I chose kimchi for the food blog because it is a food that I
enjoy eating for its spicy, but delicious flavor. Kimchi is also full of
vegetables and healthy. Additionally, I was interesting in finding out the
history and meaning behind kimchi, specifically for Korean people.
Kimchi is a fermented dish made from cabbage, scallions,
ginger, fish sauce, garlic, and other spices. There are many variations of the
dish which arise from different family recipes and personal tastes as well as
the time period. It is traditionally served cold and is typically a vibrant red
color from the amount of red chile peppers that are added to the dish 1.
Kimchi, made primarily of vegetables, is low in calories,
but high in fiber, vitamins, and minerals. The nutrients and enzymes present in
kimchi also promote intestinal health. Recently, people have been calling
kimchi a “superfood” because of these great nutritional properties 1.
Kimchi has a long history dating centuries back. Kimchi is
the signature, staple, national dish for Korea and is enjoyed by people of all
social classes on a daily basis. Kimchi gained its importance in Korea because
it was able to be preserved and eaten at a later date. Kimchi was initially
very salty, as salt was used for preservation; however, after the discovery of
chiles in the Americas, kimchi quickly became the spicy food we know today 2.
Kimchi was also not originally the cabbage based dish that we have grown accustomed
to, but rather a radish based dish. As time went on, more and more vegetables
were added to kimchi to give new flavor and excitement. It wasn’t until about
1800 that cabbage became the favored main ingredient in kimchi. Kimchi used to
be fermented in underground for preservation, but nowadays, this process is not
as crucial because the kimchi can be stored in refrigerators 2.
Kimchi has become a very popular health food for people
around the world, mainly because of all the digestive benefits that it
provides. The previous necessity of being very salty in order to preserve the
food is now obsolete with the invention of the refrigerator. Essentially, the preservation
techniques, such as salting heavily, are still used, but for the flavor they
bring, not the preservative properties. It is still a huge part of the Korean
diet and is eaten with most meals 3. I have found out that kimchi is
not as well known as I had thought, and via surveying about 25 people who came
from different parts of the United States and Canada, that none of them were
familiar with the food. This is not a huge population, however, it was striking
that none of them were familiar at all with the food and is partially due to
sample size error.
The dish was originally called jimchae, which is Korean for
vegetables soaked in salted water. The word jimchae gradually changed in
pronunciation to kimchi as the Korean language evolved via the changing of
power in the country 4. Kimchi is very important to the people of
Korea and is one of the most consumed and integral part of Korean cuisine.
Kimchi is so important to the people of Korea that during the Vietnam War,
South Koreans fighting had requested that the US provide kimchi because they
yearned for it so much 3. This shows how important kimchi is to the
Korean people, are the value they attach to it.
1 My Korean
Diet. http://www.mykoreandiet.com/healthy-korean-food/kimchi-nutritional-value.html
2 Kimchi: A
Short History. http://zenkimchi.com/top-posts/kimchi-1-short-history/
3 Kimchi: New
Facts About an Old Myth. http://www.asianinfo.org/asianinfo/korea /food.htm#KIM%20CHI
4 Origins of
Kimchi. http://www.lifeinkorea.com/culture/kimchi/kimchi.cfm?xURL=origin
Well.... British people love pickled things and one of the things we miss here are pickled onions. Now I am more prepared to try kimchi though you know..... me and cabbage.....
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