Does kimchi go bad?
Early in January, I bought a home-made jar of kimchi from an international food store and half of it was used...and the other half is still sitting in my fridge in that jar. After three weeks, I'm wondering if I should give it a try. I mean....does a fermented food go bad?
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11 Comments:
Kimchi ripens as it's stored in a refrigerator.
as the bacteria accumulate lactic acid, it becomes more sour. If you like it, you can still eat it straight.
I tend to use ripe kimchi for cooking.
Stir-frying with bean sprouts and thinly sliced pork is easy and tasty, because the kimchi serves as seasoning :-)
hmw0029 at 8:00AM on 03/05/09
Your kimchi should still be fine.
Sour kimchi is best for cooking -- kimchi pancakes, kimchi chigae (stew),
kimchi fried rice, etc.
jbeach at 10:26AM on 03/05/09
it might be too sour by now. i personally don't like my kimchi too sour. but i love to make kimchi fried rice or to stir fry it with some pork and tofu.
GLEE827 at 11:45AM on 03/05/09
i just re-read my comment and what i meant to say is that it might be too sour for your taste by now. kimchi doesn't really go bad. its still edible, but different people have different opinions on how "ripe" they like to eat their kimchi.
GLEE827 at 11:47AM on 03/05/09
Two months old? It is probably really ripe and pretty sour. Perfect for making several things: kimchi fried rice, kimchi pancakes, kimchi jigae, kimchi mandoo, bibim naeng myun, kimchi bokum with pork belly.
wookie at 11:59AM on 03/05/09
I don't know too much about kimchi. Having once gotten violently ill after a meal in Korea I have little desire to eat it again even though I liked it, but considering that it is ripened
in large vats on the rooftops of houses and even apartment buildings in Korea, I imagine it takes a lot to make it go bad!
smallblondemom at 12:31PM on 03/05/09
Like Arsenio Hall said about sour cream. How can it go bad? The $^!& is already sour!
Remander at 11:49PM on 03/05/09
Kimchi doesn't "go" bad - it "starts" bad.
Of course, that's why I love it.
Nursie at 1:22AM on 03/06/09
in traditional ways, they used to make kimchi in giant earthernware vats to last through the winters, so there is no harm in eating MONTHS old kimchi! (as i used to at my gran's in korea)
although, as mentioned above, it may taste quite vinegary, but i personally love sour kimchi.
i buy bags of freshly made 'green' kimchi and leave it on the kitchen counter over night to ripen.
sugarglass at 6:45AM on 03/06/09
It's bad when it's good.
dmcavanagh at 1:06AM on 03/08/09
Yeah the point of kimchi back in the day was that it would last through the winter, so it should be fine. We definitely keep jars of it for months. Depends on how you like it. Once it starts tasting alcoholic, I don't like it so much but that's when my dad says it's good.
LHSK12 at 7:00AM on 03/08/09