Re: The Salt

[Guest guest]

Isn't lots of any kind of salt supposed to be bad for you? Kimchi

recipes seem to call for lots of salt.

of Dewberry Hill

----------

Hi Diane. I am new to this art and had some of the same concerns. One

tablespoon of salt per quart seems high, but when consumed as a

condiment, it isn't really very much per serving.

Hey experts: Is there anything chemically going on with the salt? I am

quite ignorant about fermentation in general, let alone alcohol, lactic

acid and other occurrences. The saltiness *seems* to reduce with

time. Any truth to it?

Deanna

[Guest guest]

Hi ,

First of all, if you are using Unrefined Celtic sea salt (should be a light gray

in color) then this is considered a whole food and is much more healthy than

white table salt. It has ALL of the natural minerals that make it easier for

your body to process the sodium.

Chemically speaking, the salt acts as a bacterial inhibitor to *bad* bacteria,

so that the good ones can establish first. It also helps to extract the juices

from the veggies. Not sure about the saltiness/time factor..

Beau

Re: The Salt

Isn't lots of any kind of salt supposed to be bad for you? Kimchi

recipes seem to call for lots of salt.

of Dewberry Hill

----------

Hi Diane. I am new to this art and had some of the same concerns. One

tablespoon of salt per quart seems high, but when consumed as a

condiment, it isn't really very much per serving.

Hey experts: Is there anything chemically going on with the salt? I am

quite ignorant about fermentation in general, let alone alcohol, lactic

acid and other occurrences. The saltiness *seems* to reduce with

time. Any truth to it?

Deanna

[Guest guest]

>Isn't lots of any kind of salt supposed to be bad for you? Kimchi

>recipes seem to call for lots of salt.

> of Dewberry Hill

>----------

There is a lot of controversy about salt. For some people (about 30% of the

population)

lots of salt can cause high blood pressure. However, it has also been found

that low salt diets increase the death rate. Farmers routinely give animals all

the salt they want ... and they want a lot ... and if you don't give the salt to

the

animals they can die. Sodium is used in a lot of bodily functions. There have

been several items lately about how low sodium causes CFS and heart

arrhythmias. I was having issues with heart arrhythmias myself ... I eat more

salt now, and I don't have that problem. (I also use a sodium/potassium mix).

If you have high blood pressure, lowering your salt intake might help,

but in general, it doesn't help enough. Salt also can increase water

retention, if that is a problem for you. But Koreans and Japanese both

eat a LOT of salt, and in general they are healthier than Americans.

However, in the past salt was generally just dried seawater, which has

a different mineral balance. I generally use sea salt for kimchi.

Kimchi doesn't have to be VERY salty. Mine is mildly salted (by my standards

anyway).

http://www.onlypunjab.com/real/fullstory-newsID-6855.html

Füsgen presented his findings at the European Geriatrics Congress in Vienna,

which ended yesterday (September 19). They show that the symptoms of

hyponatraemia (low sodium level in the blood), which are tiredness, difficulty

in concentrating and loss of balance, can develop into confusion and even coma

if left untreated.

His studies show that up to 10 per cent of older people suffer from sub-acute

sodium deficiency, which can result in problems such as nervous disposition,

hallucinations, muscle cramps and incontinence.

Professor Füsgen explained; " Sodium deficiency is common for elderly people but

it is often not recognized. Many older people are not aware of the danger of a

low salt diet and try to reduce their consumption of salt because they assume it

is healthy to do so. "

http://www.junkscience.com/news/apsalt.htm

Alderman examined the relationship between sodium intake and death among 11,346

Americans evaluated in the 1970s by the U.S. government's National Health and

Nutrition Examination Survey.

By 1992, 3,923 of them had died. He found there were 19 deaths for every 1,000

years of life in the people with the highest salt intake, compared to 23 in

those who ate the least salt.

Overall, a 1,000 milligram increase in dietary salt was associated with a 10

percent reduction in mortality.

The link between low-salt diets and death held up even after the researchers

factored in people's blood pressures, cholesterol levels, age, gender, economic

status and mineral deficiencies.

http://www.drmirkin.com/archive/7046.html

For the last forty years, many doctors have recommended low-salt diets. Many

more-recent papers show that severe salt restriction can increase your chances

of getting a heart attack (3) by raising blood pressure (4) and blood levels of

the bad LDL cholesterol (5). People on low-salt diets have a much higher death

rate (5).

