Journal
Two pieces a week
Guides teach you how to make kimchi. We follow what happens after — how it changes week by week, which one belongs to which season, and why two jars four hours apart are not the same food.
CultureENKimjang: Korea's UNESCO-listed communal kimchi-making tradition
A household makes its winter kimchi in one batch in late autumn, and the neighbours help. The half year of preparation behind it, the 4°C rule that sets the date, what happens on the day, why UNESCO cited the sharing, and what the 2026 Korean survey says about who still does it.
· 8 min read
TechniqueENWhy is my kimchi too salty, too sour, or not fermenting?
Most kimchi faults come down to salt and temperature. A diagnosis table for seven symptoms, the 1984 Korean experiment that timed ripening at four salt levels and four temperatures, how raw radish rescues a salty batch, why a sour jar can only be cooked, and what to do when nothing seems to be happening.
· 9 min read
BuyingENOnggi, glass or plastic: the right container for fermenting kimchi
A glass jar or food-grade plastic tub is enough for a first batch. What four Korean studies found across onggi, polypropylene, stainless steel and glass, what the Georgia Tech 26 per cent figure actually measured, why a handmade pot needs a lead check, and how full to fill any container.
· 7 min read
TypesENKkakdugi: the crunchy radish kimchi guide
Korean radish cut into 2 cm cubes, salted, then tossed in chilli, garlic, ginger and salted shrimp. The two published Korean home methods, 4 per cent salt and a rinse or 2 per cent and none, the seasoning by weight, why the chilli goes on first, how fast it ripens at each fridge temperature, and why it comes with seolleongtang.
· 8 min read
TypesEN10 types of kimchi every beginner should know
Napa cabbage kimchi made up 72 per cent of the kimchi eaten in Korea in 2019, but the word covers dozens of dishes. Ten to know by name, from white kimchi and dongchimi, made without chilli flakes, to cubed kkakdugi, whole ponytail radishes, stuffed cucumber, scallion and Yeosu mustard leaf, and which one to try first.
· 8 min read
HealthENCooked vs. raw kimchi: do you lose the probiotics?
Simmering and frying kill the live bacteria in kimchi: at 60°C the hardiest strain in one study lost nine in ten cells every 45 seconds. Which dishes keep any, what heat leaves behind from fibre and lactic acid to the dead cells themselves, what a 2024 mouse study and a 2024 capsule trial found about heat-killed kimchi bacteria, and how to eat kimchi both ways.
· 8 min read