Kimchi has been made on the Korean peninsula for at least 2,000 years — the earliest references are to salted vegetables. The addition of gochugaru (from New World chilli peppers) is a more recent development (post-16th century), but the fermentation principle is ancient. Over 200 varieties of kimchi exist across Korea's regional traditions.
Kimchi — fermented napa cabbage with gochugaru (Korean red pepper flakes), garlic, ginger, and salted seafood — is the most important fermented preparation in Korean cooking and one of the most technically sophisticated fermentations in any culinary tradition. The lacto-fermentation of cabbage in a high-salt, high-capsaicin environment produces a flavour architecture (sour, hot, umami, funky, complex) that evolves over months and years. Fresh kimchi (geotjeori) is different from aged kimchi (mukimchi); each is appropriate for different applications.
- German sauerkraut: same lacto-fermentation principle (Leuconostoc and Lactobacillus in a high-salt vegetable environment), different seasoning and outcome
- Japanese nukazuke (TJ-13) is a controlled fermentation with similar bacterial communities
- Peruvian chicha (PE-10) uses lactic acid fermentation for grain conversion
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