Quantified Kimchi

Abstract

Fermentation is a multivariate process, the result of which sensitively varies according to the proportion of ingredients, storage temperature, and fermentation time. Proper fermentation of food thus requires lots of experience, together with a careful and time-consuming status tracking, which have hindered non-experienced users from attempting to make fermented food. In this thesis, I design and prototype a toolkit for monitoring the fermentation process to support users while making kimchi, a Korean traditional fermented food. The toolkit consists of a composite sensor named as 'Kimchi Timer' and a mobile application that work together to advise the users the time required for kimchi to be prepared. The application estimates the time by interpolating values in pre-entered data based on temperature and pH measured in real-time by the Kimchi Timer and salt concentration entered by the user. I tested the prototype with four non-experienced users in a qualitative user test. The results indicate that monitoring with the toolkit helped users to feel more confident about kimchi-making and alleviated their mental burden. The users also showed significant variation regarding pH for their favorite status of kimchi, which could be quantitatively verified with the toolkit. I further conducted a review on the toolkit with a kimchi-making expert. The expert agreed on that the toolkit would be helpful for non-experienced users while pointing out the necessity for including salt meter and improved visualization tools to aid experienced users as well.