SBK3023 FOOD SCIENCE

LABORATORY REPORT
LAB 5: KIMCHI

NAME AND NO. ID CHONG XIN YI D20152072021

NUR HANA BINTI SYAMSUL D20152072024

IRENE TIONG D20152072038

SHAFIQAH AWATIF BINTI ZAHIR D20152072050

LECTURER DR. WONG CHEE FAH

DATE & DAY 22 MAY 2018

Title: Microbial in Kimchi fermentation

Objective

1. To determine the present of microbial in Kimchi fermentation

2. To study about Kimchi fermentation

Abstract

Kimchi is one of traditional food in Korean culture. Kimchi is a spicy fermented cabbage dish with a
various seasonings such as red pepper powder, garlic, ginger, green onion, fermented seafood and salts.
Kimchi usually processes at low temperature to ensure proper ripening and preservation. During kimchi
preparation, spontaneous fermentation without the use of starter cultures or sterilization leads to the
growth of various microorganism. Kimchi fermentation is generally characterized by the production of
metabolites, such as organic acids (lactic and acetic acids) and other flavoring compounds, which are
important components in defining kimchi quality. Lactic acid bacteria are known to perform significant
roles in the kimchi fermentation. However, the microbial population dynamics inherent to kimchi
fermentation remain to be clearly elucidated.

Materials

1. Cabbage

2. Flour

3. Mineral water/drinking water

4. Radish

5. Carrot

6. Garlic

7. Yellow onions

8. Kimchi powder

9. Air-tight containers
Procedure

A. Preparation of cabbage

Cabbage is rinse and any wilted or discolored leaves are removed. 1 to 2 inches from the stem end
is chopped off, the cabbage is lengthwise slice. Any discolored leaves and dirt are removed, and rinse.
1 to 2 inch pieces are chopped. In separate containers, 2 cups of salt are added to the cabbage. If split
into more than two containers, salt is divided evenly. The salt is added in portions, mixing the cabbage
between portions to make sure that it is evenly salted. After 1 hour, water that has left the vegetables is
drained off, and the vegetables is stirred by hand to make sure that the salt is evenly distributed. It is
mixed every hour for the next one to three hours, draining only once more after two hours. During this
process, the leaves became soft.

B. Preparation of kimchi paste

During the brining period, the kimchi paste is prepared. A flour porridge is prepared. In a saucepan,
3/4 cup of flour is added to 4 1/2 cups of water. The mixture is heated, stirring continuously until
bubbles form (about 5 min). Don’t allow it to boil. As the porridge heats, it became thicken. Make sure
no flour stays on the bottom of the pan. As soon as bubbles form, 1/3 cup of granulated sugar is added,
and it is stirred for 1 minute more. It is removed from the heat and the porridge is allowed to cool
slowly. Hot plates and conventional cook pans are used.

The vegetables is prepared for the kimchi paste. In a food processor, 1 cup of minced garlic and a
piece of peeled ginger the size of thumb are added. Two medium yellow onions are peeled and quartered
and placed in the food processor. It is pulsed until minced. In the absence of a food processor, the ginger
and onions are chopped or grated by hand. Garlic, ginger and onion mixture are placed into a large
bowl. A large (1 foot long, 2 inches thick) carrot is grated and added to the bowl. The tip of the bulbs
are sliced off, and two bundles of green onions are chopped on the diagonal, about 1/8 of an inch thick.
It is added to the vegetable mixture. A Korean radish is cut in half and it is peeled and the end is
removed, and the radish is grated half. Julienne the remaining radish: thinly slice the radish every 1/16-
1/8 of an inch, but do not cut all the way through (leave 1/4 inch). The radish is rotated 90 degrees, and
slice similarly. When we chop off the bottom 1/4 inch, the matchstick size pieces left. The remaining
disk is chopped and all the radish pieces are added to the vegetables.

Finally, 2 cups of oyster sauce are added to the vegetables, and added to the porridge. It is stirred
thoroughly. 3 1/2 cups of coarse red pepper are added and stirred. The dep red paste became spicy. Do
not add pepper! The paste is allowed to sit for an hour and a half at room temperature, stirring every 30
minutes. As the paste rests, it became much, much spicier.

C. Addition of Kimchi paste to cabbage

After 2 to 4 hours, the cabbage is drained one last time. Each container is filled with water, covering
the cabbage with water, mixing by hand to remove salt, and draining. This process is repeated three
additional times, for a total of 4 rinses. The cabbage is allowed to sit for 10 minutes, and drained one
more time. The kimchi paste is distributed evenly onto the cabbage. Every few scoops, the cabbage is
mixed by hand to evenly coat them with the paste.

The cabbage is transferred to an appropriate bell jar or container. Gently push down on the top of
kimchi to force out air pockets. There are no space at the top of the jar. The fermentation is started in a
few hours. The jars is left at room temperature with a plate underneath, as the fermentation may force
liquid through the top of the container. Once fermenting, bubbles are formed throughout the container.
After 24 to 48 hours, the kimchi is stored in a food-safe refrigerator to slow the fermentation;
alternatively, the kimchi is left at room temperature for a longer time.

