First, kimchi utensils

Pickle jar is an oval pottery product, which is called Chaotian Temple in some areas. The design of this jar is scientific: the middle is big and the two ends are small, which is convenient for storage; The upper cover is easy to open; There is an altar rim around the altar mouth, which can be sealed after being covered with water mixed with the altar rim, so as to isolate the outside air, avoid pollution, and facilitate the fermentation, decomposition and infiltration of brine and various condiments and spices in the altar, thus producing Aibaiman flavor, maturity and appropriate fragrance.

Generally speaking, when making pickles at home, it is advisable to choose a small pickle jar, soak one dish and eat one kind of lai, or soak several kinds of lai in several jars at the same time. In short, the small pickle jar is conducive to maintaining the various flavors of the dishes, and the brewing degree is better than that of the large jar. The quality of pickle jar itself has a direct impact on pickle and pickle brine, so strict inspection must be carried out in advance when using pickle jar. Let me introduce you to pick.

How to choose a jar:

First, press the jar in water to see if there are sand holes and cracks on the inner wall of the jar, which leads to water seepage. It's better to be impervious to water.

Second, half of the clear water seeps into the jar rim, and a roll of toilet paper is burned and put into the jar, and the jar lid is covered, so that the water along the jar can be sucked into the inner wall of the jar lid, which proves that the pickle jar is of good quality; On the contrary, it is poverty.

The third is to tap the altar with your hands and listen to the sound with your ears. The quality of steel sound is good, followed by empty sound, sand sound and broken sound.

If the newly bought pickle jar is damaged by artificial salt water or rotten vegetables, it can be treated by "annealing" or "filling fire". "Annealing" means cleaning the pickle jar, filling it with clear water and changing the water several times a day. "Buhuo" refers to the charcoal left over from burning in a pickle jar with a firewood stove and baked. In addition to pickle jars, families can also use pottery bowls, glass jars and enamel jars. Go to the bath dish. The so-called "bathing" dish refers to kimchi that is soaked and eaten now and should not be preserved for a long time. This pickle is easy to operate and convenient to eat, but its variety is monotonous and its quality is not high. Pickles pickled with this kind of utensils should also be covered and kept clean.

2. Preparation and identification of salted pickles

After the vegetables are selected, processed and cleaned, they are first put into salt water (that is, discharged) and then soaked in the jar. Its purpose is: under the action of salt water, the surplus water contained in vegetables will be expelled, and the salt taste will be permeated initially, so as to avoid the quality degradation of salt water and pickled vegetables after people leave the altar. At the same time, salt has a bactericidal effect. After the vegetables are discharged, the bacteria attached to the vegetable epidermis can be killed, so that kimchi and salt water become clean and hygienic. Secondly, some vegetables contain strong pigments, which can be partially removed after blank treatment, which is beneficial to color fixation and color protection, and can also remove odor and avoid salt water pollution.

(1) Blank brine

Salt and water are dissolved in the ratio of 1: 4. After use, salt water can continue to be used for the same variety of vegetables, but salt should be added in proportion every time to maintain the concentration.

(2) Pickling brine

Refers to the brine brewed after being discharged or dried. Including "bathing" salt water, new salt water, old salt water and new and old mixed salt water.

(3) "Bathing" salt water

It's the salt water used for pickled vegetables now. This salt water is easy to make. It is made by dissolving1000-1250g of salt in 5000mg of clean water and then mixing it with1000-1500g of old brine. Due to the infiltration of old brine and the addition of condiments and spices as appropriate, the smell of kimchi brine is produced. This salt water can be used to soak radish, nest bamboo shoots, lotus roots, bean sprouts, oil radish and other vegetables.

(4) New brine

It's fresh salt water. Its preparation method is: 5000g of clean water (self-provided water, spring water or well water) is added with1250g of salt, and1000-1500g of old brine is soaked. Then add seasonings and spices according to the soaked vegetables.

(5) Old brine

Vegetables such as young garlic shoots, pickled cabbage and old radish, as well as spices and condiments, are all good in color, fragrance and taste. This kind of brine is mostly used for inoculation, so it is also called mother-child brine. Experts divide it into three grades. The brine used for inoculation is generally the first-class old brine, that is, the old brine with good color and fragrance. The standard of salt water with good color and fragrance here should be: color-yellow and red, such as tea, crystal clear; Fragrance-mellow and comfortable to smell; Taste-whether it is sour, spicy, sour or sweet, its taste is rich and fragrant. If it is slightly deteriorated once, it will be considered as second-class brine after treatment without affecting the color, fragrance and taste. Mixed with different categories and grades, it is considered to be third-class brine. The color, fragrance and taste are affected after the salt water is deteriorated and the treatment is ineffective. It is considered to be inferior salt water and should not be used for inoculation.

