How To Preserve Kimchi
In this brief guide, we are going to answer the question “How to preserve kimchi?”, and discuss the different methods of preserving kimchi and the potential implications of preserving kimchi.
How To Preserve Kimchi
You can preserve kimchi by freezing it, making chips out of it, dehydrating them, making powder, etc. Kimchi is a Korean traditional dish made up of fermented vegetables. These are highly in demand. thus, storing these for later use is a must to do preservation, to enjoy this age-old delicacy.
Kimchi chips in a few simple steps
Making kimchi chips is a delicious innovation in the field of preserving kimchi. One can use virtually any kimchi recipe as a base for kimchi chips or kimchi seasoning. Below given are recommendations to be followed while preparing kimchi chips:
- Since the dehydration process concentrates the salt in the chips, one may want to go a bit easier on the salt when drawing out water from the cabbage. It is recommended to check and add more salt later.
- If one wants to make kimchi chips, it is suggested to cut out bigger cabbage squares than one usually does. This will result in a larger chip that looks much more appealing and not like crumbs at the bottom of the bag.
If one plans to process the dried chip into powder, use older kimchi that has been fermenting for longer. This way kimchi will end up with a pungent seasoning that packs a punch.
Dehydrating kimchi in your standard oven
- While dehydrating at such low temperatures takes much longer, it has been known to preserve more nutritional benefits as the beneficial bacteria in kimchi is likely to survive temperatures below 80. One can speed it up and dehydrate at up to 80C if required.
- If one has large chunks of cabbage and a finely spaced cooking rack, one can even avoid parchment paper. This way will enable hot is air to flow evenly across the surface area of the chips.
- If one used parchment paper, one can even empty the kimchi juice on top of the individual chips.
- If one has to use an oven tray instead of a cooking rack flip kimchi after 3 hours.
Using a food dehydrator
It is required to follow the general instructions of the food dehydrator as indicated in the device’s manual to dehydrate kimchi using a dehydrator. The steps involve the following:
- Add kimchi without the kimchi juice.
- Initiate the dehydration process and check on the progress every few hours.
- Turn of once the kimchi chips are completely dry.
Whether one has used a fancy dehydrator or the good old oven, it should be made sure to store chips in an airtight container away from sunlight. If one dried it completely it should last for around six months. It is asked not to hesitate to add some silica packets from other store-bought dried foods to draw out excess moisture.
Making kimchi powder
To make kimchi powder one should use the following steps:
- One can simply blend the dry chips.
- If the person prefers a flaky, coarse texture, it is suggested to use a food processor instead of a blender.
While it may sound stinky, kimchi powder is compatible with a surprising amount of flavor profiles. It can be used as a seasoning for almost any dish imaginable. It is known to be used successfully in guacamole, curry hummus, fried rice, and instant noodles.
Can you freeze dry kimchi?
Freeze drying can be another method of preserving kimchi. Most of the commercially manufactured, store-bought kimchi chips are freeze-dried. However, most of the time, these have not actually been fermented, but just use a combination of various seasonings to derive a flavor profile somewhat reminiscent of the typical kimchi taste.
Even if these chips actually did undergo a fermentation process it is unlikely, that many probiotics survive these temperatures. Freeze drying is a sophisticated process that requires expensive equipment.
If one wants to freeze kimchi, the following are the steps below to be followed:
- Make sure the kimchi is still fresh and good enough to eat because frozen kimchi will not taste the same as fresh kimchi when thawed.
- Prepare the freezer with an airtight container. If one plans to use a glass jar or any other type of food storage container, make sure it has an airtight seal.
- For large amounts of kimchi, buy and use a vacuum packing machine.
- Vacuum bags are available in most well-stocked supermarkets, so this is convenient if one decides to make larger quantities of kimchi.
- It is suggested to use zip-lock freezer bags if one does not own a vacuum packing machine.
- Place food in the bag, seal it, suck out as much air as possible, and then immediately place it in the freezer. Freezer bags provide more secure storage because they are thicker than ordinary plastic bags or containers used for freezing food.
- Once everything is ready, put the kimchi in a freezer bag or container.
- One can freeze kimchi for 1-3 months, depending on the quantity and type of ingredients.
- It is necessary to make sure to set the date when one froze it so one knows how long it has been there.
Other FAQs about Kimchi that you may be interested in.
Can you get sick from eating kimchi?
How to know if kimchi is spoiled?
Conclusion
In this brief guide, we answered the question “How to preserve kimchi?”, and discussed the different methods of preserving kimchi and the potential implications of preserving kimchi.
If you have any questions or comments please let us know.
Citations
Can You Freeze Kimchi? Easy Guide To Freeze Kimchi | EatDelights
How to make crispy, dried kimchi chips – Kimchi-Recipes.com
