Kimchi is a fermented Korean side dish that was once buried in the ground to survive winter

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Kimchi is a fermented Korean side dish that was once buried in the ground to survive winter

the gist

Kimchi is salted and fermented vegetables, most often Chinese cabbage or Korean radish, seasoned with chili powder, garlic, ginger and salted seafood. It appears at almost every Korean meal and in soups and stews, and hundreds of regional varieties exist. Traditionally, winter batches made during a communal gimjang were stored in large clay vessels called onggi, buried in the ground to keep them from freezing while cool enough to ferment slowly. Today many households use dedicated kimchi refrigerators instead. UNESCO has recognised the gimjang tradition as part of intangible cultural heritage.

how it works

Salt draws water out of the vegetables and creates conditions where lactic acid bacteria thrive and multiply. These bacteria produce acids that preserve the food and give kimchi its sour taste. Burying the jars keeps temperatures steady, so fermentation proceeds slowly through the winter.

so what

Kimchi shows how a preservation method for a lean season became a national food and a symbol of identity. Its fermentation also makes it one of the world's most widely eaten fermented foods today.

fun fact

Kimchi is typically eaten with nearly every Korean meal, so it is one of the most constant items on the table in Korean households.

Hampi was once one of the world's largest cities, until its Vijayanagara capital was destroyed in 1565

the gist

Hampi is a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Karnataka, India, with more than 1,600 surviving remains spread over 4,100 hectares. It was the capital of the Vijayanagara Empire from 1336 to 1565. Travellers from Persia and Portugal described it as a prosperous, wealthy and grand city with temples, markets and farms along the Tungabhadra River. By 1500 it was estimated to be the world's second-largest city after Beijing, and probably India's richest at the time. In 1565 a coalition of Muslim sultanates defeated the Vijayanagara Empire, its capital was conquered and destroyed, and the city was left in ruins. Hampi remains a religious centre, with the active Virupaksha Temple at its heart.

how it works

The city was built around a fortified core with temples, markets and water structures along the river, supplied by an extensive network of roads and waterworks. When the empire fell, the city was not rebuilt, so its stone monuments were left standing.

so what

Hampi shows how quickly a great city can vanish after a military defeat, and how a ruined capital can remain sacred. Its ruins give historians a view of medieval South Asia that few other sites can match.

fun fact

The name Hampi comes from Pampa, an old name for the Tungabhadra River.

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · text CC BY-SA 4.0

Image: Wikimedia Commons

source: Wikipedia ↗

2 min

politicsshortCNA2:01

False allegations about Singapore’s hand in Indonesia’s markets and a made-up meeting

from CNA

CNA Verify has found close to 400 posts pushing falsehoods tying Singapore to Indonesia’s stock market rout and to a secret meeting that never took place. Together, they drew nearly 12 million views, and some were circulated by accounts that appeared to be working in concert, across multiple social media platforms.

Here’s how the disinformation campaign targeting Singapore was uncovered.

on YouTube: CNA ↗