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Kimchi

kim-CHEE
Also Known As Gimchi
Fermented and Pickled Cold Dishes

A Korean dish of salted, seasoned and fermented vegetables, most often napa cabbage and Korean radish, mixed with chili powder (gochugaru), garlic, ginger and fermented seafood or fish sauce, then left to ferment. Kimchi accompanies nearly every Korean meal, and kimjang, the seasonal communal practice of making it in bulk before winter, was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2013.

Kimjang, the communal winter kimchi-making tradition, was recognized by UNESCO in 2013 as part of South Korea's Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity list.

Facts
Disputed
Origin Period, From (Year)
from 1241 1
Sourced to the subject's own accountMarks a poem on Korean radish by 13th-century literatus Yi Gyubo (died 1241), the earliest secure documentary evidence that radish kimchi was common in Goryeo (918-1392); earlier Goguryeo-period fermented vegetables are described in later sources but are not independently dated.
Origin RegionSourced to the subject's own account
Korea (Korean peninsula) 1
Origin Period, To (Year)
to 1850 1
Sourced to the subject's own accountMarks the 19th century, by which point chili peppers, introduced to Korea only in the early 17th century, had become the standard ingredient defining kimchi's now-familiar red form.
Classification
CourseSourced to the subject's own account
Side Dish 1
FAQs

Was kimchi always spicy?

No. Chili peppers reached Korea in the early seventeenth century and became widespread in kimchi only in the nineteenth.

No. Early records of kimchi do not mention garlic or chili pepper. Chili peppers are a New World crop and were unknown in Korea until the early seventeenth century, and the first mention of chili pepper is in Jibong yuseol, an encyclopedia published in 1614. Chili use in kimchi did not become widespread until the nineteenth century, and napa cabbage reached Korea only at the end of the nineteenth century, so whole-cabbage kimchi in its current form is also fairly recent.
Connections

Associated With

Bibimbap, Dishes

Kimchi is among bibimbap's standard namul toppings.

Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson

Expresses Tradition

Source On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the KitchenHarold McGee

In Cuisine

Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson

Uses Ingredient

Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
Garlic, Ingredients
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
Ginger, Ingredients
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
Salt, Ingredients
Source The Oxford Companion to FoodAlan Davidson
In the Other Atlases

Originated In

Also in Geography Atlas: where this subject originated.

Sources
1. Kimchi (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia
  • Names
    Kimchi (김치) is the accepted word in both North and South Korean standard languages.
  • Early history section
    During the Silla dynasty (57 BCE - CE 935), kimchi became prevalent as Buddhism caught on throughout the nation and fostered a vegetarian lifestyle.
  • Introduction
    Kimchi (; Korean: 김치; pronounced [kim.tɕʰi]) is a traditional Korean side dish (banchan) consisting of salted and fermented vegetables, most often Chinese cabbage or Korean radish.
  • In Group: Fermented and Pickled Vegetables, Lead paragraph
    Kimchi (; Korean: 김치; pronounced [kim.tɕʰi]) is a traditional Korean side dish (banchan) consisting of salted and fermented vegetables, most often Chinese cabbage or Korean radish.
View the Source
The Oxford Companion to Food
Alan Davidson, Oxford University Press, 2014
On Food and Cooking: The Science and Lore of the Kitchen
Harold McGee, Scribner, 2004
Encyclopaedia Britannica
Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc.View the Source

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