Severe salt restriction causes your adrenal glands to produce large amounts of a

hormone called aldosterone and your kidneys to produce large amounts of another

hormone called angiotensin that constrict blood vessels and raise blood pressure

(1,6). Obese people are extraordinarily sensitive to salt restriction because

being overweight prevents your body from responding adequately to insulin and

raises insulin levels. Since Insulin, itself, causes the body to retain salt,

salt restriction raises blood levels of insulin which make a person hungry and

fatter. Eating white flour and sugar makes your body much more sensitive to salt

and restricting these food products decreases salt's ability to raise blood

pressure (7). The 40% chance of lowering blood pressure with the most popular

drugs is much lower than the 60% success rate of going on a low-fat diet and

losing weight (8,9), so changing your lifestyle is far more effective in

reducing high blood pressure than just taking drugs. Most doctors will recommend

salt restriction.

[Guest guest]

I believe Tonio uses raw shrimp in his to aid the fermentation process.

Blessings,

-Angel

Kirkland Washington

425-522-4046

--

Tonio is correct that almost no salt seems to be necessary for a good kimchi,

but since it's his recipe, I'll let him give the exact details, as I remember

something about not washing the leaves. etc.....

[Guest guest]

Regular table salt (sodium chloride) is caustic, and not the best choice for our

purposes as it does not have the full array of minerals. Doing a pure salt

ferment (no starter) almost requires a very good salt. In my experience, that

saltiness does dissipate, but not so much if you use a whey starter too, so

reduce by 1/2 in that case.

Yes Redmond carries www.realsalt.com You can find it in most healthfood store

in these small expensive bottles. If you notice, they have a 25# box at the

website that they'll ship right to your door for $57 + ship. I split it up with

my family. Per pound it most surely is more affordable than the Celtic.

Another good option is to use this " Liquid Ionic Trace Minerals "

www.marineminerals.com which is salty. Sounds like it could come from the same

place as the Redmond in Utah. Use in the same ratio as granular salt.

--Terry

Re: The Salt

Yes, regular table salt is bad for us. The key is to use a high mineral salt,

i.e, celtic sea salt or the one by Redmond I think it is called. You can read

about celtic seasalt at www.celtic-seasalt.com. There are many seasalts on the

market, but they are still processed the same way as regular table salt. You can

do an internet search on seasalt. Plus I found that you do not have to use as

much seasalt as regular salt. My blood pressure became regulated for the first

time in years since I have been using celtic seasalt. The seasalt has over 80

essential minerals.

F.

Deanna <hl@...> wrote:

Isn't lots of any kind of salt supposed to be bad for you? Kimchi

recipes seem to call for lots of salt.

of Dewberry Hill

----------

Hi Diane. I am new to this art and had some of the same concerns. One

tablespoon of salt per quart seems high, but when consumed as a

condiment, it isn't really very much per serving.

Hey experts: Is there anything chemically going on with the salt? I am

quite ignorant about fermentation in general, let alone alcohol, lactic

acid and other occurrences. The saltiness *seems* to reduce with

time. Any truth to it?

Deanna

[Guest guest]

--

Tonio is correct that almost no salt seems to be necessary for a good kimchi,

but since it's his recipe, I'll let him give the exact details, as I remember

something about not washing the leaves. etc.....

And thank you Heidi, for going to all the trouble to show all the conflicting

medical data on the subject. Some people can get so bad, that home-made soups

makes them swell up like a balloon. For people who are salt-sensitive and

cannot tolerate it, just use a starter and lower the salt to a mere pinch. In

this case, I would eliminate Sodium Chloride from the diet completely, which is

a purified chemical. The words 'sodium chloride' and 'salt' are used

interchangeably, but they are not the same animal.

Know someone who works for Diamond Crystal, and even their work clothes are

gross. Lots of them get sick working around that stuff, esp skin irritations

and lung problems.

--Terry

Re: The Salt

>Isn't lots of any kind of salt supposed to be bad for you? Kimchi

>recipes seem to call for lots of salt.

> of Dewberry Hill

>----------

There is a lot of controversy about salt. For some people (about 30% of the

population)

lots of salt can cause high blood pressure. However, it has also been found

that low salt diets increase the death rate. Farmers routinely give animals

all

the salt they want ... and they want a lot ... and if you don't give the salt

to the

animals they can die. Sodium is used in a lot of bodily functions. There have

been several items lately about how low sodium causes CFS and heart

arrhythmias. I was having issues with heart arrhythmias myself ... I eat more

salt now, and I don't have that problem. (I also use a sodium/potassium mix).

