Fizzing Kimchee

Two weeks ago, I bought a big ole jar of kimchee at Mitsuwa market in Arlington Heights. Then I had a medical procedure, which rendered me averse to food for a while. Going back to the jar today it FIZZED. Now, I've seen this before. It's the pickling process run amok. I ate it anyway. It didn't seem to hurt me (and I am becoming acutely sensitive to such injuries), but what I'm wondering is: are there any problems with eating overly fermented kimchee?

Hammond

Hi,

Last January, I visited Chicago Food Corp which generated a report, which I excerpt:

Cathy2 of January 14, 2004

There is an appliance department featuring various tabletop appliances from rice cookers, George Forman grills, dishwashers and Ron Popeil Showtime rotisseries. Most intriguing was a dual compartment food storage device, which may be a chest freezer for a pricey $1000+. I tried to get some explanation beyond, "Special storage for our food." If indeed it is related to a chest freezer, then they'll find a steal at Sears. However, there were so many control options (in Korean, of course) it could be an environmental chamber to replicate the conditions for fermenting kim-chi, which classically was buried in the yard and resurrected after a period of time.

In response to that thread, Mr. T advised:

Mr. T wrote:By the way, the food storage thing is probably a special kimchee refrigerator. They are very common in Korea and can be programmed to a specific temperature (usually just above freezing) to store kimchee. That keeps it from going too sour.

Cathy2 wrote:Those who buy these are they people who would be making their own kimchee? Or would someone buy a collection of kimchee from the shop and pick out what they want on a particular day.

When I returned home with my finds, someone else put away all the food. They didn't realize the kimchee needed refrigeration. The next morning a small quantity of fluid was on the kitchen table. I presume reaching room temperature the kimchee resumed fermentation. So I can see where they would want to keep the kimchee climate controlled.

Mr. T wrote:In Korea, even urban families still tend to make a lot of their own kimchees and gochigang (the fermented bean paste) as everyone has their own family recipe and every family's recipe is of course the best. The refrigerator is used to essentially stop the fermentation process and long-term store the fermented products. You will notice that even refrigerated kimchee will become progressively more tart over the period of a couple weeks so the near freezing refrigerator arrests the process more. By the way we like our kimchee on the tart side so we usually let it sit out for 24-48 hours depending on the room temp.

The fizziness is the reactivation of the fermentation process, so your kimchee is extra sour.

Mr. T wrote:You will notice that even refrigerated kimchee will become progressively more tart over the period of a couple weeks so the near freezing refrigerator arrests the process more. By the way we like our kimchee on the tart side so we usually let it sit out for 24-48 hours depending on the room temp.

Indeed, twas a tart kimchee I et for lunch. I have resolved to appreciate it for what it is, a spiced cabbage past its prime, sour and soggy, a soaking leaf, and for all that, fine.

Hammond

Two words: Wild Fermentation. Visit the websiteand then buy or checkout the book from your local library.

After reading some recent materials on food and Anthropology, it became clear to me that of the four basic food handling methods, fermentation is the one I knew the least about. So, I started with web searches and then headed to the library.

Kim chi is made by a lacto-fermentation process; i.e., the material is semi-preserved (usually with salt) to prevent putrefying microbes to grow, until enough lactose (or other sugars) is converted to lactic acid, which then prevents additional putrefying microbes to grow. The 'good' microbes continue to grow in a lactic acid environment. (This is obviously a very short explanation as there are vectors, terminations, variables, etc., to this process, avoiding all the lacto-bacteria and enzymatic nomenclature.)

If the fermentation resumed the product was probably not pasteurized. Pasteurization kills all of the microbes and the product would need to be re-exposed to microbes outside of the barrier to resume fermentation. Hence if the product had vigorous activity after one night, the empirical evidence suggests the microbe colony was alive, but dormant due to cold, within the barrier. The product will continue to produce a higher concentration of lactic acid (continue to get more sour) until the point the lactic acid concentration is so high that the good microbes cannot reproduce, for an analogy this is ~ 7% range for vinegars.

