Thank you!

Heheh – yeah my brain did the same thing. I had mine on an induction plate and monitored the temp, and thenI used Iodine to test for starch conversion.

Gochujang is made during cold months, usually October to March, to prevent freshly made gochujang from spoiling and from fermenting too quickly. It’s traditionally kept outdoors in earthenwares for years going through some cold winter and hot summer. If the weather is very cold when gochujang is made, it will slow down the fermentation further or no fermentation happens until it gets warmer. You can wait until Feb or March to make it if the cold temp is a concern.

Excited to try this recipe! Thank you for posting it.
I do have another question about the temperature though.
Here in Canada winters are cold cold (5°C to -20°C easy), is that still ok or is below freezing point too cold?
TYIA

Cold is fine. You can leave it out longer in cold weather.

One thing I noticed as I was re-reading the recipe for this year’s batch, a good chunk of this process is incredibly similar to making beer at home. If you can control the temperature, the enzymes that make the starches simple and digestible for fermentation operate best/most efficiently around 140F (50C). I used my sous vide machine to keep the temperature constant for 2 hours.

Another point…The yeast for the fermentation process is in the meju garu (메주가루). So, do not add it until the temperature of the solution is around 100F / 38C. If it’s too hot, it could kill the yeast.

If it’s any help, I always make my kimchi in a large glass jar, then store it in the fridge. Ditto the gochujang – with a mesh covering to keep the insects out. Works fine.