If you have high blood pressure, lowering your salt intake might help,

but in general, it doesn't help enough. Salt also can increase water

retention, if that is a problem for you. But Koreans and Japanese both

eat a LOT of salt, and in general they are healthier than Americans.

However, in the past salt was generally just dried seawater, which has

a different mineral balance. I generally use sea salt for kimchi.

Kimchi doesn't have to be VERY salty. Mine is mildly salted (by my standards

anyway).

http://www.onlypunjab.com/real/fullstory-newsID-6855.html

Füsgen presented his findings at the European Geriatrics Congress in Vienna,

which ended yesterday (September 19). They show that the symptoms of

hyponatraemia (low sodium level in the blood), which are tiredness, difficulty

in concentrating and loss of balance, can develop into confusion and even coma

if left untreated.

His studies show that up to 10 per cent of older people suffer from sub-acute

sodium deficiency, which can result in problems such as nervous disposition,

hallucinations, muscle cramps and incontinence.

Professor Füsgen explained; " Sodium deficiency is common for elderly people

but it is often not recognized. Many older people are not aware of the danger of

a low salt diet and try to reduce their consumption of salt because they assume

it is healthy to do so. "

http://www.junkscience.com/news/apsalt.htm

Alderman examined the relationship between sodium intake and death among

11,346 Americans evaluated in the 1970s by the U.S. government's National Health

and Nutrition Examination Survey.

By 1992, 3,923 of them had died. He found there were 19 deaths for every 1,000

years of life in the people with the highest salt intake, compared to 23 in

those who ate the least salt.

Overall, a 1,000 milligram increase in dietary salt was associated with a 10

percent reduction in mortality.

The link between low-salt diets and death held up even after the researchers

factored in people's blood pressures, cholesterol levels, age, gender, economic

status and mineral deficiencies.

http://www.drmirkin.com/archive/7046.html

For the last forty years, many doctors have recommended low-salt diets. Many

more-recent papers show that severe salt restriction can increase your chances

of getting a heart attack (3) by raising blood pressure (4) and blood levels of

the bad LDL cholesterol (5). People on low-salt diets have a much higher death

rate (5).

Severe salt restriction causes your adrenal glands to produce large amounts of

a hormone called aldosterone and your kidneys to produce large amounts of

another hormone called angiotensin that constrict blood vessels and raise blood

pressure (1,6). Obese people are extraordinarily sensitive to salt restriction

because being overweight prevents your body from responding adequately to

insulin and raises insulin levels. Since Insulin, itself, causes the body to

retain salt, salt restriction raises blood levels of insulin which make a person

hungry and fatter. Eating white flour and sugar makes your body much more

sensitive to salt and restricting these food products decreases salt's ability

to raise blood pressure (7). The 40% chance of lowering blood pressure with the

most popular drugs is much lower than the 60% success rate of going on a low-fat

diet and losing weight (8,9), so changing your lifestyle is far more effective

in reducing high blood pressure than just taking drugs. Most doctors will

recommend salt restriction.

[Guest guest]

>>Some people can get so bad, that home-made soups makes them swell up like a

balloon. For people who are salt-sensitive and cannot tolerate it, just use a

starter and lower the salt to a mere pinch.

