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Learners make kimchee or sauerkraut, which is really just fermented cabbage, in a 2-liter plastic bottle. The fermentation process takes from 3 days to 2 weeks to complete, and learners measure the progress by taking a daily pH (acid level) test. This activity can be used to teach about anaerobic bacteria, acidity, osmosis, concentration, and density. It comes from a printed book that is also available in Spanish, though the Spanish version is not available online.
- 1 to 2 hours
- 1 to 4 weeks
- $1 - $5 per group of students
- Ages 4 - 14
- Activity, Experiment/Lab Activity
- English
Quick Guide
Materials List (per group of students)
- One 2-liter soda bottle
- One plastic lid about 9 cm across
- One 2-3 lb. Head of Chinese cabbage (Brassica rapa), also called napa or petsai, cut into 4 cm Chunks. (For sauerkraut use European round-headed green cabbage.)
- Chopped hot chili pepper, or chili powder
- Two cloves garlic, thinly sliced
- 20 grams (3 tsp) non-iodized (pickling or kosher) salt
- pH paper or red cabbage juice
- Marker, wax pencil or crayon for drawing cutting lines
- Cutting blade or utility knife to start cut
- Scissors to cut bottle
Subjects
-
Life Sciences
- Cells
-
Diversity of Life
- Viruses and Bacteria
-
Human Senses and Perception
- Smell
-
Physical Sciences
-
Chemistry
- Acids and Bases
- Solutions
-
Chemistry
Informal Categories
- Food and Cooking
Audience
To use this activity, learners need to:
- see color
- smell
- taste
Learning styles supported:
- Links STEM to other topics of interest such as arts and humanities
Other
Components that are part of this resource:
- Build a Kimchee Investigation Column Fermentation Chamber
- Kimchee Observe
- Make your own pH Indicator
- Good Bug-Bad Rap | Kimchee - Fermentation
This resource is part of:
Access Rights:
- Free access
By:
Source Collection
- Science After School Consumer's Guide
Rights:
- Creative Commons: Non-commercial Share Alike (by-nc-sa), Wisconsin Fast Plants Program, 2007
Funding Source:
- National Science Foundation