I am 56 hours into my first Kimchi ferment, and am noting that the behavior is quite different than most of my sauerkraut ferments to date. Wondering if a LONG lag time before the LAB activity kicks in (at room temps) is typical (like 30 hours).
Recipe was combined from a two different ones I found for the type:
Spicy Kale-Kohlrabi-Napa Cabbage Kimchi
1 lb kale, fresh from garden
1 ea lemon, juiced
1 tbsp raw local honey
1 inch ginger root, minced
2 tbsp sesame seeds
1 tbsp olive oil
4 tbsp rice flour
8 cloves garlic
1 ea onion, diced
1 tbsp fish sauce
1 tbsp bhut jolokia hot chili powder
3 tbsp ancho chili powder
3 ea kohlrabi, diced
1 ea carrot
1 ea leek, sliced thin
1 head napa cabbage, large, shredded
2 tbsp kosher salt, add to taste (prob 3-4 total)
1 bunch scallions (mostly whites not stems)
Based on estimated weights of the salt and vegetables -- I think this ended up somewhere between 2-3% which seems typical for Kimchi.
But I was wondering if adding the lemon juice at the beginning dropped the pH pretty heavily at first -- and then had the effect of it rising for the first 30 hours. The attached graph shows that it pretty dramatically dropped once the LABs took over the ferment -- going from ~4.8 to ~4.2 in the next ten hours at average temps around 67.
First question -- is this long lag typical (if Kimchi is made from the raw veggies only with no starter). Second -- I put the Kimchi in an insulated cooler with a little ice, but at 4.1 pH now -- I am thinking it needs to be jarred and stuffed in a 37 degree fridge rather than letting it continue. Third -- is adding olive oil really a good idea preferement?
Any advice? I have read that tasting it at the beginning of the ferment (when raw) and after it is done (fully fermented) are fine -- but that in the middle might not be as pleasant. Will taste anyway!
The attached graph is from data points taken via a Raspberry Pi with ambient temp, ferment temp and pH sensors logging every 15 minutes.