--Terry>>

~~~I personally think it has something to do with diet as well. (Not to say I

don't agree that we should be eating sea salt, however.) I used to swell up

when I ate salt, but I don't anymore. The difference for me was my diet. When

I started eating less grains, no processed foods and a healthy diet otherwise,

that went away. And, I only started eating sea salt a few years after that. I

DO eat sea salt now, though.

Carol

[Guest guest]

So how low can you go with salt and still safely count on a consistently

*safe* product?

I use 6 tsp. to 2 quarts water, and this much solution, plus the blended up

water/cabbage juice I do in the blender, enables me to make 3-4 quarts of

kraut/kimchi.

Blessings,

-Angel

Kirkland Washington

425-522-4046

[Guest guest]

So how low can you go with salt and still safely count on a consistently

*safe* product?

Oh, , I am sorry for misspelling your name, btw.

Deanna

[Guest guest]

<<If you notice, they have a 25# box at the website that they'll ship right

to your door for $57 + ship. I split it up with my family. Per pound it

most surely is more affordable than the Celtic.>>

When you buy it in bulk like this, do you have any problems with it caking

up into hard lumps?

[Guest guest]

The ideal approach to cabbage for fermentation is explained in various books on

fermentation, the best and simplest of which seem to be the books by Klaus

Kaufman and Annelies Schonning. Basically it is important to harvest cabbage at

least 24 hours after any rain, AND even more important, not to wash the cabbage.

Instead just wipe off anything that you'd prefer not to add to your ferment.

The reason is that the lactic acid bacteria grow on the leaves. And because

green and white cabbage are particularly high in lactic acid bacteria no salt is

actually needed to insure a safe and properly fermented product. That leaves us

to use as much or as little as we may prefer for taste and concern about amounts

of salt used. Even with the very best salt I still prefer to use as little as

possible and still create a deliciously balanced flavor. After eating very

little salt for years I do not like much salt in most of my foods.

It would be interesting to share the results of our fermentings by sending

samples to each other. We used to have a local fermenting group in my neck of

the woods here and we used to bring our creations and experiments to share. It

was a blast. Well fermented people tend to be more fun and have more interesting

ideas and things to talk about than most others.

Today I had some fresh kefir for the first time in over a month. Yummm! The milk

is flowing again. Yea!!!

Happy fermenting to all,

Tonio

--

Tonio is correct that almost no salt seems to be necessary for a good kimchi,

but since it's his recipe, I'll let him give the exact details, as I remember

something about not washing the leaves. etc.....

[Guest guest]

Hi Angel,

That was Cory who used raw shrimp in his kimchi, and I'm not so sure it aids the

fermentation process. I'm very tempted, now that you mention it to buy some

shrimp and add it to one of my jars of kimchi to ferment for the next month or

so. Though I think it is too late for that.

btw, I am a bit of a purest with kimchi and sauerkraut and do not add water. I

just smash the stuff up and down more and add cabbage juice as needed. And I

have needed to, especially with less salt. That is another of the benefits of

salt - salt helps draw water out from the vegetables.

Terry's idea of using a " starter " is a great idea especially when in doubt of

the quality of the cabbage and other vegetables you ferment. I usually add some

kimchi juice from last years batch to the new batch. Whey also works the same

way. I was considering adding some EM whey to my kimchi this year, but chickened

out. That stuff is powerful. Instead I drink it straight. It's like champagne

only better flavor. That's with raw whey from cheese making. I've also made EM

whey from kefir whey, which is a very different product with a much stronger

flavor, though also quite tasty.

just off-gassing a bit,

Tonio

I believe Tonio uses raw shrimp in his to aid the fermentation process.

Blessings,

-Angel

Kirkland Washington

425-522-4046

[Guest guest]

As you say that , Carol, I realize it's an inflammatory/allergic problem. Same

thing happened to me.

--Terry

Re: The Salt

>>Some people can get so bad, that home-made soups makes them swell up like a

balloon. For people who are salt-sensitive and cannot tolerate it, just use a

starter and lower the salt to a mere pinch.

--Terry>>

~~~I personally think it has something to do with diet as well. (Not to say I

don't agree that we should be eating sea salt, however.) I used to swell up

when I ate salt, but I don't anymore. The difference for me was my diet. When

I started eating less grains, no processed foods and a healthy diet otherwise,

that went away. And, I only started eating sea salt a few years after that. I

DO eat sea salt now, though.

Carol

[Guest guest]

Stunningly, no, but then I store it in a cool place. It clumps a tad, but

breaks up in an instant with a stir. I put a few rice granules in my shaker

that I keep by the stove.

--Terry

Re: The Salt

<<If you notice, they have a 25# box at the website that they'll ship right

to your door for $57 + ship. I split it up with my family. Per pound it

most surely is more affordable than the Celtic.>>

When you buy it in bulk like this, do you have any problems with it caking

up into hard lumps?

[Guest guest]

>If it goes bad, you'll know it ... it gets slimy and smelly. Think garbage can.

>If you are worried about it, add some vinegar ... it won't add sodium (much)

>but lowering PH is what it is all about. Once the LAB take over, the baddies

>can't compete. And it is less of a problem with cabbage, which really, really

>wants to spontaneously turn into kimchi. Kimchi juice speeds the process

>even more, it adds bacteria AND acid.

OK, so here I am replying to my own email. Must be late!

I found the following site ... really fun, you can set the PH

level of your solution and see how fast different bacteria grow!

