Kimchi Fridges For The Home Cook
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What Is A Kimchi Fridge?
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What Is Kimchi?
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Other Storage Alternatives
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Considerations When Buying
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Top 4 Kimchi Refrigerators
What Is A Kimchi Fridge?
A kimchi fridge refers to a specially built refrigerator that is designed to meet the unique requirements for fermenting kimchi.
They provides a colder, more humid, and consistent temperature compared to a conventional refrigerator. It also has less moving air, thus providing a more consistent fermentation environment. Kimchi can turn sour when stored in a conventional fridge for more than a week compared to a kimchi option which can keep it fresh for up to 4 months (link). The cold temperatures usually slow down the fermentation process while still preserving the flavors.
They also include additional features such as a UV sterilizer which is a disinfection method that keeps off harmful bacteria culture from invading your kimchi.
Do You Need To Use One?
They are not a necessity. However, if you are considering making kimchi regularly then it is advisable to invest in one of these specialized refrigerators for the best fermentation outcome. After all, kimchi becomes almost entirely useless if it loses its rustic flavor and becomes bitter.
How Does It Open?
While top-loading ones were the first models, their popularity has been surpassed by that of free-standing side loading types. These can be opened partially to save energy and are also easier to load and unload the shelves.
What Is Kimchi?
Kimchi is a traditional Korean food consisting of salty fermented vegetables with a wide range of seasonings. This side dish is mostly prepared using Napa cabbage, Korean radish, garlic, salted seafood, and chili powder. Kimchi was primarily a way to store vegetables from summer harvest through the frozen winters.
Other Storage Alternatives
Regular Fridge
Kimchi can be stored in a normal fridge for up to 3 weeks, although this shelf life will be significantly less than when stored in a kimchi refrigerator, where kimchi can last for up to 4 months. It is recommended to the kimchi on the upper shelves of the fridge where the temperatures are much colder. Inconsistent temperature variations can lead to spoilt kimchi, this is caused by being opened several times a day and energy-saving features.
Cold Room
Kimchi can also be stored in a cold room where temperatures don’t fluctuate much. Always ensure that your kimchi jars are sealed airtight to avoid letting out the aroma which is likely to linger or disrupt other food varieties stored.
Traditional Earthenware
In traditional Korea, Kimchi was stored in large earthenware that was buried in the ground to prevent the kimchi from freezing during winter months. This method, however, should not be used in regions experiencing a warm climate as the kimchi will spoil after a couple of days.
Considerations When Buying
Capacity
When shopping for a kimchi refrigerator, you will have to look out for its capacity. After all, it makes no sense to get a fridge that cannot accommodate all of your kimchi jars. You also have to keep in mind that the larger the refrigerator, the more energy it’s going to consume.
For this reason, it’s advisable to go for a medium-capacity one. Not only are they cheaper to buy than the larger ones but they also offer a competitive capacity to maintenance cost ratio.
Temperature Range
This refers to maximum and minimum compartment temperatures that the fridge can sustain. Kimchi is best preserved under cold temperatures, so your fridge should ideally have a much lower minimum compartment temperature, preferably as cold as it can be. Most of those available in the market can achieve 0 degrees F (-17 degrees C).
The majority of the kimchi refrigerators with a custom temperature range are also equipped with custom cold control. This allows you to have various temperature targets for different compartments.
Dimensions
Your storage area size should dictate the dimensions of your fridge. For starters, the fridge cannot be placed in a tight-fitting location as this might obscure the circulation of air into its cooling vents.
Energy Efficiency
Always go for a power-efficient option. Be aware of marketing gimmicks, especially in terms of an efficiency rating. The best way to know if a refrigerator is energy efficient is by checking if it has an Energy Star certified label. This is a guaranteed mark of quality, and you can rest assured that any fridge with such a certification will be energy efficient.
Additional Features
Kimchi tends to give off a reasonably noticeable odor during fermentation. Therefore, having a fridge with a guard cover will prevent such air from leaking into the room and also keeps the moisture and cool air within the refrigerator. Others additional features that will come in handy include defrost, UV sterilizer, and LED lighting.
Top 3 Kimchi Refrigerators
1. Dimchae Maman Kimchi Refrigerator (Check The Latest Price Here)
Price: $4049
Capacity: 418L
Design: 3-door with 2 pullout drawer doors design
Additional Information:
The Dimchae Maman kimchi refrigerator features three independent cooling rooms, each with individual compartments. This allows you to take full advantage of the 418-liter internal capacity by having various specialty foods stored separately in the three compartments, thus avoiding a mix up of the aromas.
The hidden display touch control panel offers a centralized configuration to all temperature adjustment controls for the three independent cooling rooms. You can also use the panel to configure specific fermentation modes. These include one-night fermentation, health care fermentation, and various types of fermentation that require more than 24 hours. These modes will come in handy, especially if you are still new to kimchi fermentation. They can also be customized for long term storage of other dishes such as vegetables and fruits.
In terms of cooling technology, Dimchae Maman utilizes a combination of direct cooling as well as cool air curtain zones. These are supported by an alley of temperature sensors to prevent drastic fluctuations of temperatures within any of the compartments.
2. Dimchae Petite Kimchi Refrigerator (Check The Latest Price Here)
Price: $1074
Capacity: 100L
Design: Single front opening door with a retro design
Additional Information:
Dimchae has a long-standing history when it comes to building specialty food fridges. Their latest offering the Dimchae petite kimchi refrigerator promises to keep your kimchi fresh while still allowing fermentation to take place.
The fridge is equipped with three temperature modes; kimchi storage and standard refrigeration and freezer modes. The refrigerator also has an exclusive overnight fermentation mode.
The firm equips the fridge with six storage containers which perfectly fit in the 100-liter internal capacity. There are also three color choices to perfectly match with your home décor, including standard white, pink, and mint.
3. Dimchae Grassland Kimchi Refrigerator (Check The Latest Price Here)
Price: $1299.99
Capacity: 180L
Design: Chest style with 2 individual cooling compartments
Additional Information:
This Dimchae fridge is equipped with two independent cooling rooms offering additional storage room as well as the room for batch kimchi making. This is further enhanced by the eight individual kimchi refrigeration containers which can be sealed to prevent the aroma from escaping.
Dimchae relies on direct cooling with cold air curtain zones to provide consistent temperatures at all times. The fridge also has various fermentation modes such as health care fermentation technology, one-night fermentation, kimchi fermentation, long-term kimchi storage, chili storage, vegetables, and fruit mode.