I would say the product most likely had a healthy fermentation and enough lactic acid to prevent harmful and putrefying microbes to grow in that period of time.

You should also be aware that the most common food safety issues were the result of canning raw meat where the steam bath needed to can the product did not fully cook the meat and thus kill off all of the microbes 'good' and 'bad'.

I believe in our current culture, due to other preferred preservation techniques (freezing, additives) fermentation has subsided to the point that we lack widespread knowledge about the process. Lack of knowledge and experience breeds irrational fears. Many people find fermented flavors to be challenging. While I eat stinky cheese, I admit unfiltered fermented fish sauce is off my radar. G. Gordon Liddy claims to have overcome his fear of rats by catching, cooking and eating a rat. I say
"eat the rat" or at least head to the library at your fingertips to dispel your fears.

Suggested Readings:

Culture of Fear
Wild Fermentation.

Pd,

Thanks for doing the research for me! Actually, when I opened the kimchee, The Wife started clucking and suggesting that it was bad, but I went ahead and ate it anyway (I read Culture of Fear last spring, and I now fear only our government). I must say, though I had no ill effects, I prefer the non-fizzing variety of kimchee. The more-fermented leaf is not bad tasting, but it seems a little "worn out" by the increased fermentation.

Hammond

pdaane wrote:You should also be aware that the most common food safety issues were the result of canning raw meat where the steam bath needed to can the product did not fully cook the meat and thus kill off all of the microbes 'good' and 'bad'.

Steam or water bath canning would not be hot enough to preserve meat or non-acidifed vegetables. To preserve meat, you need to hit temperatures of 242 degrees, which is possible via pressure canning. Commercial operations use autoclaves and through their product research have more information available to them than home preservers.

According the National Center for Home Food Preservation, you do not can raw meats rather they are cooked then processed. Admittedly, there are many who rely on non research-based information who get themselves into trouble. If it is an uncooked meat, then there are specific guidelines to cuts of meat, density and added liquids. I have somewhere a recipe for home preserved bologna, where you insert the meat into the jar raw. I could never obtain information how to safely process it. I keep the recipe in case someday there are ever guidelines published.

I have met people who have water bath canned meats and accept no advice to the contrary. Its supposed when they reheat their preserved meats, they must boil the heck out of it.

pdaane wrote:I believe in our current culture, due to other preferred preservation techniques (freezing, additives) fermentation has subsided to the point that we lack widespread knowledge about the process.

About 10 years ago, I regularly had a booth at the Ravinia Farmer's market answering food preservations questions. There was one older woman with her daytime diamonds assuring me nobody preserves. I asked her if she bought food and froze it, which she quickly affirmed. I said welcome to the world of preservation and handed her a pamplet on freezing foods.

We have such access to fresh foods, in and out of season, preserving isn't very necessary. During my time in the USSR, everyone knew how to and regularly preserved. Availability of fresh strawberries was only those few weeks in spring, then disapeered until next year. We can always get strawberries, though the quality varies wildly.

My friend who grew in Canada, family originally from Cornwall, eats pickled condiments regularly with her meals. Where she grew up there was an ebb and flow of vegetables availability, not as extreme as I described for USSR, though enough to consider preserving. If you also grow a garden, you hardly bare anything going to waste, which is another reason some preserve.

Amongst my friends who actively preserve, I am one of the few who does not have a vegetable garden. I make quite a few condiments, though it is not on our table every night, for my amusement.

So rather than culture, I suggest it is availability of relatively inexpensive and bountiful food supply, which suppresses the need the preserve foods at home.

