Time to Rot

Late summer is a fun and troubling time for gardeners. Things are growing faster than we can eat them. We have to either give them away to people or store them for the winter. I decided to make some cucumber kimchi today. It is a process which, to be successful, I have to suspend almost all my modern food hygiene trainings. I have to make friend with microorganisms that I have waged war against my whole life. I was told, from toddler on, that I must put away my food in the refrigerator to prevent it from turning sour and killing me. To make pickles, I am doing exactly what I was not supposed to do. Come to think of it, it is like swimming with sharks, a calculated confrontation with death. We are constantly in fear of bacteria these days. We believe the commercials on TV and buy anti-bacterial everything and turned our kitchen into an ICU. In East Asia, it is coming to the time of the year when people plan a fruitful future for friendly yeast and bacteria. Vegetables are to be turned into pickles, beans and grains into sauces, and all kinds of starch into alcohol. In other words, almost everything is to be rotted into tasty basics of life. That is so much more appetizing than anti-bacterial wipes.