(6) New and old mixed brine

Refers to the salt water mixed with old and new salt water.

Some families may not find old brine or lactic acid bacteria when they start making kimchi. In this case, fresh brine can still be prepared as required to make kimchi, but the taste of kimchi in the previous times is poor. With the passage of time and careful conditioning, kimchi brine will meet the satisfactory requirements and flavor.

Identification method of brine:

The top grade is the one with good color, fragrance and taste. Once slightly deteriorated, but the color, fragrance and taste of brine were not affected, and those who improved after treatment were rated as Grade II. Different types and grades of brine are mixed together for the third grade. Salt water is deteriorated, and the color, fragrance and taste are still not good after treatment, which is grade 4. This salt water should be discarded.

Three, kimchi brine preparation matters needing attention

Spring water and well water are hard water containing more minerals, which have the best effect in preparing pickle brine and can keep the brittleness of pickle products. You can also use harder tap water. The treated soft water is not suitable for preparing salt water, and there is no pond water, lake water and field water. Sometimes, in order to increase the brittleness of kimchi, a small amount of calcium salt, such as calcium chloride (Cacl2), can be added as appropriate when preparing brine, and the dosage is 0.05%. Other substances such as calcium carbonate, calcium sulfate and calcium phosphate can also be used. If quicklime is used, it can be prepared into solution according to the proportion of 0.2% ~ 0.3%. Soaking the raw materials for a short time, then taking them out, cleaning them and soaking them in salt water can also effectively increase brittleness. Salt should be of high quality. Bitter substances such as magnesium sulfate and uranium sulfate and

Magnesium chloride, etc. Is very small, and the sodium chloride content is at least 95%. The salt content of pickle brine varies with different regions and different kinds of pickles, from

5% to 28% Usually, it depends on your own habits and tastes. The production methods of kimchi brine are also quite different. The brine production of Sichuan kimchi is very fine, but it is not very elegant in other areas, which is one of the important reasons for the formation of a kimchi system with different styles.

4. Condiments used in kimchi

(1) Eat salt

The main component of pickle brine is salt. Salt can make vegetables delicious and mature, and at the same time, it also plays the role of forcing out excess water, fixing color, setting shape and sterilizing. However, what kind of pickles is the best? There is also some elegance. Practice has proved that Zigong salt is the best choice for preparing pickle brine. Because Zigong salt is salty enough, white in color, fine in particles and light in impurities. In particular, the bagged refined salt now available on the market is the most suitable for kimchi. The ratio of pickle brine is: 5000g of clean water, about1250g of salt,1000g of salt for long-term pickle brine, and1250g of salt for new brine and bath brine.

(2) Zoco

The seasonings used in pickle brine are: white wine, cooking wine, brown sugar, sugarcane, fermented liquor and dried red pepper. These condiments have their own functions. Liquor, cooking wine and sober-up juice penetrate the salty taste in pickles and brine to keep vegetables tender and crisp and kill bacteria; Sugarcane can absorb odor and prevent kimchi from deteriorating; Brown sugar and red pepper can adjust the taste and improve the umami taste. The amount of these condiments should not be too large, and the general ratio is: 50 g of salt water, 50 g of white wine', 0/50 g of cooking wine, 0/50 g of brown sugar, 0/00 g of fermented glutinous rice juice and 250 g of dried red pepper. When using brown sugar, you should add water to dissolve it, and only use fruit juice to sober up. When the salt water goes bad. Add some sugar cane

