FAQs
Traditional Kimchi usually has a seafood ingredient in it such as fish sauce, salted oysters or fermented shrimp. Our Napa Kimchi has first-press fish sauce from wild caught black anchovies. There is no fish sauce in our Vegan Kimchi.
Our kimchi is medium spiced so that you still get the spice, but it doesn’t overpower the balance of all the other flavor profiles. If you are looking for more spice try our Kimchi Pickles!
Napa is a type of cabbage traditionally used in kimchi. It’s like a cross between a green cabbage and a head of romaine lettuce.
No, we don’t think the health department would be too happy about that 🙂 Before there was refrigeration (and still done to this day) families would bury their kimchi underground in special fermentation vessels where it would maintain a cool temperature and ferment over the winter months.
Yes, all our products are gluten free.
Our Napa Kimchi contains fish, but NO shellfish. Our Vegan Kimchi, Fermented Sesame Slaw and Kimchi Pickles contain soybeans.
Yes. If fermented foods are left unrefrigerated at warmer temperatures then they will begin accelerated fermentation, which will cause the fermentation gases to build up inside the packaging. This may result in the contents bubbling, overflowing upon opening or even shooting out like a shaken bottle of soda.
All of our products have a best by date of 6 months from the time we made them, regardless if they are opened or unopened. Every package has a sticker on it with the best by date. Fermented foods can last much longer than this, but for taste and quality we recommend 6 months. Besides, if you still have them in your refrigerator after 6 months then something is wrong! Keep in mind that fermented foods are alive and they will continue to change in flavor over time.
Probiotics are beneficial live bacteria that aid in maintaining the balance of microorganisms mainly in our body’s intestines and digestive tract. They are beneficial because they counteract and fight off bad bacteria to restore and balance the gut flora (or microbiome), which is essential for keeping you healthy.
It’s recommended that you eat 1 oz or 2 tablespoons a day.
Yes, cooking foods will negatively affect the probiotic, so if you don’t want to lose the beneficial probiotics, add our products raw to your dish after the other ingredients have been cooked. But that’s not to say you shouldn’t cook with them – we do all the time. If you just want that delicious flavor to soak into your dish, like kimchi fried rice then go for it!
Yes, for various reasons fermented foods may continue to ferment rapidly inside a sealed container. Although it doesn’t happen often with our products it’s still safe and delicious to eat, it just might be a little more fermented then usual.
We love our products in glass jars, which are available in retail stores, but jars can break while in transit and fizz or bubble over upon opening. For online shipping we use stand-up pouches with a specially designed vent on them, which allows fermented gases to escape, but does not allow oxygen to enter. We feel the pouches maintain the quality of our products and eliminate some of the challenges of a sealed glass container when being shipped.
Although not very common, product juices may leak out from the specially designed valves on the pouches and or pouches may be puffed up due to continued fermentation. They are still safe and good to eat. Just wash off the outside of the pouch, open the pouch to release the buildup of gases and refrigerate immediately.
