How It's Made: Kimchi

[Music] kimchi is Korean comfort food the zesty blend of fermented vegetables has been part of the Korean diet for at least 2,000 years it's so valued by Koreans that some even have special refrigerators for it in their homes like fine wine kimchi must be kept at a specific temperature to be at its best full of stomach friendly probiotics kimchi is believed to be good for one's health which is why demand is on the rise beyond Korean borders making kimchi starts with a preparation of organically grown vegetables there are many different recipes for kimchi this one is vegan and less spicy than some other versions the kitchen staff trims unwanted bits from carrots and scallions they then peel wilted leaves off of napa cabbage which is the main ingredient in kimchi its taste is sweeter and softer than regular cabbage over at the scrub station a worker claims the trimmed vegetables under cool running water if he misses even a speck of dirt it could interfere with chemical reactions during the fermentation process this could sour the flavor of the kimchi and spoil the batch each vegetable must be pristine the next member of the team shreds the carrots using an industrial food processor shredded bits of carrot will ferment quicker than big chunks scallions can't easily be shredded so he dices them by hand [Music] the kitchen staff carves the cabbage into fairly large strips because cabbage is thin bigger strips will ferment at the same pace as the shredded carrots and diced scallions the next ingredient is ginger a spice that will add flavor and soothe the digestive system another worker transfers the shredded ginger to a porous cotton bag she folds the bag a few times to create a packet and then places the packet under a press the press squeezes juice from the ginger and extracts the ginger essence while leaving the stringy pulp behind the worker weighs the ingredients beginning with the shredded carrot this is the largest ingredient after napa cabbage she then measures the portion of scallions that the recipe calls for she adds a scoop of celtic sea salt and checks the scale other ingredients include crushed garlic chili flakes and the ginger juice she stirs the seasonings into the vegetables and the ginger juice begins to saturate the scallion and carrot pieces all the ingredients now come together in this mixer with a big dough hook the worker adds the carrot and scallion blend to the napa cabbage in the base of the mixing bowl she activates the mixer and the dough hook folds all the elements together fermentation begins triggered by the evenly distributed salt workers then transfer the mixture to special fermentation crocks and pack it down to half-circles ceramic weights add pressure to the salted ingredients juices flow and immerse the kimchi vegetables creating an oxygen-free environment the salt suppresses the growth of bad bacteria allowing the good bacteria to flourish another worker pours water into a moat around the lid creating a ring of water that acts as a kind of seal one that will keep air out of the crock but will allow fermentation gases to escape one week later the kimchi is sufficiently fermented it is now a living food full of good bacteria a worker packs the kimchi into jars and weighs each container to confirm that the amount is correct the jars must be completely full with no air space between the kimchi and the lids that could compromise its shelf life she labels the jars in shrink wraps a plastic collar around the lid once refrigerated kimchi can last for up to 14 months well preserved it's practically always ready to be served [Music] you [Music]

Channel: Science Channel

Views: 109,465

Rating: 4.6520748 out of 5

Keywords: How It's Made, production line, factory made, mechanical production, how do they do it, everyday items, how it's made full episodes, how its made, how it's made episodes, how to make, kimchi, Korean cuisine, Korean food, fermented vegetables, fermented, fermentation

Id: LloGdmvpjK0

Length: 5min 12sec (312 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 15 2020