Abstract
Microbial counts, enzyme activities and taste components of traditional kochujangs prepared with the powders from 4 different varieties of red pepper, were investigated during 90 days fermentation for the industrial production of traditional kochujang. The viable cell counts of anaerobic bacteria in kochujangs did not change remarkably during fermentation, however, aerobic bacterial counts showed a rapid increase up to 90 days of aging. The yeasts in all kochujang samples increased until 60 days of aging and than decreased. After 90 days of aging, the count of aerobic bacteria in Kumtop kochujang was higher than those of others. The activities of liquefying amylase decreased during the aging, but those of saccharogenic amylase increased at 60 days of aging. The activities of neutral protease were higher than those of acidic protease, and increased during the middle and last period of aging. The major free sugars of kochujang were maltose and glucose, and their contents were higher in Hongkwang kochujang. The major organic acids of kochujang were succinic, formic and citric acid, followed by lactic acid. Succinic acid content in kochujang decreased during fermentation, whereas formic and citirc acids were increased. The major free amino acids were serine, proline, glutamic acid, aspartic acid and alanine. Kumtop kochujang contained the highest amount of total free amino acids. Among the nucleotides and related components in kochujang, cytidine-5-monophosphate was the most abundant component at the begining of aging period, while hypoxanthine increased remarkably during fermentation. Hanwang kochujang was higher in the content of nucleotides than others. Capsaicin contents of kochujang decreased during aging and those of Jangter kochujang was higher than that of others. Sensory evaluation showed that Jangter kochujang was significantly better than Kumtop kochujang in overall acceptability, but there were no appreciable differences in color and flavor.
