Question

Kimchi is traditional Korean food made by fermenting cabbage or other vegetables in a mixture of spices and salt. Kimchi originally developed as a method of preservingvegetables before the advent of modern refrigeration. Why does the use of a salt solution in Kimchi act as a preservative against bacterial decay?

A. Water passes out of the cabbage leaves into the salt solution, wilting the leaves.
B. Water passes out of the salt solution and into the bacteria, lysing the bacterial cells.
C. Water passes into the salt solution, dehydrating bacterial cells and making them harmless.
D. The salt solution used to preserve kimchi has a lower molality than that inside most bacteria.

Answer 1

The closest to accurate is:
B. Water passes into the salt solution, dehydrating bacterial cells and making them harmless

While A is true, it is irrelevant; wilted food can spoil. C and D are wrong.

A more precise answer would be that most bacteria are killed as described in B, but some bacteria (lactic acid bacteria) go on to ferment some of thesugars from the cabbage, creating an environment where pathogens and decomposers cannot grow

Answer 2

The closest to accurate is:
C. Water passes into the salt solution, dehydrating bacterial cells and making them harmless

While A is true, it is irrelevant; wilted food can spoil.B and D are wrong.

A more precise answer would be that most bacteria are killed as described in C, but some bacteria (lactic acid bacteria) go on to ferment some of thesugars from the cabbage, creating an environment where pathogens and decomposers cannot grow

Answer 3

The correct answer is

C. Water passes into the salt solution, dehydrating bacterial cells and making them harmless.

Answer 4

The closest to accurate is:
B. Water passes into the salt solution, dehydrating bacterial cells and making them harmless

While A is true, it is irrelevant; wilted food can spoil. C and D are wrong.

A more precise answer would be that most bacteria are killed as described in B, but some bacteria (lactic acid bacteria) go on to ferment some of thesugars from the cabbage, creating an environment where pathogens and decomposers cannot grow