KOREAN families in a pickle over how to keep their kimchi crisp and fresh are flocking to one of the latest household accessories - the high-tech kimchi refrigerator.

KOREAN families in a pickle over how to keep their kimchi crisp and fresh are flocking to one of the latest household accessories - the high-tech kimchi refrigerator.

If there's one dish for discerning Koreans, it would be kimchi. For thousands of years the pickled cabbages - a side dish eaten with most Korean meals - have been fermented in earthenware jars.

Fans of the kimchi fridge, sold separately to a general purpose fridge, say it keeps the kimchi fresher and crisper than traditional methods. And since the alternative to earthenware jars was introduced in 1995, sales have been booming.

This year's sales of kimchi refrigerators are expected to exceed the sale of traditional refrigerators for the first time, Yoon Jong-eun, managing director and chief operating officer at market leader Mando Climate Control Corp, said.

More than 1 million kimchi refrigerators would be sold, exceeding the 920,000 expected sales of traditional refrigerators, said Yoon, who chewed his way through 600 heads of pickled cabbages to perfect the design of his company's kimchi refrigerator, called Dimchae.

"Around 60 per cent of the total 15 million Korean households will own kimchi fridges in the next five years, considering 8 per cent annual growth," he said. Currently, 18 per cent of Korean households have a kimchi fridge.

For Korea's refrigerator makers, like Mando Climate Control, this year's sales of Kimchi fridges will be worth 1 trillion won ($766 million), comparing to this year's forecast sales for common fridges of 800 billion won.

Kimchi refrigerators have taken off because they manage to keep the pickled cabbage fresh and crisp and are less hassle than having to use earthenware jars.

Adding a scientific touch, Yoon said they also help generate 63 million lactobacilli - the ideal level of bacteria to generate the tastiest and healthiest kimchi.

To keep kimchi fresh and crisp for four months at a time, the aluminium container of the fridge is also critical, Yoon said.

Most refrigerators circulate air cooled by coolant flowing through aluminium fins but the kimchi fridge directly cools the aluminium casing. Each kimchi fridge uses up to 7 kilograms of aluminium alloyed with manganese and tin - four to five times that of the traditional fridge.

(Agencies via Xinhua)