Well water and spring water are hard water with more minerals, which are used to prepare kimchi brine with the best results, as they can maintain the crispness of the finished kimchi. Harder tap water can also be used. The treated soft water should not be used to prepare brine, pond water, lake water and field water can not be used.

Sometimes in order to enhance the brittleness of kimchi, you can add a small amount of calcium salt in the preparation of brine, such as calcium chloride at a rate of 0.05% to add other calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate and calcium phosphate can be used. If you use quicklime, can be 0.2 ~ 0.3% of the proportion of the solution first soak the raw materials, after a short period of time to take out the cleaning and then soak in brine, can also effectively increase its brittleness.

Salt should be selected from good quality, containing bitter substances such as magnesium sulfate, sodium sulfate and magnesium chloride, etc. is very little, and sodium chloride content of at least 95% is preferred.

We commonly use table salt, rock salt, well salt. The most suitable for making pickles is well salt, followed by rock salt. At present, all the salt sold on the market can make pickles.

The salt content of kimchi brine varies from 5 to 25% depending on the region and the type of kimchi. Usually, it is set according to your own customary taste. Kimchi brine production method also varies greatly, Sichuan kimchi brine production is very fine, while other regions in comparison is not very careful, which is the formation of very different styles of kimchi genealogy is one of the important factors.

Strictly speaking, kimchi brine is the brine used to soak vegetables after pretreatment. But many families make kimchi, omit the pretreatment process, the vegetables will be washed and drained directly immersed into the brine. Kimchi brine is also divided into "bath brine", "new brine", "old brine", "old and new mixed brine". The following is a list of the most common types of brine used in the past.

1. Bathing brine: This is the brine used for vegetables that need to be eaten while soaking. Her preparation ratio (weight) is: cooled boiling water 100, plus well salt 28; and then mixed into the old brine so that it accounts for 25 ~ 30% of the volume in the new liquid inoculation to seasoning, and according to the soaked vegetables discretionary spices, spices. ph value of 4.5. generally take this method into the dish, the requirements of the time fast, break the birth of the food, the brine salinity is higher.

2, new brine: refers to the newly prepared brine. The proportion (by weight) is: 100 cooled boiling water, plus well salt 25; and then mixed into the old brine so that it accounts for 20-30% of the volume of the new liquid, and according to the soaked vegetables discretionary spices, spices. ph value of 4.7.

3, the old brine: refers to more than two years of kimchi brine, ph value of 3.7. It is used for inoculation. It is used for inoculation. It is called mother and child brine when it is combined with new brine. The brine should always soak some garlic stalks, chili peppers

, aged vegetables and radish, and discretionary spices, spices, so that the color, aroma and taste are good. However, due to the preparation, management reasons, the quality of the old brine is also a difference between good and bad, the identification method is as follows: