Kimchi is not only one of the most important Korean side dishes that is also used in Korean stews and main dishes, but many, many of us love its unique smell! I love my kimchi and fried rice, and yes, the smell of fried kimchi is half the pleasure. I can’t imagine making and then looking at a bowl of kimchi fried rice that DOES NOT SMELL of kimchi. What kind of culinary nightmare is this?
Well, the apparent nightmare, just like your favorite movie without sound, with or without color, or a cup of coffee in the morning without coffee aromas, is now a dream or a nightmare come true depending on how you prefer your kimchi.
The side dish, as it has been served for hundreds of years, is perfect for most of us kimchi connoisseurs, with its pungent smell and even has its own national event called Kimjang. In preparation for the colder months of the year, the entire Korean nation is involved in gathering ingredients, making, and storing Kimchi for Um-dong (the coldest 3-4 months of winter). This is one of the most important annual events. Housewives, friends, relatives and neighbors collaborate. In years gone by, each fall, families would traditionally take turns helping each other prepare kimchi for the harsh winters ahead, with its wonderful fermented smell, I might add.
The annual event strengthened the ties between family members and neighbors perpetuating the spirit of “Pumasi” – Spirit of helping each other.
This tradition has been lost in some areas due to cultural modernization, busier schedules, the availability of ready-to-eat kimchi at local stores, and the revolutionary kimchi refrigerator that extends freshness using lower temperatures.
Now, 56-year-old Kim Soon-ja (named the First Kimchi Master by the South Korean Ministry of Food in 2007) has created Kimchi that is odorless. She has run her own factory since 1986 and now has a patent on odorless kimchi. Her creation is a new type of freeze-dried pickled cabbage that doesn’t smell even after adding water to it. [1]
As selfish as it sounds, I’m not at all interested in the reaction of foreign palettes as much as what you might think about it. I understand Korea’s struggle for the globalization of Korean food and kimchi in particular, but I love the smell of kimchi followed by the taste of the pickled spicy heavenly treat.
The Seoul-based Korea Institute of Image Communication surveyed that the unique smell of Korean food is the biggest obstacle to culinary globalization. Granted, fermenting cabbage, garlic, red pepper flakes, anchovy, fish sauce, and ginger greatly improves your chances of kimchi breath, but that’s what brushes and mints are for! the breath!
Also consider that if that odorless kimchi moves itself and Korean cuisine, in general, closer to the desired culinary globalization, what are we to make of 3000-year-old kimchi recipes and approaches when asked at the regard? What do we say to those who ask for REAL kimchi in restaurants? Should we provide separate seating like we did for smokers? I’m being a bit extreme, of course, but I suppose we can provide a pseudo kimchi for those unwilling to risk being anywhere near the smell of a healthy fermented food. For the seller, it could even be an additional source of income and probably sells for more than the real thing. One of the few requirements for a ridiculous price is the novelty factor and an odorless kimchi will certainly have that. People are funny that way, don’t you know?
With the smell removed, what does kimchi taste like without the smell? Well, I personally haven’t had a chance to try it, but I’m extremely doubtful and pessimistic that I’d enjoy it the way I do naturally fermented, freshly served kimchi in all its glorious smell. However, I’ll keep an open mind enough to say that I’ve yet to try it and until I do, I’ll just have to bite my tongue a bit and effortlessly sniff the stuff out: remember it’s odorless.
The creator of the odorless kimchi brand ‘just add water’ speaks best of him saying, “When it is soaked in cold or hot water for a few minutes, it will become just like ordinary kimchi,” says Kim, the owner of Han Sung. Food in the suburbs of Seoul.
It sounded like and reminded me of the sterilized and irradiated kimchi that was developed for space travel when astronaut Ko San went into orbit in April 2008.
I’m sure the creator of the odorless concoction has nothing but good things to say about kimchi, but I want the pungent smell to be part of the experience for many of us. To kimchi mongers like me, this odorless variety would be like smoky barbecue with no trace of smoked meat in the air or pastry with no sweet nose effect.
