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Fermentation Atlas

Vegetables from Korea, South Jeolla

Gat kimchi (leaf mustard kimchi)갓김치

Gat kimchi is made from whole Korean leaf mustard (Brassica juncea), salted in brine and coated with chilli powder, garlic, glutinous rice paste and anchovy sauce. Its mustard heat comes from allyl isothiocyanate, which fades as the kimchi ripens slowly in the cold. Made in 4 steps over 6.2 days – 3.2 months. The longest step, ripen slowly in the cold, takes 6 days – 3.2 months (박삼수 1995) and runs at 4–20 °C (박삼수 1995). Salt is 10 % (Lee J.-H 2019). Lactiplantibacillus plantarum and Leuconostoc mesenteroides among isolates that make no biogenic amines and Levilactobacillus brevis, which made tyramine, putrescine and cadaverine in some strains do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step6 days – 3.2 monthsMeasured[park1995]Ripen slowly in the cold
Temperature4–20 °CMeasured[park1995]Ripen slowly in the cold
Salt10 %Measured[lee2019]Soak whole mustard plants in brine
AciditypH 4.6–4.8Measured[park1995]Ripen slowly in the cold
Fully documentedVegetables6.2 days – 3.2 monthsMore vegetablesMore from Korea

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedThe 2019 study made gat kimchi to a target salt of 2.5 % but gives no amounts for each ingredient. Household recipes vary and have no fixed amounts.
Whole leaf mustard · Soaked in 10 % brine[lee2019]
Red pepper powder[lee2019]
Garlic[lee2019]
Glutinous rice paste[lee2019]
Sugar[lee2019]
Anchovy sauce (myeolchi-aekjeot)[lee2019]
Starter: spontaneous

Total time across the recorded steps: 6.2 days – 3.2 months

Start
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Close-up: salt moving into a pieceSalt 10 %

What changes: Brine wilts the whole mustard plants

Step 1 of 4
Soak whole mustard plants in brine
Time
3 h
Measured
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
10 %
Measured
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Lactic acid bacteria
Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

What makes this one different

Gat kimchi ripens far more slowly than cabbage kimchi in the cold, taking 78–96 days at 4 °C to reach its best. Its sharp bite comes from allyl isothiocyanate formed from the mustard's glucosinolates, which fades as it ripens.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Red mustard leaf kimchiMade from red-leaved mustard instead of the green Dolsan type.

Safety

In a 2019 survey of 13 market samples, 2 held about two to four times the 100 mg/kg histamine level suggested as safe and 6 were over that level for tyramine. One sample held 720.82 mg/kg putrescine, putting its total biogenic amines over 1,000 mg/kg. Anchovy sauce was the main source.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

  1. [park1995] 박삼수, 장명숙 and 이규환 (Park, Jang and Lee) 1995, Effect of fermentation temperature on the physicochemical properties of mustard leaf (Brassica juncea) kimchi during various storage days, Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition 24(5), 752–757 (abstract)paper
  2. [lee2019] Lee J.-H., Jin Y.H., Park Y.K., Yun S.J. and Mah J.-H. 2019, Formation of biogenic amines in pa (green onion) kimchi and gat (mustard leaf) kimchi, Foods 8(3), 109paper
  3. [jeon1995] 전순실, 최옥자, 조영숙, 박석규 and 박정로 (Jeon et al.) 1995, Changes in pungent components of Dolsan leaf mustard kimchi during fermentation, Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition 24(1), 54–59 (abstract)paper