5 ms·

This was such a nice and informative article, a joy to read. As an occasional visitor of Korea and a big fan of authentic Korean cuisine, I have witnessed first

by pm90 8y ago

This was such a nice and informative article, a joy to read. As an occasional visitor of Korea and a big fan of authentic Korean cuisine, I have witnessed firsthand this tradition of Kimchi making; I was in a slightly remote part of the country, and did get to see the actual earthen Kimchi jars used. Older Koreans are incredibly industrious; you will see them grow stuff everywhere, even on tiny plots on hillsides which seem ridiculously steep. However, I don't believe the younger generation really cares about all this stuff so all these traditions seem like they will die out soon. And I'm not being judgemental about younger Koreans, if you read the article you can clearly see just how much labor is involved... who has the time and patience for that kind of stuff anymore? Similarly... in my Mothers household in India, there was a tradition of pickle making (Indian pickles, or aachar, are very different from the pickles you find in the west); I distinctly remember my Mother going back home and helping my grandmother with the preparation and bringing back home jars of the stuff. After my grandmother passed away, my mother tried a couple of times to make that stuff, but its so labor intensive that now she just buys supermarket branded pickles .

Kalium 8y ago
I believe aachar use sunlight to accomplish that western pickling does with brine - keeping most bacteria at bay.
- cwzwarich 8y ago
  There are many achaars that don't require exposure to sunlight. They work because of the following: - Salt - Acidity (especially when pickling green mangos or lime, but also when using vinegar for other less sour things) - Spices (there is some preservative effect from mustard seed, turmeric, fenugreek, chili, asafetida, etc.) - Covering with oil to reduce exposure to oxygen
  - vram22 8y ago
    Yes, but in many cases, people still expose the jars (ceramic or glass) to sunlight, for some days or weeks. I remember older relatives in my family doing that on house terraces as a kid. My guess is that the sunlight sterilizes the contents (sunlight in many parts of India is strong, particularly in summer, being somewhat near the equator), and may even change the flavor by some reaction. So there is a combined preservative effect from the factors you listed, plus sunlight.
    - Kalium 8y ago
      You are correct, the UV component of sunlight is a pretty good disinfectant.
nas 8y ago
It is possible the pickles you are talking about are fermented. They are indeed very different than what you would buy in the store. Other cultures have fermented pickles as well. Regarding fermented cabbage, the sauerkraut you buy in the grocery store is very far from real fermented sauerkraut as well. It annoys me (maybe my eastern European ancestry surfacing) that they can even label it as such. If you have never had real sauerkraut, you are missing out. The grocery stuff is basically salty and sour cabbage. Tastes horrible. My grandparents and great-grandparents homesteaded in Saskatchewan. I got to wondering how people in those times and living there did not get scurvy during the winter. I guess part of it was access to fresh meat. However, I know they also ate a lot of sauerkraut and "barrel pickles". The fermentation increases the vitamin C content of the food. I think even when they did not understand scurvy, they knew that eating that kind of food was healthy. I've been meaning to make my own sauerkraut. It is really not difficult. I need some way to chop the cabbage. My parents have a special slicing machine. I suppose even a knife would do. Then you need some kind of fermentation container. Nothing complicated. The recipe is very simple. My grandmother used X tablespoons of salt per head. I've been using 2.5% salt by weight, which seems to work okay too. I like it to be less salty but still ferment and be safe. If I don't make it, I only get a taste when I visit my parents.
- nielsbot 8y ago
  For pickling containers, check out these handmade ones by California Pizza Stones (not a typo) http://www.californiapizzastones.com/pizza/files/stoneware-pickling-crocks.php http://www.californiapizzastones.com/pizza/files/stoneware-p... You're right: you can just use a knife to chop the cabbage. I've made kimchi at home and all we used was a knife.
- spodek 8y ago
  For a container, these lids https://www.amazon.com/Maintenance-silicone-waterless-fermentation-dishwasher/dp/B072N42T61 https://www.amazon.com/Maintenance-silicone-waterless-fermen... on mason jars make me glad to be alive just after their invention, given that people have fermented food for millennia. Dead simple, no mold, no burping necessary. Chop vegetables, add salt, mix and mash, put in jar with one of these lids on top. The next morning you'll see it bulging, letting the CO2 out but no O2 in.
dialogbox 8y ago
To store Kimchi long enough in earthen Kimchi jars (KimJangDdock or JangDdockDae), we have to half bury it underground. The problem is, most people in Korea, especially younger people doesn't have places to bury it. That's why refrigerator specialized for Kimchi is so popular in Korea. Still many younger people tries to make Kimchi by their own. Some just for hobby. Some for their own taste. And there are niche market to provide half prepared ingredients to reduce most of burden. I don't think this tradition will die out. I will be changed.
Regardsyjc 8y ago
My mom made kimchi but it became no longer financially worthwhile especially considering the labor. I was happy though because her kimchi was not as good as the local grandma's kimchi, whose kimchi was just a little bit better than the ones I get at my local Korean supermarket. For true kimchi lovers, the best kimchi I've ever had in my life was at a Korean Buddhist temple, and I've probably had hundreds of pounds of kimchi in my life. Highly recommend looking into Korean Buddhist cuisine because they built their vegan culinary expertise over centuries. For those curious in trying Korean cuisine, go to a traditional Korean restaurant, safest bet being Korean BBQ. A good traditional Korean restaurant should serve at least 5 different side dishes, and probably 3 of them will be pickled, with at least one dish being kimchi. Or go to a Korean supermarket like Hmart and you'll find more types of kimchi than you could possibly imagine... Even I'm stunned by all the varieties available at my local supermarket...
sevensor 8y ago
I once took a bus trip from Seoul to Seoraksan (basically coast to coast). I was tremendously impressed by the industry with which every available square meter was cultivated. In Seoul, anywhere there was green space, there was a garden. No space at all wasted on grass. Even the narrow verge between the highway and an apartment block was be cultivated. In the countryside, people were logging nearly vertical hillsides, and as far as I could see they were doing so without using mechanized logging equipment. Every barbecue restauraunt had sesame plants growing outside, which they used for leaves to serve with bulgogi, although I think it's also for advertising. And of course, there were pots for kimchi everywhere. Korean people told me that eating kimchi is why Koreans are so strong and healthy. I find it hard to disagree -- anecdotally, I have never felt more energized than after eating kimchi jigae for breakfast. And my American companions who passed on the kimchi but tried to keep up with the soju, they all got quite sick. Anyway, kimchi is delicious and everybody should eat it.
yial 8y ago
I don’t know if this would be horribly invasive to ask, but do you have and would you be willing to share the recipe and process your mother and grandmother used to make their aachar?
vram22 8y ago
>there was a tradition of pickle making (Indian pickles, or aachar There are some good Indian pickles or preserves that are less known nowadays, or at least, I do not see or hear of them as much. A few are: - mahani - it's made from the root of a plant, googled it ("mahani pickle") recently, may be (Indian version of) sarsaparilla; it has an unusual taste; had it at a relative's farm, where they made it from bushes growing there - sundakai (small bright reddish-yellow fruit of a bush), sun-dried and then quickly deep-fried, to have as a condiment with meals (a kind of "vattal", it's called, in Tamil) (think something like dried then fried chillies, not in hotness but in the technique) - karonda (a small crimson fruit of a tree, incredibly tangy and sourish (but more to it) taste, used to pick and eat them from wild trees in Central India as a kid, also once had an unforgettable pickle made from them in a Punjabi restaurant in Bangalore (it might have been Casa Piccola) - green peppers (not chillies, the same fruit as the black pepper, but when unripe), pickled in just salted water; bought a jar a couple of times at a Kerala foods store in Pune, comes in sprigs, mouth-watering and a bit deceptively strong.