(click on " begin growing cells " about halfway down). Lots of info

on PH!

http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/ahp/CellBio/Growth/MGpH.html

Heidi Jean

[Guest guest]

Thanks Heidi and Angel for your salt suggestions.

This PH link sounds like an excellent idea for a project with the boys

today. I need some litmus strips! We have tests and light study on

Fridays.

I, like you, am not concerned with salt really (I have low blood

pressure), but it just doesn't sound too appealing with sweet foods. We

are planning to ferment the cranberry-orange relish today, and I'd like

to keep the salt to a minimum. Now, I will use whey for this, as SF

uses whey for all sweet/sugar added lacto-fermented recipes in NT.

Plus, the oranges I will process with the rind, and they should add a

good amount of acidity. I am thinking I could reasonably get away with

1-2 teaspoons per quart. And it might be that the salt taste won't be

overpowering with the raw honey I will use to sweeten. We shall see.

Deanna

PS. I have a huge, old stock pot outside the kitchen door for compost.

I think I have a pretty good idea of " bad " vegetable smells ;D

>

> >If it goes bad, you'll know it ... it gets slimy and smelly. Think

> garbage can.

> >If you are worried about it, add some vinegar ... it won't add sodium

> (much)

> >but lowering PH is what it is all about. Once the LAB take over, the

> baddies

> >can't compete. And it is less of a problem with cabbage, which

> really, really

> >wants to spontaneously turn into kimchi. Kimchi juice speeds the process

> >even more, it adds bacteria AND acid.

>

> OK, so here I am replying to my own email. Must be late!

> I found the following site ... really fun, you can set the PH

> level of your solution and see how fast different bacteria grow!

> (click on " begin growing cells " about halfway down). Lots of info

> on PH!

>

> http://www.brooklyn.cuny.edu/bc/ahp/CellBio/Growth/MGpH.html

>

>

>

> Heidi Jean

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Hi Angel,

That was Cory who used raw shrimp in his kimchi, and I'm not so sure

it aids the fermentation process. I'm very tempted, now that you

mention it to buy some shrimp and add it to one of my jars of kimchi

to ferment for the next month or so. Though I think it is too late

for that.

btw, I am a bit of a purest with kimchi and sauerkraut and do not add

water. I just smash the stuff up and down more and add cabbage juice

as needed. And I have needed to, especially with less salt. That is

another of the benefits of salt - salt helps draw water out from the

vegetables.

Terry's idea of using a " starter " is a great idea especially when in

doubt of the quality of the cabbage and other vegetables you ferment.

I usually add some kimchi juice from last years batch to the new

batch. Whey also works the same way. I was considering adding some EM

whey to my kimchi this year, but chickened out. That stuff is

powerful. Instead I drink it straight. It's like champagne only

better flavor. That's with raw whey from cheese making. I've also

made EM whey from kefir whey, which is a very different product with

a much stronger flavor, though also quite tasty.

As for Terry's mentioning about not washing the cabbage leaves, YES,

that is considered to be very important since green and white cabbage

grow lots of lactic acid bacteria on the surface of the leaves. So it

is important to time the harvest till at least 24 hours after any

rain and not to wash cabbage. Just wipe off anything that you'd

prefer not to add to your ferment.

just off-gassing a bit,

Tonio

ps It appears that I am only able to post to this group from the

website, not from my email directly. Maybe that's a time glitch.

> I believe Tonio uses raw shrimp in his to aid the fermentation

process.

> Blessings,

> -Angel

> Kirkland Washington

> 425-522-4046

>

>

> --

> Tonio is correct that almost no salt seems to be necessary for a

good kimchi, but since it's his recipe, I'll let him give the exact

details, as I remember something about not washing the leaves.

etc.....

>

>

>

>

>

[Guest guest]

Terry,

I don't think it's an allergy problem. I was not allergic to anything I was

eating at the time. I believe some people, (whether due to genetics or

something else..... something not yet well understood), simply do not do well on

grains. If we eat them, it causes other foods to create symptoms. In other

words: Say grains are the culprit in someone's health, but he/she doesn't

realize it. The person doesn't test allergic to any grains and it would be

difficult to pinpoint grains as the cause of the ill health, but let's just say

they are, 'silently'. Because he continues to unwittingly eat them, other

foods, (that may be just fine for that person without the grains in his diet),

appear to create symptoms...... like swelling. He doesn't swell when he eats

the grains, only when he eats certain other foods, so it's very confusing.

