Kimchi Potpourri
There are more a hundred different kinds of kimchies prepared to appeal to every taste and fit in with every serving need. Also, there are many different varieties within the four seasonal groups, as well as the three major processing groups: pasteurized, refrigerated and fresh pack.
Pasteurized can be either fermented or pickled. Fermented kimchi preserved and cured by natural fermentation. Genuine kimchi made from cabbages wilted in special sea salt brine, seasoned with typical kimchi ingredient and mixed spices. Current kimchi is made the same as genuine kimchi except for the long term maturation period. Refrigerated may be made in several ways, including placing wilted cabbages in a pickling solution of spice-mixture and keeping them cool, or using partial fermentation followed by refrigeration to slow the process. Fresh pack kimchi packed in spiced-ingredients plus sour vinegar mixture. This sour-cured type tastes like fresh salad kimchi.
The four seasonally different types vary with its different materials and spice stuffing of each season – spring, summer, autumn and winter. The whole cabbage kichi is packed in conventional spice-mixture stuffing for a long term preservation throughout whole winter months. The autumn kimchi is usually seasoned lighter than that of the winter’s.
The summer kimchi is mainly fresh pack or sour-cured type. The spring kimchi is usually combined with other spring vegetables and stocked fall winter vegetables. Often, they are prepared together as fresh spring pack. In spring, there is also some well stored winter kimchi to be found together with newly processed one. It is not only possible to have kimchi year round as a side dish, condiment or an appetizer, but also a wide range of “cook-with-kimchi” recipes is picking up momentum.