Is there any way to STOP Kimchi from fermenting too far?

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    • #51092
      tkamiya
      Participant

      Are there any way to stop Kimchi from fermenting more, once it reached the level of fermentation that tastes good to me?

      I know keeping it in refrigerator slows down fermentation but it does not stop it. How do people do this in Korea?? They make a huge quantity and eat from the same batch for months to come, correct?

      Mine gets very sour in few months. I prefer lightly fermented crunchy Kimchi.

    • #55833
      acommunistspy
      Participant

      I don’t think there’s any way to completely stop the process besides freezing it which would just ruin the texture by bursting all the cabbage cells. You could also get a separate fridge and keep it very cold to slow it down further but not to the point of freezing.

      There are two things we do with over-fermented kimchi in my family.

      1. You can wash it with water, which makes it less spicy/fermented but it retains the refreshing crunch. Kind of de-ferments it a bit.

      2. Really fermented kimchi makes a bomb cooking ingredient. Just use it up in stews/soups/stirfries and buy new kimchi to eat on the side.

    • #55834
      brasschef
      Participant

      Don’t try to stop your kimchi from over fermenting! kimchi jjigae might just be better than kimchi itself, and it’s best with super sour kimchi! If you’re dead set though, cold temperatures are about the only solution, though maybe cooking would do it as well? anything that would kill the bacteria in it, though most anything would also affect the flavor or texture, and it may just start fermenting again anyway. That or just make kimchi more often in smaller batches.

    • #55835

      You could heat it to kill the bacteria. Put it in a covered dish in the oven on 120C should kill the bacteria responsible for the fermentation. However, this includes the health-beneficial probiotics! This would also cook the kimchee and change its texture, though I’m not sure in what way.

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