by pm90 8y ago

Kalium 8y ago

I believe aachar use sunlight to accomplish that western pickling does with brine - keeping most bacteria at bay.

cwzwarich 8y ago
There are many achaars that don't require exposure to sunlight. They work because of the following: - Salt - Acidity (especially when pickling green mangos or lime, but also when using vinegar for other less sour things) - Spices (there is some preservative effect from mustard seed, turmeric, fenugreek, chili, asafetida, etc.) - Covering with oil to reduce exposure to oxygen
- vram22 8y ago
  Yes, but in many cases, people still expose the jars (ceramic or glass) to sunlight, for some days or weeks. I remember older relatives in my family doing that on house terraces as a kid. My guess is that the sunlight sterilizes the contents (sunlight in many parts of India is strong, particularly in summer, being somewhat near the equator), and may even change the flavor by some reaction. So there is a combined preservative effect from the factors you listed, plus sunlight.
  - Kalium 8y ago
    You are correct, the UV component of sunlight is a pretty good disinfectant.

nas 8y ago

It is possible the pickles you are talking about are fermented. They are indeed very different than what you would buy in the store. Other cultures have fermented pickles as well. Regarding fermented cabbage, the sauerkraut you buy in the grocery store is very far from real fermented sauerkraut as well. It annoys me (maybe my eastern European ancestry surfacing) that they can even label it as such. If you have never had real sauerkraut, you are missing out. The grocery stuff is basically salty and sour cabbage. Tastes horrible. My grandparents and great-grandparents homesteaded in Saskatchewan. I got to wondering how people in those times and living there did not get scurvy during the winter. I guess part of it was access to fresh meat. However, I know they also ate a lot of sauerkraut and "barrel pickles". The fermentation increases the vitamin C content of the food. I think even when they did not understand scurvy, they knew that eating that kind of food was healthy. I've been meaning to make my own sauerkraut. It is really not difficult. I need some way to chop the cabbage. My parents have a special slicing machine. I suppose even a knife would do. Then you need some kind of fermentation container. Nothing complicated. The recipe is very simple. My grandmother used X tablespoons of salt per head. I've been using 2.5% salt by weight, which seems to work okay too. I like it to be less salty but still ferment and be safe. If I don't make it, I only get a taste when I visit my parents.

