My aunt told me to skip the airlock for my first batch of kimchi...

She said it would be fine in a sealed jar for a week in my kitchen in Phoenix. I listened, and after 4 days the jar lid was bulging and I had a fizzy, weird smelling mess. Everyone online says you need that gas to escape, and she was totally wrong. Has anyone else had a family member give them bad fermenting advice that you followed?

3 comments

3 Comments

gavinwells4d ago

That classic "it's always been fine for me" advice from relatives can be so risky. My grandma insisted her pickles never needed brine to fully cover the veggies. I tried it her way once and ended up with a jar half full of colorful mold instead of cucumbers. It's like their luck with old methods becomes a rule, ignoring that our kitchens today have different temps and bugs in the air.

taylorellis4d ago

@gavinwells Exactly, old kitchen luck is not a safe recipe.

grant.felix4d ago

I mean, my grandma's potato salad advice is probably why I'm so good at guessing which leftovers will fight back.