Kimchi is a savory salt-pickled condiment that Koreans love so much that they can have it at every meal of the day! You can have it with rice, stew, dumplings, pancakes, and the list goes on.
Do you know what the best part about it is? Homemade kimchi tastes as good as commercially prepared kimchi does, plus you also save money!
Kimchi is initially made up of shredded napa cabbage and spices, but sometimes you can find other vegetables like carrots and radishes in it too.
You can make great kimchi at home with only a few ingredients and little labor. But can you freeze kimchi? If you want to freeze kimchi, you must know a few things beforehand.
Can You Freeze Kimchi?
How did people traditionally preserve kimchi in the olden times? They used a clay pot to store kimchi and then buried it in the soil.
What was its purpose? The low temperatures underground inhibited the fermentation process. If kimchi is not kept in the right conditions, it either grows mold or starts smelling like alcohol; you should throw it away in both cases.
Burying clay pots underground sounds time-consuming, doesn’t it? So how can you store kimchi for an extended period of time? Can you freeze kimchi to prolong its life? Yes, you can freeze kimchi; actually, kimchi freezes really well!
This delicacy has a long shelf life; even if kimchi is left outside at room temperature, it stays edible for a week. Keeping it refrigerator adds more days to its shelf life, up to 3-6 months.
Thinking about freezing kimchi is actually a great idea if you plan to have it later because frozen kimchi can last for several years.
What Happens If Kimchi Is Frozen?
What is kimchi? A salt-pickled dish consisting of fermented vegetables and spices. Its flavor has a strong kick of ginger, garlic, and chili. Kimchi has such a unique flavor spicy, sour, sweet, and salty notes all at once that no other dish can match.
The fermentation process plays a crucial role in making or breaking kimchi; when kimchi is frozen, the fermentation process is wholly paused.
The flavors don’t turn highly sour, and the kimchi is preserved for an extended period this way. Kimchi will also not over-ripen when frozen, so freezing kimchi is a good idea!
All of the vegetables in kimchi have a delightful crunch; some people love that texture so much that they don’t prefer freezing kimchi.
Because once frozen kimchi is thawed, that crisp gets lost sometimes. Kimchi is really beneficial for gut health, but when kimchi is frozen, it sadly loses a lot of its nutrients!
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How Long Can You Freeze Kimchi?
If kimchi is frozen, can it last a long time? You can freeze kimchi for 6-7 years in your freezer! Yes, you heard that right; it sounds surprising, right? Sealed containers prevent kimchi from excessive moisture and freezer burns, so they last for years!
If your container is unopened and not leaking from anywhere, it can last for a very long period of time inside your freezer. But an open container will go wrong for such a long period and can only be kept inside the freezer for 1-2 years.
Does Kimchi Freeze Well?
Does kimchi freeze well, or is it a bad idea? Yes, kimchi can freeze well, and you can extend its shelf life by freezing it.
While freezing kimchi is possible, you should only take it out of the freezer occasionally as kimchi will not handle fluctuating temperatures and get nasty.
Kimchi can freeze well, but you cannot refreeze it once it has been thawed, as you will be left with watery, soggy, and inedible kimchi.
That is because kimchi consists of shredded vegetables, and the main ingredient in kimchi is napa cabbage, which is 90-99% water.
How to Freeze Kimchi?
How can you freeze kimchi correctly? Pickling kimchi takes a lot of love and effort, and you surely don’t want it to go to waste. So what steps should you be following? What things should you avoid? Here’s how to do it.
Follow these steps and your frozen kimchi won’t turn bad once thawed. I know that kimchi is traditionally kept inside a clay pot but don’t use a pot when you’re freezing kimchi!
Use an airtight box or Ziploc bag instead. Personally, Ziploc bags are my favorite because they take up less space in the freezer.
Once you transfer your kimchi into your bag (or box), ensure that you don’t fill it all the way up, as kimchi will expand once frozen.
How to Defrost Kimchi?
You cannot eat frozen kimchi, right? So after freezing kimchi and how can you defrost it without ruining its form? Defrosting kimchi is easy and effortless!
Just take the kimchi out of the freezer and refrigerate it overnight. While the texture and structure of kimchi won’t be affected, its unique umami flavor will be diminished.
Cooking something, and the recipe demands a bit of kimchi as a condiment? There is no need to thaw it, then.
Scoop out some frozen kimchi and stir it in during the process. It will add bold flavors to your food, and no one will be able to tell if your kimchi was frozen!
Final Verdict:
Kimchi just tastes perfect with everything! I am such a big kimchi fan that you will always find frozen kimchi inside my freezer.
I divide and freeze kimchi in Ziploc bags, so it does not occupy much space in my freezer and doesn’t go terribly.
Koreans love kimchi so much that they believe it never goes wrong; it is just that the vegetables in it are overripe.
Whether you are Korean or not, everyone needs kimchi in their lives. Now that you know how long you can freeze kimchi, you should never run out of it!
Frequently Asked Questions
Will Kimchi Spoil If Refrigerated?
If you put kimchi in the refrigerator, there is no risk of it going wrong. Instead, keeping it in the refrigerator will allow it to maintain its quality for a more extended period of time.
At room temperature, kimchi has a shelf life of about a week, while kimchi stored in the refrigerator will keep for several months.
How Long Is Kimchi Good For The Freezer?
Kimchi has been good for the freezer for years! If you properly freeze your kimchi and ensure that your container has no leakage, you can keep kimchi inside your freezer and enjoy it even after years. I suggest you freeze kimchi in small portions as you cannot refreeze it later.
Can You Eat Kimchi Straight From The Fridge?
Yes, you can totally eat kimchi straight from the fridge! Make sure you have that particular spice tolerance level before you eat it straight from the fridge.
If you are not a fan of eating cold kimchi, then you can also reheat it with some cooking oil on a frying pan; don’t overcook it.
Is It Bad to Freeze Kimchi?
No, actually, it is a good idea to freeze kimchi; in fact, doing so may prevent the kimchi from spoiling and increase the time it can be kept on the shelf.
Despite this, others do not like frozen kimchi and would instead consume it in its new form.
