Granny Choe's Kimchi: stinky fermented food pride

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Remember when Connie Choe of Granny Choe's Kimchi Company guestblogged here on Boing Boing? She blogged about a bunch of things totally unrelated to lacto-fermented Brassica genus vegetables, but that's her day job: a family-run, online stinky cabbage pickle company.

She sent me a complimentary sampler kit a few months back, and I never got around to reviewing the stuff, but here's my review: it's awesome, and I've been ordering the 3-jar sampler packs online regularly since. All of their pickle varieties are loaded with friendly bacteria, and they have a real "fermenty" bite to 'em. Hard to explain, but it tastes alive in the way that small-run beer or vinegar might. It bites you back in a spicy way.

It's vegan, it's made with simple and natural ingredients (no MSG, but stuff like peppers, ginger, dates, and pine nuts as flavor tweakers). Some of their recipes are garlickier and hotter than others. My favorite nontraditional way to eat it lately is as an ingredient in veggie burritos or quesadillas (with Daiya cheese!).

Best part about ordering the stuff online is the concerned looks I get from the postman when it's delivered. When you unbox it and open each jar for the first time, you can smell it, and it bubbles and fizzes at you. The stuff really is alive. They should stick biohazard stickers on the shipping carton!

Fermented food enthusiasts may say "But you could save a bundle by making it yourself." Perhaps, but that's not gonna happen in my house any time soon. And I like receiving my biohazards through the postal service from a friendly Korean grandma.

[PHOTO: Kimchi unboxing! iPhone snap by Xeni.]