BSU-FPC launches BSU Kimchi for Filipinos
  04.21.06

           "I like Kimchi because it's crunchy like salad and so unlike other vegetable foods! I have Kimchi with my meal and unlike what my friends think, it is not that spicy," Jerome Balangcod, a BSU graduate and now with BSU-FPC as a Production Head, says about this mild, Filipino-type BSU Kimchi that has recently been launched at the BSU Marketing Center.

What is Kimchi? 
     Kimchi is a lactic acid-fermented vegetable food. Its basic ingredients include Chinese cabbage, red bell pepper, garlic, ginger, onion, sugar, and salt. The original Korean Kimchi though has more ingredients like carrots and/or radish.

     Kimchi can be considered a complete healthy food. Results of Korean experimentations on mouse groups showed the positive effect of Kimchi on health. The mouse groups inoculated with some germs were given certain amounts of Kimchi survived the harmful microorganisms and did not develop lung/stomach/colon cancer as expected. The control group, other mouse group that did not eat Kimchi, did not survive. Scientists attribute this to the fact that Kimchi has 100 times higher amount of lactic acid (sour flavor) than yogurt (well-fermented Kimchi with pH 4.6~4.2 and acid rate 0.6~0.8).

     Moreover, capsaicin (hot flavor) in Kimchi burns out the fats inside the human body by increasing its metabolic rate. Kimchi also suppresses skin aging by decreasing the amount of cholesterol in blood and analyzing fibrin. And as Kimchi is made up of naturally fermented green and yellow vegetables, it is full of vitamin A, B, C, and dietary fiber.

     As a side dish, Koreans usually take Kimchi as an appetizer before every meal.

How did Kimchi find its way to the FPC?
     It started with Uk Lim (a.k.a. Jason), one of the members of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) team detailed to work on an RDE project at the Highland Agriculture and Resources Research and Development Consortium (HARRDEC) based at the University. Jason's field of expertise is food processing. He is very intent on helping farmers by offering an alternative source of income. He is convinced that Kimchi would be good not only for the pocket of Filipinos but also the health. So, he went out of his way to share the technique of making it. Unlike the genuine Korean Kimchi, Jason made some modifications. He adjusts the spicy stuff to suit the Filipinos' taste. Although fish sauce, commonly known as Patis , is a common dip in the Philippines , it is not so popular to Cordillerans. In terms of spiciness, Jason came up with a mild-hot concoction, to the pleasure and delight of the takers.

     KOICA is a development assistance agency of the Korean Ministry of Foreign Affairs similar to the USA Peace Corps and Japanese International Cooperation Agency (JICA). Annually, the agency sends about 3,000 volunteers to 120 countries in Africa , Latin America , and Asia .

     Professor Jane K. Avila, the Manager of the BSU-FPC, accepted Jason's idea. BSU Kimchi production began as a demonstration procedure. An induction sealer and band sealer were acquired by the Center from KOICA budget for better packaging. Label and poster were designed by this writer, a marketing expert who is also a member of the Korea Volunteer Team.

How can the Kimchi-making skill be learned?
     It's easy, simple, and free of charge. Interested individuals can come to the Center and learn the Kimchi-making skill from Jason.

     Jason is also moving on to strawberry wine and sayote processing. And as a committed volunteer, he said he will continue to work along food processing to help local farmers for as long as he can and while he's with BSU.--- Sujin Choi.

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*Aside from Jason (food Processing) and Sujin Choi or Susie (Marketing), the other Korean Volunteers assigned at HARRDEC are Young Bae Park (Horticulture)) and Yun Hee Lee (Tissue Culture). Young Bae Park (called by his first name, Young) is building green houses and cultivating organic vegetables while Yun Hee Lee (a.k.a. Elly) is at the Northern Philippines Root Crops Research and Training Center (NPRCRTC) working with RC researchers in producing disease-free seeds/planting materials.