White (Baek) Kimchi

Baek (white) kimchi is baechu kimchi with the gochugaru left out: pale, clean, and gently sour, served in a clear, faintly sweet brine. Without chile heat, the garlic, ginger, pear, and aromatics carry the whole dish — a refreshing, mild ferment that suits kids and chile-averse palates.

Ingredients

The cabbage is brined and rinsed to a working ~2%; the seasoning is folded in dry, then the jar is topped with a light 2% pour-over brine so the cabbage sits in clear liquid.

Ingredient	1 Jar (1 qt / 1 L)	1 Crock (2 L / ½ gal)
Napa cabbage, quartered	600 g	1500 g
Non-iodized salt — for dry-salting the leaves	14 g	35 g
Garlic, grated	12 g	30 g
Ginger, grated	6 g	15 g
Asian pear or apple, grated	50 g	125 g
Korean radish, julienned	80 g	200 g
Scallion, 3 cm cut	30 g	75 g
Pour-over brine — water	300 g	750 g
Pour-over brine — non-iodized salt	6 g	15 g

Yield: about 650 g cabbage in roughly 300 g brine per jar; about 1.6 kg in 750 g brine per crock.

Calculated values

Value	Target
Cabbage salting (dry-salt % of cabbage)	2.0-2.5%
Pour-over brine (salt ÷ water)	2.0%
Working salinity, finished dish	~2%
Ferment temperature	18-22 °C / 64-72 °F
Time at that temperature	3-10 days
Finished pH	~4.0
Cold storage / arrest	2-4 °C

Size the salting step with the dry-salt calculator and the pour-over with the brine salinity calculator.

Readiness window

Baek kimchi ferments much like spicy kimchi but reads milder, so judge it by tang and brine cloudiness. At 18-22 °C it is pleasant from about day 3; let it ride 3-10 days. Without chile, the brine should turn faintly hazy and lightly effervescent as the lactic bacteria work.

Done when: the brine is gently sour and a little fizzy, the cabbage stays crisp, and a calibrated meter reads about pH 4.0 (it crosses below 4.6 within a day or two). Arrest at 2-4 °C and serve cold in its brine.

Method

Salt the napa

Quarter the cabbage and dry-salt 2.0-2.5% by weight between the leaves (or brine in 5-10% solution for 2-6 h) until a thick rib bends without snapping.

Rinse and drain

Rinse twice in cold water; drain 20-30 minutes. Cut into 4-5 cm pieces.

Make the white seasoning

Combine grated garlic, ginger, and pear with the radish matchsticks and scallion. No gochugaru, no chile — the pear and aromatics are the flavor.

Mix and pack

Toss the seasoning through the cabbage with gloved hands. Pack firmly into the vessel, pressing out air, leaving 3-4 cm headspace.

Pour over the 2% brine

Stir the pour-over salt into the water until dissolved, then pour over the packed cabbage until submerged. Weight if needed so nothing floats.

Ferment then chill

Hold at 18-22 °C for 3-10 days, tasting and burping daily. At gentle sourness and about pH 4.0, move to 2-4 °C and serve cold.

Variations / mix-ins

Fruit-forward: add thin slices of Asian pear and a few jujubes to the brine for a sweeter, banquet-style baek kimchi.
Mu (radish) white kimchi: use chunked Korean radish in place of some cabbage.
Watery (dongchimi-style): increase the pour-over brine and serve it as a cold, drinkable broth ferment.