stable kimchi... where have you seen it sold?) – Sneftel Oct 16 '19 at 08:50
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    I’ve never seen non-stable kimchi. Everything you buy in the UK is a year or two shelf life, unrefrigerated until opened, then a week max in the fridge. Jarred or canned. I’d guess that’s ‘dead’. – Tetsujin Oct 16 '19 at 09:13
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    This boggles my mind... in the US and the ROI, I've never seen it outside the refrigerated section. (And in a sealed glass jar? yikes!) Maybe it's a matter of general supermarket versus Asian grocery store? – Sneftel Oct 16 '19 at 09:32
  • @Sneftel - a couple things: just because it is refrigerated doesn't mean it hasn't been pasteurized. Pasteurized kimchi would not be safe to try to ferment further, as the "good bacteria" would be dead. And even "raw" kimchi could be prepared in such a way that the sold product doesn't contain sufficient salt, acidity, etc. to prevent growth of bad things. Or it could contain preservatives that would disrupt further proper fermentation. The risk is probably low, but we can't know without details on how exactly the commercial product was prepared. – Athanasius Oct 17 '19 at 14:15
  • As with raw salted cabbage, lactic acid bacteria is what's going to gain a foothold, regardless of whether it was there already. You know there's sufficient salt because otherwise it wouldn't have become kimchi in the first place. – Sneftel Oct 17 '19 at 14:25
  • @Sneftel - what you say is likely, not certain. You cannot know this for certain without details on the manufacturing process and ingredients. I have just spent 15 minutes searching for FDA guidance on labeling for kimchi and haven't found it, for example. Sauerkraut has specific definitions in the FDA codes, including salt content, etc. I do not think there is sufficient info to guarantee that a refrigerated or canned food is shelf-stable or safe at room temperature without such details. Some commercial fermented foods, for example, are partly "desalted" before packing. – Athanasius Oct 17 '19 at 14:46
  • Again, the fact that it became kimchi is pretty conclusive that it has the ability to become kimchi. I think you might have an image in your head of manual inoculation with a pure culture, with sterility control before and/or after main fermentation, like one might do for cheese or beer. With kimchi, you take vegetables and add salt and then you wait. If you don't feel confident in the safety of letting the kimchi ferment further, you shouldn't be eating that kimchi in the first place. – Sneftel Oct 17 '19 at 14:52
  • Note also that buying kimchi and letting it ferment further is quite a common practice. If manufacturers were making kimchi that turned into poison on the counter, you would've heard about it by now. ;-) – Sneftel Oct 17 '19 at 14:54
  • @Sneftel: Let's not debate further in comments. All I'll say is that your second assertion has a false premise: there are all sorts of foodborne illnesses that have gone undetected over the years due to low incidence or not recognizing a connection. I appreciate your argument (and I said repeatedly that it likely is safe), but at SA I generally require a higher standard before telling someone that a practice is definitely safe. If you can point to reputable food safety sources that say all commercial kimchi is safe to referment at room temperature, please provide them in your answer. – Athanasius Oct 17 '19 at 15:41
  • @Sneftel - And by the way, I have made kimchi quite a few times. I know what it is and how it is typically made. I am not, however, willing to trust a commercial manufacturer's process without details. I honestly was unable to find a clear definition as what can legally be labeled as "kimchi" in the U.S., for example. Without that info, I have no idea what is in the product or how it was made. – Athanasius Oct 17 '19 at 15:50
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You don't need to bury it. Just leave it, sealed, on your counter for a few days.

A couple of notes: the kimchi you are getting is "real kimchi". Kimchi is eaten at a variety of maturity levels, anywhere from a few hours to a month or more. (A year would be entirely too long.) Some Korean families would make their own kimchi; others would buy it. And it wouldn't ordinarily be buried in a clay pot. In a glass jar in the cupboard would be more usual.

Sneftel
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Not sour enough for you? Add in a Tbsp of sugar, tip and shake to dissolve. Then give it 3 days or so for beasties to convert to CO2 and acid. check daily for off-gassing then tamp down again to keep everything submerged.

Pat Sommer
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