Other than a sour taste, overfermented kimchee won't hurt you. But a good way to use up that type of kimchee is to make a soup/stew called kimchee chigae. I like to make it with raw pork belly that you can get at Korean markets, but any type of pork will do. It's basically kimchee and pork pieces, cut to your liking, water to cover & simmered for about an hour or so & seasoned w/salt as needed. I alos like to add sliced onions, bean sprouts & tofu.

viaChgo wrote:Other than a sour taste, overfermented kimchee won't hurt you. But a good way to use up that type of kimchee is to make a soup/stew called kimchee chigae. I like to make it with raw pork belly that you can get at Korean markets, but any type of pork will do. It's basically kimchee and pork pieces, cut to your liking, water to cover & simmered for about an hour or so & seasoned w/salt as needed. I alos like to add sliced onions, bean sprouts & tofu.

ViaChgo, thanks for the hint. I found a recipe online (http://www.recipezaar.com/30480), but as you say, it's pretty much just cooking the pork and adding the sour kimchee and other ingredients. Sounds like a good way to mellow out the sour old cabbage pickle.

Hammond

pdanne wrote:After reading some recent materials on food and Anthropology, it became clear to me that of the four basic food handling methods, fermentation is the one I knew the least about. So, I started with web searches and then headed to the library.

The Wild Fermention book looks very interesting and I hope to get a copy soon. For those (very) interested in the history of fermentation I'll again plug a book RST recommended long ago on Chowhound. The Science and Civilisation in China seriesis a tour de force of scholarship, in the works for over half a century. One of the more recent volumes (Volume 6, Part 5; ISBN 0521652707) is on fermentation. An amazing book though, at nearly 800 pages, quite a bit more than most would care to know.

Let me expand a bit on what has already been said about kimchee fermentation. Several types of bacteria are usually responsible for turning various vegetables into kimchee. Prominent among these are the lactobacilli that convert certain sugars into lactic acid (which tastes sour). The other product of this conversion is carbon dioxide. Usually this gas gets vented off but if fermentation proceeds in a sealed container it dissolves in water yielding carbonic acid (fizzy). High pressure (sealed container) and low temperature will favor the process. Our effervescent fruits at Moto were likely prepared by storing them in a cold, pressurized container of carbon dioxide.

So the two-plus week fermentation was certainly responsible for the lactic acid sourness. But the fizziness was in large measure due to carbon dioxide trapped in the sealed jar. Probably highly fermented kimchee would eventually get effervescent even in a vented container but I'd bet a bottle of soju it happens a lot faster when the lid is screwed on tightly.

I'd guess you could keep most freshly made kimchee for a couple weeks without it becoming excessively fizzy if the container is opened periodically (and perhaps stirred) to release the carbon dioxide. Once kimchee becomes effervescent it should be possible to un-fizz it somewhat by spreading out what you plan to eat at room temperature for a couple hours (I'm not sure I ever tried this). Or, as suggested, you can just use it to make soup and buy a fresh jar to eat.

Rene G wrote:I'd guess you could keep most freshly made kimchee for a couple weeks without it becoming excessively fizzy if the container is opened periodically (and perhaps stirred) to release the carbon dioxide.

ReneG,

That is an excellent idea -- and somewhat counter-intuitive. I would think (without really thinking very much) that keeping the container sealed would keep the kimchee "fresh," but I take your point about releasing the CO2. In its current state, the kimchee is not much fun to eat; I should turn it into a soup (and believe me, it's not easy saying that).

Hammond

ReneG,

Yes, this makes sense. I would have guessed that the fizziness was CO2 coming off a second fermentation, rather than being dissolved in the liquid of the first (or slowing of the first).

I am looking for a copy of the book RST and now you have suggested. I didn't find it a HW-CPL yesterday. It is on amazon for ~$400, which would be my whole hobby reading budget for the year.

A few additional comments:

1. The 245 degree temperature for canning meat is for home canning in a mason jar. Size, shape (ratio of surface to volume) container material are all variables to the process.

My point was that our collective fears continue to come from poor practices, such as the British Navy's steam bath canning of raw meat in oversized containers, practices which are now hopefully abandonned by commercial enterprises.

