I finally figured out my weird kimchi problem after three months

My last batch of kimchi kept coming out way too soft and mushy, not crunchy at all. I tried changing the salt, the cabbage type, even the room temp. Turns out I was using tap water to rinse the cabbage after salting, and our city water here has a lot of chlorine. Switched to filtered water and the next batch was perfect. Has anyone else had a simple water issue ruin a ferment?

3 comments

3 Comments

spencer82d ago

Wait, you went three whole months with mushy kimchi before checking the water? That's some next-level patience, I would have lost my mind after the second failed batch. Joel's totally right about the chlorine killing the good stuff, it's not just about safety to drink. Emma's grandma probably had different water back in the day, city water changes.

emma_dixon702d ago

Honestly, that chlorine theory sounds a bit overblown. @joel_martinez might have read that, but city water is safe to drink, so it should be fine for rinsing. My grandma never used filtered water and her kimchi was always crunchy. The mushiness probably came from salting the cabbage wrong, like not enough pressure when you press it dry. Water is just water, seems like an easy thing to blame instead of the real technique problem.

joel_martinez2d ago

Oh wow, that's a solid find. I read something a while back about how chlorine in water can actually kill off the good bacteria you need to get the ferment going right. Makes total sense it would turn things to mush if the microbes can't do their job. Glad you got it sorted, that's the kind of simple fix that drives you nuts until you figure it out.