(3) Xiangxiang's family

The spices used in pickled pepper brine are: tremella (also known as pearl fungus), lawn grass, gazelle grass, flower right, pepper, tsaoko, kaempferia kaempferia and star anise. The purpose of using spices is to remove the strange smell and fishy smell and increase the flavor of pickles and brine. Its application ratio is: 5000 grams of salt water, 50 grams of tremella, 5 grams of weeds, 5 grams of pepper 10, 5 grams of gazelle, 5 grams of star anise and 5 grams of tsaoko. Pepper is only used to remove the fishy smell when soaking small red pepper, and is generally not used much. Kaempferia kaempferia only uses a little star anise and tsaoko to keep the fresh color of kimchi. When making kimchi, the seasoning should be washed, put into gauze bags or tied tightly with gauze to make seasoning bags and put into kimchi. After a period of time, take it out (as needed), gently squeeze the salt water on the bag into the jar and stir it quickly. Then change the position of the seasoning package and put it again. Sealed pickles that are inconvenient to stir must be stirred before eating, so that the fragrance can be evenly distributed and the situation of "dead angle" can be avoided. When opening the package, if you find that the kimchi is too fragrant, you should take out the seasoning package immediately and don't squeeze salt water. If the fragrance is too strong, it should be adjusted by adding spices as appropriate. Besides the above spices, there are other kinds of pickles, such as wormwood, clove, cinnamon and barrel skin, which can be used to make pickles, depending on the tastes of different regions. The condiments and spices collected by ordinary families may be incomplete, but this does not affect the production of kimchi, but the taste has changed. In some areas, pickles do not need spices or spices, just add salt.

5. Requirements and selection of vegetables for kimchi

Requirements of pickles on vegetables:

One is the variety season. All kinds of vegetables have maturity and senescence. When they grow vigorously, they are not only good in quality, delicious in taste, but also rich in nutrition. Because seasonal vegetables have the above advantages, if you want to make kimchi well, you must learn to master the growth period, variety differences and texture characteristics of various vegetables and choose their top grades for processing.

The second is fresh texture. Generally, fresh vegetables harvested on the same day should be processed and brewed in time. This can avoid the water loss caused by long-term storage of vegetables.

Loss and sugar decomposition affect the quality of vegetables.

Third, the meat is thick and hard. Vegetables with thin body tissue are soaked and infiltrated by salt, which are fragile and rotten to slag; Vegetables softened and deteriorated due to diseases and insect pests or poor management of storage and transportation will lose their flavor when used for brewing. Only choose vegetables with thick meat and hard health to meet the requirements.

The fourth is washing. Vegetables usually bought from the market are often covered with sediment, microorganisms and parasites. Therefore, special attention should be paid to cleaning vegetables used for brewing. In particular, there are a lot of dirt hidden in the bud petals or gaps in the cortex of tender ginger and cabbage heads, which need to be washed carefully and patiently for many times before washing. At present, some vegetables should be sprayed with pesticides, and they should be thoroughly cleaned to remove residual pesticides to prevent pesticide poisoning or damage the cell system of kimchi.

The fifth is to protect vegetables. In the process of soaking vegetables, we must be careful not to damage vegetables during operation. When necessary, rough skin, scars, old stems and injured parts should be removed to maintain healthy tissues. Vegetables are not only rich in vitamins and minerals, but also contain dietary fiber, which can exclude cholesterol contained in meat from the human body and quickly discharge harmful substances produced during meat decomposition. Therefore, the more vegetables and food are harvested, the more people pay attention to them. But there are many kinds of vegetables, and not all of them can be brewed. Vegetables brewed by Nengrentan can be divided into four types: stem and root vegetables, leaf vegetables, melon and fruit vegetables and flower vegetables.

(1) root vegetables

Stem-root vegetables refer to vegetables with stems, deformed stems and deformed fat straight roots as raw materials, such as green garlic, garlic, bamboo shoots, round garlic, lotus roots, etc., while carrots

The top of cabbage is a root vegetable. They are all proud, crisp, dry, shiny and lubricated. Some of them (such as garlic, onion and ginger) also have aromatic and spicy tastes. Root vegetables are plump, brightly colored, wrinkle-free, rot-free and moth-eaten.

(2) leafy vegetables

Leafy vegetables refer to vegetables with leaves as raw materials, such as green vegetables and Chinese cabbage. Normal color, sufficient moisture and no insect decay are preferred.

(3) Fruits and vegetables

Melons and vegetables refer to vegetables made from the fruits of vegetables, such as eggplant, tomato, pepper, wax gourd, bitter gourd and bamboo shoots. Their texture is mature, their color is bright, they have the natural fragrance of this variety, their skin is thin and gray, and they are harmless to the injured.

(4) Flowers and vegetables

Cauliflower refers to vegetables with flowers as raw materials, and there are not many varieties. The common wine-making flower is Lai Hua. The texture is fresh and lazy, the water is sufficient, the color is normal, and there are no insect bites, rotten marks and spots, followed by discoloration and wilting.