Space Kimchi!

The title to this NYT piece -- "Starship Kimchi: A Bold Taste Goes Where It Has Never Gone Before" -- now, that's the real stinker. From the NYT directly:

Mr. Ko, the Korean astronaut, said he would use the kimchi to foster cultural exchange. He plans to prepare a Korean dinner in the space station on April 12 to celebrate the 47th anniversary of the day the Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space.

The developers of the “space kimchi,” meanwhile, say their research will continue to benefit South Korea in a practical way even after the country’s national pride is burnished by Mr. Ko’s historic mission.

They say kimchi’s short shelf life has made exporting it expensive because the need for refrigeration and rapid transport. That has added to the cost in importing countries, limiting sales.


"During our research, we found a way to slow down the fermentation of kimchi for a month so that it can be shipped around the world at less cost,” Mr. Lee said. “This will help globalize kimchi.”

I'll end with a tagline nearly as bad as the NYT title – "Space kimchi: outta this world?"

Comments

[Sonagi]

I'd like to hope that fermentation is slowed by leaving out cancer-causing sodium nitrite, which is normally added to speed the process. However, sodium nitrite is also a potent preservative, which is why it is added to so many refrigerated foods, especially processed meat products like roast beef and hot dogs. Most commercial kimchis contain a number of additives and preservatives. US company Frieda's markets spicy and mild cabbage kimchis preserved in a natural brine. Good stuff! No need for Korean imports with chemical extras.

[Mark]

I joked about such an event on ROK Drop a few weeks ago.

I take it Mr. Ko reads ROK Drop? :lol: