Hubby and I just made our first batch of KimChi last night. Made 6 Quart Mason jars full.

1. Were we supposed to stuff them super full, like we did??

2. Was there supposed to be enough juice in each jar to immerse veggies? That didn't happen in all of them

3. Our jar lids exploded in middle of night and juice was all over counter. Realized that DUH we were supposed to leave breathing room.
With these being Mason Jars should we just unscrew them but leave the flat plate thingy in place??

Thanks all.

Mindy

1. Yes. Maybe not "super-full", but there shouldn't be much room left to the top of the jar because you want to encourage anaerobic fermentation.

2. Yes, the vegetables above the brine will go bad otherwise. You should rectify that quickly - just mix 1 tbsp salt per one cup warm water (so the salt dissolves) and use that to cover the exposed vegetables.

3. As long as there is a way for the gas produced by the fermentation to escape it should be fine. That was very fast fermentation - were the jars in a warm place?

1. Yes

2. I disagree. If you put your KimChi right into the fridge it will not go bad and will still ferment slowly. Fresh KimChi taste amazing. 1 tbsp of salt per cup of warm water sounds horrible. Yuck.

3. Your KimChi won't explode in the fridge. Problem solved.

How long before they are actually fermented if we put into frig?

Mindy

Mindy,

You can install an airlock onto your lids for your Mason Jars. Get an S-curve fermentation airlock, and a rubber grommet, which you can either buy at a home brew store or online. The airlock is $1 to $2, and the grommet is around 50 cents. You put some water into the airlock, and it allows gases to escape, but does not allow air to come in. See the images below. In the bottom picture is a fermentor using a 3-piece airlock instead of the S curve, but I prefer the S-curve.

Also, the warmer the temperature, the faster a kimchi will ferment. On a hot summer day, I can have a finished product in 3 days. In the winter, its best to put the jars by your heater. They will ferment in the fridge, but ever so slowly.










Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/22/2013 04:01AM by Prana.

Very cool!!

Would you concur, Prana, that our KimChi that is not completely covered in juice will go bad??

Mindy

Check out this post called Re: I need help with cultured/probiotic foods.

It needs to be covered in juice. Try juicing some cabbage and using that, as this will create a better juice than water or brine.

This thing always worked well for me before I splurged on a German crock. [www.therawdiet.com]

Sooo...are the jars that are not totally full with liquid probably bad now?? I was very weak yesterday and could not do anything and today migraine, so will have to toss them I guess if they are bad. Wish the instructions that I went by had been more thorough.

There was juice from the full jars all over the counter again this morning too.

Mindy





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/22/2013 08:17PM by mindy66.

Mindy,

I don't eat kim chi but based on what I know from prior discussion with my forum mates, I would say if you are going to eat kim chi, definitely make your own. There is a cancer risk for prepared kim chi that cannot be ignored. [nutritionfacts.org] Bryan [Prana], Tamara [Tamuka], Chris [Powerlifer] and I discussed this on a thread about 15 months ago. Rather than repeat the discussion, click on the link below and read the last half of the thread where we discussed this. All had good points. I would say it is uncertain if there is a cancer risk in making your own. Tamara, Chris and Prana point out that lots of unhealthy ingredients may be used in commercially prepared kim chi that wouldn't be present if you make your own. And raw cabbage is a well known cancer preventer. All good points. Still, I would like you to have the benefit of all the data and recommend you avoid commercially prepared kim chi where you have no control over how it was made. That, at least, seems prudent to me. [www.rawfoodsupport.com]

Regards,

Paul



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/23/2013 03:12PM by pborst.

Paul,

Thank you. I had never heard a thing about the commercial stuff. Once my husband knew we were going to make our own, he went and grabbed a jar at the grocery store so that we could taste it and see what they put in theirs. I've been eating a couple tablespoons each day for 3 days now which I will immediately stop. Will tell him too.

Thank you so much for bringing this to my attention.

Mindy

HH Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------

> I splurged on a German crock.

Me, too - but I got this in two sizes.

[www.amazon.com]

Personally I do not like to use any plastics in my fermentation processes!!!
I like the german crock and I also use glass jars with glass lids. Yes to much of what was said above. And I also use only whole salts when I do ferments.

the stuff above the water line won't go bad if you stir your fermentation daily. you can use the tbls of salt per quart of brine as a good standard. but if you simply stir your stuff daily it will keep rotating the stuff under your brine. the juice on the counter is normal, just don't put so much in the jar then or place your jars in a tupperware to catch the drain off.

I make myself because I dont like it spicy or fishy, if you buy in stores it usually has fish sauce in it.

I agree with these answers given above. I always make sure a little juice is covering and it pressed down, it dries out and rots if not.

Once, I made a kim chee and didnt press it or cover it, and I found maggots crawling up the side of crock. Yeah, its gotta be done right,

Stuck ours in frig in case they were salvagable but haven't eaten any yet because of fear.

Our jars full look just like your coconutcream sooo....???

Still a little scared though. Not sure yet what we will do.

Might have to toss the entire batch.

Mindy