Is Fresh or Fermented Kimchi Better? (2024)

FAQs

Is Fresh or Fermented Kimchi Better? ›

Keep in mind that those who ate fermented kimchi displayed significantly greater improvements in blood pressure and body fat percentage than those who ate the fresh dish ( 50 ).

The biggest difference between fresh and fermented Kimchi is the taste. Fresh Kimchi is more like a salad, so it taste more raw, fresh and crunchy. Fermented Kimchi is softer and tangy.

Kimchi is a fermented vegetable dish that can add a spicy, tangy kick to your meals. Although it can be high in sodium, it also serves up the good-for-you probiotics, fiber, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that help your body ward off illness and stay healthy. If you haven't already, give kimchi a try!

Kimchi spoilage and over-fermentation

It will continue to ferment at a cool temperature. If kimchi over-ferments, it will have a very vinegary odor and taste. It is not pleasant to eat raw, so it is often used for soups and stews. If any fermentation gets soft and slimy, then it is a sign of spoilage.

The key to a good kimchi is the balance of salt, heat, and the lactic tang that results from fermentation, similar to the acidic bite in sauerkraut or pickles.

Since you just made it, give it some time to ferment as it will get less salty as it ferments!

The kimchi fermentation process is very short in comparison to making sauerkraut. Kimchi ferments at room temperature in only 1-2 days or more slowly in the refrigerator. For safety, kimchi should be stored refrigerated and is best eaten within 1 week, as the quality of kimchi deteriorates with longer fermentation.

Kimchi is often served as a side dish alongside other healthful vegetables and proteins. Researchers noted in the study that consuming more than three servings of kimchi a day could have the opposite benefit. Participants who ate more than five servings of kimchi per day were more likely to be at a risk for obesity.

Along with fiber, vitamins, and minerals, kimchi contains natural probiotic bacteria. If you eat them regularly, the probiotics in fermented foods can be beneficial to your gut microbiome. Studies suggest that eating kimchi on a daily basis could help to improve some digestive problems.

Conclusion - if you want to enjoy the health benefits of live bacteria in kimchi only buy if the label says : “live bacteria” and “unpasteurised”. There are lots of small brands in health food shops with these terms on them - but they still don't seem to have hit the big retailers yet.

Can bad bacteria grow in kimchi? ›

In another part of the experiment, the team made some kimchi samples. “These also invariably contained antibiotic-resistant strains of microbes,” says Wang. Such bacteria may be on the raw vegetables or in the water used to make the dish, with fermentation accelerating their growth, she says.

It may also boast other vegetables, including radish, celery, carrot, cucumber, eggplant, spinach, scallions, beets, and bamboo shoots. Though kimchi is usually fermented for a few days to a few weeks before serving, it can be eaten fresh, or unfermented, immediately after preparation.

However, there were a couple of downsides to eating too much kimchi, her team added. First, the popular side dish contains a lot of salt, which is never great for health. Secondly, beyond the one-to-three servings per day that did show a benefit, eating more kimchi was linked with obesity overall, the study found.

Kimchi Perfected by JONGGA

Jongga kimchi is a testament to the idea that good things take time. Decades of making kimchi, together with the industry-leading R&D center, made Jongga the world's best fermentation expert.

The most common kimchi found in Korean cuisine is baechu kimchi (> 70% of kimchi present in Korean market) made from Chinese cabbage or napa cabbage (Brassica rapa), a vegetable created from years of natural crossbreeding between southern China's bok choy cabbage and northern China's turnip.

You get the same tangy, spicy, sweet elements of cabbage kimchi but with a satisfying CRUNCH. We usually have to go to the Asian supermarket for other kimchi types, but what a thrill to know that Costco is expanding their selection of Kimchi.

Eating kimchi hot or cold for health benefits

The answer to “do you eat kimchi hot or cold” is really about health, not flavor. Kimchi tastes great cooked into almost anything. But heating kimchi kills the healthy, helpful bacteria that are a product of the fermentation process.

Since kimchi is stored in the refrigerator section of the grocery store, the fermentation process has been slowed down by the cold. Fermentation starts again when you let the jar sit out at room temperature, creating pressure in the jar.

They both produce a sour flavor, but pickles are sour because they are soaked in an acidic, vinegar-based brine, while fermented foods are sour because of a chemical reaction between naturally present sugars and bacteria known as lacto-fermentation.

Along with fiber, vitamins, and minerals, kimchi contains natural probiotic bacteria. If you eat them regularly, the probiotics in fermented foods can be beneficial to your gut microbiome. Studies suggest that eating kimchi on a daily basis could help to improve some digestive problems.