D. Detection of microorganisms from Kimchi by streak plate method

Materials:

Inoculating loop

Nutrient agar plate

Methods:

1. The bottom of nutrient agar plate is labeled with the name of culture.

2. Inoculating loop is flamed to redness by holding it at approximately 60-degree angle and it is

allowed to cool.

3. The cover of the petri dish is slightly raised to allow insertion of inoculating loop and a single
isolated colony is obtained on the medium. Ensure the loop is cooled down sufficiently before obtaining
the cultures.
4. The obtained cultures are transferred on the surface of the new agar medium by a single continuous
streaking.

5. The loop is flamed and let it cool down before applying the second streak. The second streaking
should be carried out by streaking once or twice across previous streaks.

6. The loop is flamed and let is cool down.

7. Step 4 and 5 are repeated until the fourth streak.

Results

NUTRIENT AGAR PLATE OBSERVATION

 There are not much single colony can

be observed.

The inoculating loop burn every streak.

 There are not much single colony can

be observed.

The inoculating loop only burn once.

Discussion

In the fermented kimchi, it is determined that there are microbial population and colonies of
microbial have been observed in the first streaking and second streaking in all nutrient agar plates.
However there are not much single colony can be observed for the forth streak. It might because the
handling and streaking method has not been done proper for each of the group member. Thus, there are
not consistency for the result for each agar plate. By observing the result, the burning process before
every streaking and burning process only at the starting point do not influence the number of colonies
for bacteria. Based on Cho et al. (2006), lactic acid bacteria are the main role to perform fermentation
of kimchi. The research has identified that the specific lactic acid bacteria such as Lactobacillus,
Leuconostoc, and Weissella species which cause the cabbage fermentation. Different temperature and
pH values affect the types of bacteria growing during the fermentation process. However we can still
conclude that these bacteria are responsible for the fermentation since during the kimchi preparation, it
has to be put in room temperature then in refrigerator.

Lactic acid fermentation required little or no heat during the fermentation. During the fermentation,
lactic acid bacteria causes the oxidation of carbohydrates to carbon dioxide alcohol, and organic acid
that prevent pathogen. Lactic acid bacteria will also lower the pH value during the fermentation to
inhibit the growing of other microbial organisms. Thus, at the end, the vegetables will be fermented
rather than spoil. It is useful to preserve vegetables which kimchi in this case.

Questions

1. What do you expect to happen to the pH over time? Explain and use primary or
secondary literature citations to support your answer.

The pH will slightly lower in the fermentation. The acidity increased because of the
production of lactic acid or carbonic acid from the production of CO2. Cheigh, H. S., Park, K.
Y., & Lee, C. Y. (1994). Biochemical, microbiological, and nutritional aspects of kimchi
(Korean fermented vegetable products). Critical Reviews in Food Science & Nutrition, 34(2),
175-203.

2. You tell your roommate that you made kimchi in Microbiology lab, and your roommate
is disgusted by the fact that we leave the kimchi out at room temperature for a few days.
You explain that some people prefer a tangier kimchi and leave it out for a few weeks.
What do you tell your roommate to explain that it is safe to let kimchi sit at room
temperature for a few days (or even a few weeks)? Why doesn't it spoil?

High acidity and low pH that usually make them safe and microbiologically stable all along
their shelf life. The acidity increased because of the production of lactic acid which is the ideal
 environment for this bacteria and not for other types of microorganism. Therefore, the kimchi
is safe after a few days being left at room temperature.

3. Why is it important that the vegetables be completely submerged during the

fermentation process? When removing kimchi from the container, why is it important to
use a clean fork and press down on the kimchi prior to resealing the container?

There is increased chance of mold growth if it is not submerged the vegetables completely.
With respect to cleanliness, any particle of contamination might become a nucleus site for
molds to grow in the presence of air.

4. After learning the science of fermentation has your opinion on consuming fermented
food changed? Why or why not?

No. There is a lot of benefit on consuming fermented foods such as it can make the food more
digestible because the bacteria predigests the food, the resulting product is easier to digest and
the lactic acid produced during fermentation helps healthy bacteria already present in our gut
to proliferate.

Conclusion
The conclusion is as the fermentation process progressed, LAB (particularly Leuconostoc,
Lactobacillus, and Weissella) quickly came to dominate the community. The total number of bacteria
present increased by more than a thousandfold and the acidity increased from slightly alkaline to
strongly acidic.

Reference
1. Cho, J., Lee, D., Yang, C., Jeon, J., Kim, J., & Han, H. (2006). Microbial population dynamics
of kimchi, a fermented cabbage product. FEMS Microbiology Letters, 257(2), 262–267.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1574-6968.2006.00186.x
2. Cheigh, H. S., Park, K. Y., & Lee, C. Y. (1994). Biochemical, microbiological, and nutritional
aspects of kimchi (Korean fermented vegetable products). Critical Reviews in Food Science &
Nutrition, 34(2), 175-203.