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Fermentation Atlas

Vegetables from Korea

Kkakdugi (cubed radish kimchi)깍두기

Korean radish is cut into cubes, salted briefly and coated in a paste of chilli powder, garlic, ginger and salted seafood. A few hours to a few days at room temperature start the lactic ferment, and it then ripens cold until sour and crunchy. Made in 5 steps over 50 days – 53 days. The longest step, ripen cold, takes 50 days (Choi H.W 2023) and runs at 4 °C (Choi H.W 2023). Salt is 10 % (Jin Y.H 2019). Leuconostoc, Weissella and Lactobacillus, the main lactic bacteria and Levilactobacillus brevis, the main tyramine maker among the isolates do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step50 daysSet[choi2023kk]Ripen cold
Temperature4 °CSet[choi2023kk]Ripen cold
Salt10 %Set[jin2019kk]Salt, rinse and drain
AciditypH 3.9–4.4Measured[jin2019kk]Ripen cold
Fully documentedVegetables50 days – 53 daysMore vegetablesMore from Korea

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceThe amounts are per 100 g of salted radish, from the National Institute of Agricultural Sciences standard recipe as used in a 2019 study, with the salt of the finished mix set at 2.5 %.
100 gSalted radish cubes (2 cm) · Soaked 30 min in 10 % brine, rinsed three times, drained 3 h[jin2019kk]
3 gRed pepper powder[jin2019kk]
3 gGarlic[jin2019kk]
1.5 gGinger[jin2019kk]
1 gSesame seed[jin2019kk]
2 gSugar[jin2019kk]
5 gGlutinous rice paste[jin2019kk]
2 gAnchovy sauce (myeolchi-aekjeot)[jin2019kk]
2 gSalted shrimp (saeu-jeotgal)[jin2019kk]
Starterspontaneous

Total time across the recorded steps: 50 days – 53 days

Start
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What changes: Korean radish is cut into cubes

Step 1 of 5
Cube the radish
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Leuconostoc
Weissella
Lactobacillus multiply
Lactobacillus
Lactic acid bacteria

Smaller cubes soured faster in the first 5 days. Output: radish cubes.

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

Kkakdugi is cut into cubes before salting, so salt and seasoning reach the radish quickly and the small pieces sour faster than whole-leaf cabbage kimchi. Chonggak kimchi uses whole small ponytail radishes instead.

Related ferments

Variants

  • SeokbakjiRadish cut in flat slices and mixed with cabbage.
  • Aged kkakdugi (1934 cookbook)Cut thicker than the any-time and winter kinds.

Safety

Retail kkakdugi averaged pH 4.16. Some retail radish kimchi samples held histamine above the toxicity limit, much of it from anchovy sauce, and Levilactobacillus brevis was the main tyramine maker. Using less anchovy sauce, or a low-amine one, lowers biogenic amines.

History and sources

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

First recorded under the name kkakdugi in Ganpyeon Joseon yori jebeop (1934); 13 of 61 cookbooks list it. The 1934 book separates any-time, winter and aged kkakdugi (aged ones are cut thicker) and uses pounded fresh chilli, not chilli powder.

  1. [jin2019kk] Jin Y.H., Lee J.H., Park Y.K., Lee J.H., Mah J.H. 2019, The occurrence of biogenic amines and determination of biogenic amine-producing lactic acid bacteria in Kkakdugi and Chonggak kimchi, Foods 8:73, doi:10.3390/foods8020073paper
  2. [choi2023kk] Choi H.W., Park S.E., Kim E.J. et al. 2023, Effects of ingredient size on microbial communities and metabolites of radish kimchi, Food Chem X 20:100950, doi:10.1016/j.fochx.2023.100950paper
  3. [ll1990] Lee Hyo-ji and Lee Hye-kyung 1990, 김치문화의 변천에 관한 문헌적 고찰 (a literature review of changes in kimchi culture, 61 cookbooks from 752 to 1984), koreascience JAKO199071663776322paper