Loving Foods Hot ‘n’ Smoky Kimchi review
Here we will give a hands-on review of Loving Foods Hot ‘n’ Smoky Kimchi.
This review includes a taste test, information about the brand, its benefits, whether it’s worth your money and more.
Please note this article contains some affiliate links.
About Loving Foods
Loving Foods is a Manchester-based company which makes a range of fermented products including kimchi, kombucha, sauerkraut, apple cider vinegar, juice and hot sauce.
They are a certified organic producer by the Organic Food Federation.
As they state on their website, their ethos is to ‘apply centuries-old techniques to modern dietary requirements, developing new tastes and flavours.’
Ingredients of Loving Food’s kimchi
One of the key selling points of this kimchi is that it is certified organic and suitable for vegans. (It’s worth noting that traditional kimchi is not vegan-friendly as it usually contains fish sauce and shrimp paste.)
Specifically this kimchi contains: Cabbage, Pak Choi, Radish, Spring Onions, Ginger, Chilli, Cayenne Pepper, Smoked Paprika, Garlic, Tamari (Soy Sauce), Celtic Sea Salt.
In summary, it is a very natural kimchi with a range of fermented vegetables, salt and other organic ingredients.
It also doesn’t contain MSG - which most traditional kimchis do.
Benefits
This kimchi comes with various health benefits.
Probiotics
Because this is an unpasteurised, fermented product, it is packed with live probiotic bacteria which your gut will love. And through the fermentation process it contains a lot of healthy enzymes for your gut.
Read more about the benefits of probiotics.
Prebiotics
This kimchi contains various prebiotic vegetables, such as cabbage and onions, which are full of fibre and will feed the good bacteria in your gut and help them multiply.
Read more about the benefits of prebiotics.
Vegetables
This kimchi is a good source of vegetables containing cabbage, pak choi, radish and spring onions.
Garlic
The kimchi contains garlic which has a range of health benefits including supporting immune function as well as reducing cholesterol and blood pressure. It is also a good source of antioxidants as well as various vitamins and minerals such as manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C and selenium.
Read more about the benefits of garlic.
Ginger
Ginger has both anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects. It can also contribute to digestive health, weight loss and healthy blood sugar levels.
Flavour
The aroma is quite complex with the smoked paprika and cayenne pepper primarily coming through.
The taste is equally complex. Initially you get the heat of the chilli and cayenne pepper as well as the ginger, followed by a deep smoky taste and finishing with the slight funkiness of the fermented cabbage and other vegetables. But as the heat and other flavours build on the palate you notice the funkiness less and less. You also sometimes get a strong hit of spring onion.
The spiciness is at a good level for me (as someone who doesn’t like things too spicy). It’s a nice light to moderate heat which doesn’t build to overpowering as you eat more.
Overall, I think the taste works very well. It is deep, multi-layered and moreish. (As an example, I couldn’t help myself continually snacking straight from the jar as I did this review!)
If you’re looking for a more simple taste profile, check out our review of Loving Foods Sauerkraut.
Uses
This kimchi is great as a side dish to many meals and excellent with any form of breakfast eggs. It is also fantastic in a kimchi cheese toastie - which I think is the very best vegetarian comfort food!
They also suggest putting it on a sausage which I think would work very well by providing a nice acidity to cut through the richness of the meat.
Cost of Loving Food’s kimchi
A 475g jar costs £7.95 from the Loving Foods website.
Summary
4.75 stars out of 5.
A delicious and addictive kimchi which is organic, live and great for your gut in numerous ways.
Pros
organic and free of nasties
full of live bacteria
packed with vegetables
great source of fibre
great taste
versatile uses
Cons
not super cheap (but as you would expect from an organic, small batch, live product)
it’s not a strictly traditional kimchi (like from a Korean food store) if that bothers you
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Your reviewer
This article was reviewed by Travis - learn more about me!
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