A professor of food science at Kyung Hee University said, “Some people who like freshness might not like dry kimchi.” An acquired taste, the dish isn’t the same without its telltale aroma, Cho says.
I would also be concerned about losing out on any of the true health benefits of traditional kimchi compared to its odorless counterpart. I enjoy the smell of my kimchi as it’s served and treat myself. Despite the lack of its natural scent, I can’t help but wonder if odorless kimchi’s health benefits remain intact to include antitoxins, anti-allergens, and antibiotics.
From Wikipedia: (About REAL Kimchi)
Health magazine named kimchi to its list of the five “World’s Healthiest Foods” for being rich in vitamins, aiding digestion and possibly even reducing cancer growth.
A study from Seoul National University claimed that chickens infected with the H5N1 virus, also called bird flu, recovered after eating food containing the same bacteria found in kimchi. However, the veracity of these results has been questioned due to the very small sample size of only a handful of chickens, and the fact that no subsequent research supported the claims. During the 2003 SARS outbreak in Asia, many people even believed that kimchi could protect against infections, although there was no scientific evidence to support this belief.
However, in May 2009, the Korea Food Research Institute, Korea’s state food research organization, said it had conducted a larger study on 200 chickens, which supported the efficacy of kimchi in fighting bird flu. “. [2]
Among the real health benefits of kimchi are better intestinal maintenance, omega-6 fatty acids, fights unhealthy cholesterol levels, high levels of garlic which provide high levels of allicin, a natural source of selenium and artery cleanser. , and a high content of chili with its enchanted vitamin C. [3]
I guess my future dining experiences may require a call ahead to specify and make sure I am served the traditional stinky kimchi following my preference between the best tap water or mineral water in town. So if a serving of this odorless kimchi makes it to my table, for my taste it will be only half the experience.
Without a doubt, that would be a table and a restaurant that I would have to avoid. I mean kimchi has traditionally been served fresh or slightly aged with all its natural flavors and smell fermented just as it was made 2600-3000 years ago. It’s hard to break away from such an old habit, you know?
I have to admit that opening a jar of kimchi will release a strong and lingering odor that most would find very noticeable and perhaps offensive. If I’m traveling and can’t get to where it’s served as standard, have to eat in a hotel room or someone else’s home, I’d be more than happy to venture into the region’s typical food. I mean, when you’re in Rome, you don’t pop your kimchi-filled tupperware. And even then, I know that in many parts of the world I can purchase enough kimchi locally to meet my needs. This is not like asking for $750 a pound of white truffles during an expedition in the Amazon.
I contacted Kim Soon-ja to get a sample of her Kimchi as I would like to review her product on my Love That Kimchi.com site. Just as I’ve tried Granny Choe’s traditional kimchi (complete with the wonderful smell of fermented cabbage and ancient ingredients) and now recommend it on my site, I would offer a completely fair and unbiased review of odorless kimchi for both the traditionalist and those who don’t. They have kept away from this gem because of the smell. Despite having my strong preference, I can offer a fair review on the merits of taste alone. This despite a strong connection between the sense of smell and taste, at least mine. It might be like judging a sizzling steak, right before your eyes, with no meaty smell, but it would be the taste, after all, that’s being judged. I’ve had to do worse.
Until then, with all due respect, and I mean it, I think ‘scentless kimchi’ will be as tolerated among true lovers of Korean cuisine as zirconia diamonds are among gemstone collectors.
In the meantime, I’m grateful to keep and as long as it’s acceptable to go back to my stinky kimchi.
I enjoy every mouthful of cabbage’s perfectly balanced fermented flavors and ingredients that make this strong-smelling food one of the five healthiest foods in the world according to Health magazine. But then again, what do those shmuks know about these things, right?
Finally, for those not willing to settle, remember, if it looks like kimchi, SMELLS like kimchi, is served like kimchi, then it’s probably REAL kimchi.
In the meantime, don’t make me ask who moved my kimchi smell.
