I bought some kimchi a few weeks ago, ate half the jar, and then forgot about it. I found it in my fridge yesterday and tried it. It tastes the same, but there isn't a date stamped on the jar. Does it go bad or should it be fine since it's fermented/pickled?
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A great resource for how long foods can be kept is Stilltasty.com. According to them, commercially bottled pickles (and kimchee would fall into this category) can be kept after opening for one year in the refrigerator. |
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Most Koreans won't eat kimchi if a) the veggies have become significantly mushy b) the juices taste 'sparkly', it's hard to describe this flavor exactly, but when you taste it, you'll know what I mean. A year seems like a long time for opened kimchi to me, but I would just use my tastebuds to assess the above. |
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Kimchi is rotten cabbage. It's already bad :) Seriously though, if it isn't moldy, it's probably fine. If you have the kind in the jar that has a carbonated taste, and it's still carbonated, it's fine. |
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In every Korean kitchen I have encountered, everyone has been extremely particular in that clean utensils should be used when extracting the kimchee from the jar, being very careful not to contaminate the kimchee. I have been told on many occasions that contaminating the kimchee can shorten the shelf life of the kimchee and taint the flavor. My family will begin eating the raw kimchee about a week after it has been bought fresh from the grocery, after one month (if it is still around) I use whats left, cooking it with various dishes. The more salt that is added to the kimchee and the cooler the temp it is stored at, the slower it will ferment. Seems to me everybody has a different 'sweet spot' when it comes to the duration of fermentation they feel produces the best flavor. But I have never heard anybody storing kimchee for a year, and believe traditionally it was kept in Korea from one growing season to the next, in clay pots, underground. I have never heard of someone getting sick from eating old kimchee, but it definitely turns, and that in my mind constitutes as "going bad" |
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"Bad" is a relative term for fermented pickles -- the whole point of the things is that they are a bit spoiled. It should get more sour/pricklier/funkier as time goes on and still be fine, but use your eyes and nose: if it gets stinky in some new and exciting way or looks strange, I'd avoid. |
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I made Napa Cabbage Kimchi about 2 and a half months ago and had two containers in the back of the fridge. One was half full in a plastic honey container and a full one. I was worried that it had spoiled by this time but when I tried it, it was delicious. I am not Korean but I have enjoyed really sour kimchi for a long time. I'm so stoked that I have another 1 liter ice cream pail of the stuff. |
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I don't think it can go bad, but the flavour profile does change over time with homemade kimchi. Usually once it's past a certain point my Korean friend will use it for flavouring soups and stews rather than eating it straight. So it's just up to your personal preference. |
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