Bought a $150 pH meter for my kimchi batches and it's been a game changer, but my friend says it's a waste.

I got tired of guessing if my ferment was too acidic or not sour enough, so I invested in a decent digital meter. It showed my last batch was at 3.8 pH right when it tasted perfect, so now I have a target. My buddy argues that our grandparents just used taste and smell, and the tool takes the soul out of the process. Has anyone else found a specific tool that really changed your results, or do you think it's overkill?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor.brooke8d agoMost Upvoted

My great aunt's kimchi was always perfect, and she kept a notebook with dates and room temps. She was tracking data without a digital tool. Your pH meter is just a faster version of her notebook. It lets you learn the rules so you can break them later. Once you know exactly what 3.8 pH tastes and smells like, you might not need the meter every time. The tool doesn't remove the soul, it helps you build the memory in your own hands.

viola_garcia568d ago

You said "our grandparents also had way more failed batches they just didn't talk about." That's so real lol. My grandma would just shrug and say the cabbage was moody that year. But how do we know what a "failed batch" even was back then? Maybe a super sour kimchi was just their style that month, not a mistake. If they used a pH meter, would they have called it a failure or just a different kind of good?

ray6138d ago

Your friend is wrong, that tool gives you CONTROL. Our grandparents also had way more failed batches they just didn't talk about. Getting consistent results IS the soul of good food.