Beauty of Kimchi Choi, Jane SooEun (C36) COB - MKT Submitted to: J.R.S Nunez Department of English and Applied Linguistic Br Andrew G. Co E.d. March 5, 2014 ------------------------------------------ There are so many kinds of dietary supplements in the market which people intake daily to take necessary nutrients and to keep their body healthy. If you are looking for a dietary supplement that is not a form of capsule, I can proudly say that Kimchi is the best food that will enhance your health. Kimchi is one of the foods that you must try even once in your life. Why to try it? Kimchi, a Korean traditional food which is mainly made of a variety of vegetables and a variety of spices and seasonings, is an all-star nutritional scorecard. Kimchi is a Korean traditional food that can be found in every refrigerator of Korean citizens. It is served at every meal either Kimchi alone itself or mixed with rice, noodles, or other types of foods. It was mentioned in the “Health Magazine” as one of the healthiest foods in the world because it is rich in vitamins, has active bacterial culture that enhances the circulation of digestive system, and may even reduce the possibility of getting cancer. According to Joan Raymond, one of the writers of “Health Magazine”, Koreans eat so much of this super-spicy condiment (as much as around 40 pounds of it per person each year) that natives say “kimchi” instead of “cheese” when getting their pictures taken (“World’s Healthiest food: Kimchi”, 2008). It is an interesting insight that a foreigner could notice that the word which Koreans say before getting their pictures taken is Kimchi, because no Koreans are actually conscious about them saying Kimchi before taking pictures since it is natural for them. Kimchi takes a big part of Koreans’ lives that there are even a saying in Korea, “I cannot live without Kimchi”. Just like looking for pickles while eating pizza or looking for coke while eating fried chicken, Koreans look for Kimchi for most of the foods they eat. From this simple act, Koreans’ love of Kimchi is easily recognizable. Kimchi is a salted or pickled vegetable. It is like a pickle with hot red peppers. It has sour and spicy taste and it is served with almost every meal in Korea. Because Koreans like to eat spicy foods very often, hot red pepper is used as one of the ingredients used for most of the Korean foods. Hot red pepper adds spicy taste, while fermentation, which is the way of preserving Kimchi, adds sour taste to Kimchi. The exercise of pickling and fermenting vegetable started during the early stages of civilization in Korea. Early Koreans wanted to preserve or store vegetables for the cold months of winter since cultivating vegetables was practically impossible when the ground got frozen. They were so brilliant that they came up with the idea of keeping vegetables during cold seasons by pickling vegetables and by preserving them through fermentation. Successfully, early Koreans were able to develop their storage method for preservation of vegetables during winter season. For Koreans, Kimchi is a perfect partner for every Korean food that it can be found on every meal of Koreans. Kimchi is well-known as a side dish, but also, it is used as ingredients for many of the Korean foods like stew, noodles, fried rice and so on. Kimchi has various usages that it is not an exaggeration to say that Kimchi can be used in every food from fried rice to chocolate, and as a topping or flavoring. It seems unfamiliar and awkward but can you believe that there are products such as Kimchi spaghetti and Kimchi chocolate? There are so many types of Kimchi as well aside from Kimchi out of cabbage, which is the most famous main ingredient used for making Kimchi. The reason why cabbage was mainly used as a main ingredient of Kimchi during ancient times in Korea is that cabbage was the most appropriate as an ingredient because it was widely grown around the country. However, still, Kimchi can be made out of different kinds of vegetables aside from cabbage, such as cucumber and radish. Kimchi is well-known for its nutritional benefits. Because it is rich in minerals and vitamins, it is known as all-star nutritional scorecard. In the magazine “Health”, Kimchi is described as one of the world’s healthiest foods. Major ingredients used to make Kimchi are hot red pepper and cabbage. Garlic, ginger, salt and fish are some of the minor ingredients used. Vegetables in Kimchi are high in fiber and have low calories. Kimchi provides minerals such as Vitamin A and Vitamin B, iron and calcium which support muscle growth, improve immune system and circulate blood flow. Kimchi is pickled and fermented. The longer period Kimchi is stored, more taste and nutrition is added due to fermentation. It is said that the best tasting kimchi is stored in room temperature for an average of six months to reach its full flavor. Kimchi has bacteria called Lactobacillus which came up during the process of fermentation. Usually, the bacteria Lactobacillus is found in yogurt. It helps digestion and your body to fight off various infections as it is an excellent source of probiotics. Some of the sicknesses can be reduced or prevented due to the excellent health benefits coming from its ingredients. Kimchi helps the regulation of digestive system and it lowers cholesterol level. Moreover, it is said that eating Kimchi everyday may help reducing your chances of developing certain kinds of cancer as Kimchi functions as an antioxidants. In the past few years, many of the foreigners refused eating Kimchi because of its odor and taste, however, according to the Korea Customs Service, Koreas exports of Kimchi is growing sharply. Therefore, Kimchi can easily be found in big markets and those Kimchi are produced in Korea and exported to other countries. From this, it is pretty noticeable that the taste is not the only factor that matters in peoples likes and dislikes for food. Kimchi is becoming a favorite of the foreigners around the world because of its high nutrition and simple procedure for cooking preparation. Moreover, it is easy to store or keep Kimchi for a long period since fermentation adds more nutrition and flavor to Kimchi as time flows. Also, Kimchi has been infiltrating the restaurants and health food markets around the world for the past decade, earning praise and recognition for its nutrient and health benefits. Kimchi nowadays is not just a traditional or national food of Korea but also a world-famous food that is well-known for highly amazing nutrition. I hope that Kimchi will be loved and appreciated in many of the countries. ------------------------------------------ References 1. Raymond, J. (2008, February 1). World’s Healthiest Foods: Kimchi (Korea). Health Magazine: health/health/article/0,,20410300,00.html 2. Korea Tourism Organization. (2001). History of Kimchi. Retrieved May 1, 2001, from english.visitkorea.or.kr/enu/FO/FO_EN_6_1_2_1.jsp 3. Dannie, M. (2014, February 13). Health Benefits of Kimchi. Livestrong: livestrong/article/478382-health-benefits-of-kimchi/
Posted on: Sun, 09 Mar 2014 13:46:46 +0000