2. I consider economic conditions and food preference choices to be a part of our culture.

Speaking of Food and Culture...the HW-CPL has on reserve the Encyclopedia of Food and Culture. I had a fun time perusing it for a few minutes yesterday.

pd

viachgo wrote:
"Other than a sour taste, overfermented kimchee won't hurt you. But a good way to use up that type of kimchee is to make a soup/stew called kimchee chigae. "

I am not sure how you insert the quotes from others' messages so sorry if I butchered it. If you have some kimchee that is getting tart, we have found through experimentation that it can be paired well with:

Steak or cold roast beef. The tartness of the kimchee compliments the meat very well. We usually serve with rice.

Pizza. It sounds odd but the two go hand in hand - in fact there is a pizza shop right by the Kimball el stop, Korin Pizza, that I heard used to serve a kimchee pizza - got written up in the Korean Times several years ago. Not sure why it pairs well, but it's tasty.

Noodle soups. Mix it in and it kind of becomes a little like a jigae but with a tart taste instead of the usual salty/soybean flavor in jigae. Sort of like adding vinegar to nang myen.

Unwanted house guests. (especially those with sensitive olfactories or xenophobic tendencies). An effective repellent and deterrent. Just crack open a jar and let it sit out on the counter about an hour. Your house should be clear within 24 hours.

Enjoy your tart kimchee!

Mr. T. wrote:viachgo wrote:
I am not sure how you insert the quotes from others' messages so sorry if I butchered it.

You can go to the post you are quoting and hit the quote button, then edit out all except the material you wish to quote.

You can find the rest of the How-to tips here.

pd

Speaking of kimchee, fizzing or not:

South Korea's spicy fermented cabbage dish, kimchi, could help to cure bird flu, according to researchers.

Scientists at Seoul National University say they fed an extract of kimchi to 13 infected chickens - and a week later 11 of them had started recovering.

The researchers said the results were far from scientifically proven and if kimchi did have the effects they observed, it was unclear why.

BBC News | World | Asia-Pacific | Korean dish 'may cure bird flu'

Hi,

On a sidebar of history, the advent of penicillin antibiotics roughly coincided with WW2. The ability to reproduce penicillin for the war effort was a critical need.

History of Penicillin wrote: It was not until 1939 that Dr. Howard Florey, a future Nobel Laureate, and three colleagues at Oxford University began intensive research and were able to demonstrate penicillin's ability to kill infectious bacteria. As the war with Germany continued to drain industrial and government resources, the British scientists could not produce the quantities of penicillin needed for clinical trials on humans and turned to the United States for help. They were quickly referred to the Peoria Lab where scientists were already working on fermentation methods to increase the growth rate of fungal cultures. One July 9, 1941, Howard Florey and Norman Heatley, Oxford University Scientists came to the U.S. with a small but valuable package containing a small amount of penicillin to begin work.

Pumping air into deep vats containing corn steep liquor (a non-alcoholic by-product of the wet milling process) and the addition of other key ingredients was shown to produce faster growth and larger amounts of penicillin than the previous surface-growth method. Ironically, after a worldwide search, it was a strain of penicillin from a moldy cantaloupe in a Peoria market that was found and improved to produce the largest amount of penicillin when grown in the deep vat, submerged conditions.

In regards to the moldy cantaloupe from the Peoria market, I have heard another version from someone who was on the development team. They actively asked the public to submit anything with molds to the Lab. It just so happened an unknown soldier for the cause, a Peoria housewife, provided the moldy cataloupe which provided the breakthrough. What remains true to both stories is the moldy cantaloupe, how it got there is another story.

I have a friend who works at Abbott who runs cultures on plant material samples brought from all over the world. Mostly it's a collection of data points, which may someday launch a new drug product.

It doesn't make fermented kimchii extract look so unplausible, does it?

Better living through science!