Hello everyone, & how are you doing?
This is going to be an ongoing post - which means I will come back to this post at a later date & let you know what’s up/the progress...
This is a “professional” kimchi fermentation jar/crock that I had received earlier this week (Thank you to new parents, Ying & Richard!).
& yes, I realized it is backwards bcos I was on selfie mode.
I’ve never heard of this brand, but there are many resources that will be able to tell you more about not only the brand, but also other “containers” they carry. This is one of the many crocks they have; I have the 2L one, which contains 4 parts. The crock portion, the screw-on lid, a “resting” lid, as well as a ceramic ring.
2 days after receiving the gift, I made napa cabbage kimchi. Feel free to refer to other posts I had within this month; nothing new/diff about this kimchi. Like I used the same stuff & I don’t really measure things anymore. I wanna see if using a fermentation jar makes a difference... vs one that’s not for kimchi-making.
The biggest piece of knowledge I can share with you is this~
So after you stuff your napa cabbage in, there’s a ceramic ring, which acts as a paperweight to help push the (softened) leaves down once fermentation is happening. *refer to image above* You’re able to see the cabbage; then the colourful ceramic ring, THEN you put on the screw-on lid, which is ANOTHER ring. Lastly, you fit the resting lid on top.
Just within the black circumference, there’s a little channel for water. This water reservoir is a NEW thing for me. In fact, Richard told me that his mother-in-law has a similar container to this, & she uses it to make Chinese pickled vegetables (similar to kimchi; it’s also fermented). The concept of the water reservoir is interesting, & there’s not much articles or info on it. Youtube videos also don’t mention it at all; it doesn’t seem like a kimchi fermenting-specific concept... but anyway, I found out that its use is actually 2-fold.
1. To let gas escape. Fermentation is an anaerobic process, which means, it happens without presence of oxygen; hence why I always thought it needs to be closed. By having the water reservoir, it acts as a medium for gas to pass through, but it also prevents air from entering the jar. As such, it is essentially a one-way route.
2. To avoid contamination. As mentioned above in 1., & my previous kimchi posts, if the system is completely closed, one should be allowing the kimchi to “burp” every 1-2 days. However, by doing such, you’re opening the system up to ambient environment, which could potentially introduce unwanted stuff into your kimchi (dust, clothing particles...). With the water reservoir, you can skip the burping step completely.
So 1 & 2 sort of go hand-in-hand, & it was interesting for me to find out. I also hope I’ve provided useful info for you as well! I’m learning lots as I go!
^ what day 3 looks like. There’s really no difference noted from this crock vs what I was using before. There’s more liquid (brine) content, which is to be expected after several days of fermentation. With that, the leaves of the cabbage are becoming softer, & thus the ceramic piece has gone lower. Despite being a one-way “open” system, I thought I would smell the kimchi if I put my nose closer to the lid, but I couldn’t smell anything.
Alright, that is it~ Will be back in another few days!
^ May18th, the 6th day of this fermentation.
The level of liquid rose, while the ceramic piece went lower. I ended up taking off the resting lid, just to see if there was water left in the reservoir. There was. The level didn’t change compared to almost a week ago, so I guess it doesn’t evaporate as fast as I thought it would. Smells sour, like fresh (/young) kimchi lol
^ May 21st. Day #9. The ceramic ring got lower... again!
^ May 26th. 2-week old kimchi is ready!
So like.. it was good! Again, my homemade kimchis aren’t very spicy bcos my parents can’t handle spicy foods so it was very mild. The texture was still crunchy & the brine turned out nicely as well. Compared to my previous creations in pasta jar & the large mason jar.. . *shrugs* unnoticeable difference really. The “sauce” I had varied each time. I do have to say I like the size of this jar for making a large batch / if using a large cabbage. But otherwise, if I just wanna make a little bit, I’ll just stick to my smaller jars & remember to let it burp every 1-2 days. That’s all~
// This will be the end of this post. Forever. haha