However, once he/she eliminates grains from his/her diet, he can eat those other

foods just fine, with no swelling. It has nothing to do with an allergy, as

there are no allergens in his diet, according to allergy testing......his body

is not producing antibodies to any foods, in other words. It's some sort of

chemical reaction in his body that is not understood, but the culprit is that

one food group.

Carol

As you say that , Carol, I realize it's an inflammatory/allergic problem. Same

thing happened to me.

--Terry

[Guest guest]

Hi Angel,

That was Cory who used raw shrimp in his kimchi, and I'm not so sure

it aids the fermentation process.

Well, I know it speeds it up, it is usually done within 3-4 days.

Blessings,

-Angel

Kirkland Washington

425-522-4046

[Guest guest]

How does it taste with the shrimp??? Now you've perked up my curiousity. Cory

made it sound so iffy.

namaste (I had to look up the exact meaning of that term, I love it. It's

perfect)

Tonio

Hi Angel,

That was Cory who used raw shrimp in his kimchi, and I'm not so sure

it aids the fermentation process.

Well, I know it speeds it up, it is usually done within 3-4 days.

Blessings,

-Angel

Kirkland Washington

425-522-4046

[Guest guest]

How does it taste with the shrimp??? Now you've perked up my curiousity. Cory

made it sound so iffy.

namaste (I had to look up the exact meaning of that term, I love it. It's

perfect)

Tonio

In truth it does not add much flavor at all. I actually use cooked salad shrimp

instead which taste absolutely divine, and is still done in 3-4 days depending

on temps. I am finding raw or dried fish doesn't add much flavor, not really

sure why people use it except to aid the process of fermentation. I am going to

try cooked chicken in mine this next week, as I assume that raw chicken probably

will react in flavor the same way as the raw fish.

(Yes, it does have an awesome meaning!---Namaste!)

Blessings,

-Angel

Kirkland Washington

425-522-4046

[Guest guest]

>II am finding raw or dried fish doesn't add much flavor, not really sure why

people use it except to aid the process of fermentation.

Oh, I disagree here! Yeah, it doesn't add a really obvious flavor, but it adds

this wonderful subtle yumminess that makes me crave kimchi more than ever. And,

the fish or shrimp add LOTS of nutrients. Esp. whole pulverized baby fish or

shrimp. Dried whole fish are one of the most nutrient dense foods in existence,

and they add stuff like calcium too. My last batch used 2 heads of cabbage, 1

whole cup of pulverized fish (which is about 4 cups whole), and 2 cups of dried

shrimp. It is amazingly yummy!

Raw fish/shrimp would add less flavor because they are less dense. Also they are

more expensive ... though you could use say, the guts and heads of a raw fish

that you would throw out otherwise (those have the most flavor anyway). The

Koreans use salted canned shrimp a lot though, and those might react more like

your canned shrimp, they do work differently than the dried ones.

And ... don't discount " taste " ! Your body KNOWS if something is good, and it is

quite likely that when kimchi tastes the best to you, it also has the optimum

mineral/vitamin/digestibility for you.

Heidi Jean

[Guest guest]

Heidi,

Where do you get whole dried fish, and dried shrimp?

Tonio

>II am finding raw or dried fish doesn't add much flavor, not really sure why

people use it except to aid the process of fermentation.

Oh, I disagree here! Yeah, it doesn't add a really obvious flavor, but it adds

this wonderful subtle yumminess that makes me crave kimchi more than ever. And,

the fish or shrimp add LOTS of nutrients. Esp. whole pulverized baby fish or

shrimp. Dried whole fish are one of the most nutrient dense foods in existence,

and they add stuff like calcium too. My last batch used 2 heads of cabbage, 1

whole cup of pulverized fish (which is about 4 cups whole), and 2 cups of dried

shrimp. It is amazingly yummy!

Raw fish/shrimp would add less flavor because they are less dense. Also they

are more expensive ... though you could use say, the guts and heads of a raw

fish that you would throw out otherwise (those have the most flavor anyway). The

Koreans use salted canned shrimp a lot though, and those might react more like

your canned shrimp, they do work differently than the dried ones.

And ... don't discount " taste " ! Your body KNOWS if something is good, and it

is quite likely that when kimchi tastes the best to you, it also has the optimum

mineral/vitamin/digestibility for you.

Heidi Jean

[Guest guest]

>Heidi,

>Where do you get whole dried fish, and dried shrimp?

>Tonio

At an Asian store. I think most of them carry them. Dried seaweed too.

>

Heidi Jean