Peace, Love and Vegetables Superkraut Kimchi review
Here we will give a hands-on, taste-tested review of Peace, Love and Vegetables Superkraut Kimchi. We’ll look into the benefits, ingredients, nutrition, use and flavour of this unique kimchi.
You can find this kimchi in some health food stores in Australia.
What is kimchi?
Kimchi is a traditional food product from Korea. It is made by fermenting cabbage and other vegetables. However, as we will see, this is not a traditional-style kimchi like other kimchi we have reviewed.
Kimchi is a living product full of probiotics (ie live beneficial microbes) and prebiotics such as cabbage, garlic and onion which feed the good microbes in your gut.
Ingredients of Peace, Love and Vegetables Superkraut Kimchi
This product is best thought of as kimchi-inspired fermented food which sits somewhere between a sauerkraut and a kimchi.
Unlike traditional kimchi, it does not include common ingredients like spring onion, daikon, radish, fish sauce, shrimp paste or gochugaru (Korean dried chili flakes).
This kimchi is organic and includes: cabbage, culture starter, carrot, sweet potato, Australian sun dried sea salt, ginger, onion, turmeric, cayenne pepper, garlic and black pepper.
So it’s very natural and doesn’t include any thickeners, flavour enhancers or preservatives.
Let’s dive into the health benefits - there are many!
Benefits of Peace, Love and Vegetables Superkraut Kimchi
This kimchi has many health benefits, especially related to its probiotic and prebiotic content as well as its various anti-inflammatory ingredients.
Probiotics
This kimchi is rich in a diversity of live cultures. And unlike many other brands, they list the actual strains included.
This kimchi includes the following 12 live cultures:
Bifidobacterium infantis
Bifidobacterium lactis
Lactobacillus acidophilus
Lactobacillus fermentum
Lactobacillus lactis (this is likely a mislabelling for Lactococcus lactis)
Lactobacillus paracasei
Lactobacillus rhamnosus
Lactococcus lactis subsp. cremoris
Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis
Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis biovar diacetylactis
Leuconostoc mesenteroides
Leuconostoc pseudomesenteroides
And most of these strains are considered probiotic, which means they have been shown to give health benefits.
However, we don’t know the actual amount of the probiotics included (ie colony forming units).
Learn more about the benefits of probiotics.
Postbiotics
Postbiotics are essentially things probiotics produce during fermentation. These include healthy short-chain fatty acids which nourish our gut lining and may help reduce symptoms of irritable bowel syndrome.
Prebiotics
Kimchi is fantastic for gut health because it contains prebiotics as well as probiotics. Prebiotics are fibre which feed the good bacteria in your gut and help them multiply. The cabbage, garlic and onion in this kimchi are all prebiotic vegetables.
So not only are you getting the beneficial microbes, you are also getting the best food to feed them!
Read more about the benefits of prebiotics.
Garlic
This 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.
Read more about the benefits of ginger.
Turmeric
Turmeric has a range of proven health benefits.
Anti-inflammatory: Studies have shown curcumin has strong anti-inflammatory properties, which may help with arthritis.
Antioxidant: Antioxidants can neutralise harmful free radicals.
Brain function: May boost brain-derived neurotrophic factor, linked to improved brain function and a lower risk of brain diseases.
Heart Disease: May help protect against heart disease.
Read more about the evidence supporting turmeric’s health benefits.
Cayenne pepper
Apart from including various vitamins, cayenne pepper:
stimulates digestion: Cayenne pepper can increase the production of digestive enzymes
boosts metabolism: The compound capsaicin in cayenne pepper stimulates metabolism and may help with weight management
improves circulation: It promotes healthy blood flow
reduces inflammation: Capsaicin has anti-inflammatory properties which can soothe inflammation in the gut
Read more about the benefits of cayenne pepper.
Vegetables
This kimchi is a good source of vegetables containing cabbage, onion, carrot and sweet potato.
These vegetables are rich in fibre and antioxidants, and provide particular benefits to gut health and immune function. Collectively they provide various vitamins and minerals such as vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin K, folate and potassium.
Flavour
The aroma is mostly of cabbage, ginger and earthy turmeric.
The flavour is quite sour and also hot from the Cayenne pepper, black pepper and ginger. The ginger comes through strongly. And there’s an earthiness from the turmeric and sweet potato.
The heat does build a bit but it isn’t overly spicy.
Overall, the taste is really very good, complex and addictive. But it does not taste like a traditional kimchi.
Uses
This kimchi works very well as a side dish and would be great with breakfast eggs. You could try it in a kimchi cheese toastie, but the earthiness of the taste may or may not work.
Cost of Peace, Love and Vegetables Superkraut Kimchi
We bought a 650g jar from a health store for $17 - which sounds expensive but per gram that’s actually significantly cheaper than other premium kimchi in supermarkets (including Kehoe’s Kitchen red kimchi).
Review summary
Rating: 5 stars out of 5.
Verdict: Peace, Love and Vegetables Superkraut Kimchi is fantastically healthy in many ways and very delicious. Just don’t expect a traditional kimchi.
Pros
great taste
diverse range of probiotics
high in prebiotic fibres
good source of vitamins and minerals from the vegetables
lots of anti-inflammatory ingredients
various health benefits from the ginger, garlic, turmeric and Cayenne pepper
lower in sugar than other brands
good value compared to other brands
Cons
it is not a traditional kimchi
Your reviewer
This hands-on review was written by Travis, the founder of this website, long-time gut-health enthusiast, science nerd and passionate kombucha maker of over 10 years!
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