Kimchi is a classic Korean side dish made with salted and spiced napa cabbage or radishes, fermented to perfection. If made correctly, it will keep in your fridge for months. But there is a line where the spicy, crunchy, umami flavor over-ferments and crosses into being vinegary and limp.
Making homemade kimchi is time-consuming, and you certainly don't want to go through it only to find mold growing in your kimchi jar a week later. With that in mind, what's the best way to make sure it stays crunchy and fresh as long as possible? Good news: Daily Meal asked Ji Hye Kim, chef and owner of Miss Kim Korean restaurant in Ann Arbor, Michigan, to find out. According to Kim, there's no specific point at which kimchi goes bad — unless it begins to grow mold, that is.
"As long as you watch a couple key points in keeping kimchi, it does not go bad in a sense that it will be unsafe to eat," says Kim, adding, "you will, however, find your favorite period of ripeness, and there is no wrong answer." (Kim's is between four and six weeks from the make date). That said, there are certain techniques that can help your kimchi stay good for months on end.
Per Kim, this includes making sure not to introduce bacteria into your kimchi with dirty utensils, portioning out a week's supply into a smaller container, and making sure the solid pieces of your kimchi are covered in brine while in storage. When it comes to homemade kimchi, limit air exposure Part of the reason people love kimchi is because.