nielsbot 8y ago
For pickling containers, check out these handmade ones by California Pizza Stones (not a typo) http://www.californiapizzastones.com/pizza/files/stoneware-pickling-crocks.php http://www.californiapizzastones.com/pizza/files/stoneware-p... You're right: you can just use a knife to chop the cabbage. I've made kimchi at home and all we used was a knife.
spodek 8y ago
For a container, these lids https://www.amazon.com/Maintenance-silicone-waterless-fermentation-dishwasher/dp/B072N42T61 https://www.amazon.com/Maintenance-silicone-waterless-fermen... on mason jars make me glad to be alive just after their invention, given that people have fermented food for millennia. Dead simple, no mold, no burping necessary. Chop vegetables, add salt, mix and mash, put in jar with one of these lids on top. The next morning you'll see it bulging, letting the CO2 out but no O2 in.

dialogbox 8y ago

To store Kimchi long enough in earthen Kimchi jars (KimJangDdock or JangDdockDae), we have to half bury it underground. The problem is, most people in Korea, especially younger people doesn't have places to bury it. That's why refrigerator specialized for Kimchi is so popular in Korea. Still many younger people tries to make Kimchi by their own. Some just for hobby. Some for their own taste. And there are niche market to provide half prepared ingredients to reduce most of burden. I don't think this tradition will die out. I will be changed.

Regardsyjc 8y ago

My mom made kimchi but it became no longer financially worthwhile especially considering the labor. I was happy though because her kimchi was not as good as the local grandma's kimchi, whose kimchi was just a little bit better than the ones I get at my local Korean supermarket. For true kimchi lovers, the best kimchi I've ever had in my life was at a Korean Buddhist temple, and I've probably had hundreds of pounds of kimchi in my life. Highly recommend looking into Korean Buddhist cuisine because they built their vegan culinary expertise over centuries. For those curious in trying Korean cuisine, go to a traditional Korean restaurant, safest bet being Korean BBQ. A good traditional Korean restaurant should serve at least 5 different side dishes, and probably 3 of them will be pickled, with at least one dish being kimchi. Or go to a Korean supermarket like Hmart and you'll find more types of kimchi than you could possibly imagine... Even I'm stunned by all the varieties available at my local supermarket...

sevensor 8y ago

I once took a bus trip from Seoul to Seoraksan (basically coast to coast). I was tremendously impressed by the industry with which every available square meter was cultivated. In Seoul, anywhere there was green space, there was a garden. No space at all wasted on grass. Even the narrow verge between the highway and an apartment block was be cultivated. In the countryside, people were logging nearly vertical hillsides, and as far as I could see they were doing so without using mechanized logging equipment. Every barbecue restauraunt had sesame plants growing outside, which they used for leaves to serve with bulgogi, although I think it's also for advertising. And of course, there were pots for kimchi everywhere. Korean people told me that eating kimchi is why Koreans are so strong and healthy. I find it hard to disagree -- anecdotally, I have never felt more energized than after eating kimchi jigae for breakfast. And my American companions who passed on the kimchi but tried to keep up with the soju, they all got quite sick. Anyway, kimchi is delicious and everybody should eat it.

yial 8y ago

I don’t know if this would be horribly invasive to ask, but do you have and would you be willing to share the recipe and process your mother and grandmother used to make their aachar?

vram22 8y ago

>there was a tradition of pickle making (Indian pickles, or aachar There are some good Indian pickles or preserves that are less known nowadays, or at least, I do not see or hear of them as much. A few are: - mahani - it's made from the root of a plant, googled it ("mahani pickle") recently, may be (Indian version of) sarsaparilla; it has an unusual taste; had it at a relative's farm, where they made it from bushes growing there - sundakai (small bright reddish-yellow fruit of a bush), sun-dried and then quickly deep-fried, to have as a condiment with meals (a kind of "vattal", it's called, in Tamil) (think something like dried then fried chillies, not in hotness but in the technique) - karonda (a small crimson fruit of a tree, incredibly tangy and sourish (but more to it) taste, used to pick and eat them from wild trees in Central India as a kid, also once had an unforgettable pickle made from them in a Punjabi restaurant in Bangalore (it might have been Casa Piccola) - green peppers (not chillies, the same fruit as the black pepper, but when unripe), pickled in just salted water; bought a jar a couple of times at a Kerala foods store in Pune, comes in sprigs, mouth-watering and a bit deceptively strong.