Abstract
This study was conducted to investigate sensory characteristics and consumer acceptance of sliced raw fish. The two most popular varieties in Korea, flounder and rockfish, were used. Samples of each variety were prepared as follows to create consistent perceptible sensory differences: 'fresh' (consumed within 2 h after sacrifice), 'aged' (stored at $1^{\circ}C$ for 24 h), 'frozen' (frozen at $-16^{\circ}C$ for 23 h then thawed at $23.5^{\circ}C$for 1 h), and 'immersed' (immersed in sterilized water at $1^{\circ}C$ for 24 h). Sensory profiles of samples were determined through quantitative descriptive analysis using 10 trained panelists. Consumer acceptance test was conducted using 47 consumers. Analyses of variance were conducted to test significance of differences in sensory profiles and hedonic ratings among samples. Consumers were clustered according to their overall liking scores, and their preference patterns were cross-checked with sensory profiles. For both fish varieties, 'fresh' was characterized by stronger hardness, cohesiveness, springiness, cartilage-like texture (applied to only rockfish), and fishy flavor, whereas 'frozen' and 'immersed' were distinguished from other samples for their stronger wetness, juiciness, and fresh fish flavor than those of other samples. 'Aged' was significantly less hard, cohesive, and springy than 'fresh' as well as less juicy and wet than 'frozen' and 'immersed'. Consumers significantly preferred 'fresh' flounder and rockfish to others for their strong cohesiveness and springiness, indicating textural attributes were main factors affecting consumer preferences. However, for both flounder and rockfish, 40~50% of respondents preferred 'frozen' and 'immersed' to 'fresh' for their tenderness and fresh fish flavor. For this group of consumers, flavor liking had a greater effect on overall preference than texture preference. The result suggests that cohesive and springy textures and fresh fish flavor are major drivers of preferences for raw fish slices, but their relative importance and optimal levels varied across individual consumers.
본 연구에서는 다소비 횟감 어종인 광어와 우럭을 숙성, 냉동 후 해동, 침지 등으로 처리하여 감각 특성 차이를 유발하고, 이에 대한 감각 특성 및 소비자 기호도를 분석하여 횟감의 주요 품질 결정 감각 특성 인자를 규명하고자 하였다. 묘사분석 결과 회에서 인지되는 감각 특성은 윤기, 명도, 생선 향미, 비린 향미, 경도, 응집성, 탄력성, 촉촉함, 다즙성으로 나타났으며, 우럭의 경우 광어에서 나타나지 않은 오도독거리는 조직감 특성이 도출되었다. 전반적으로 소비자들은 광어와 우럭 모두 경도, 탄력성, 응집성의 조직감 특성이 강한 활어를 선호하였다. 그러나 광어의 경우 조직감이 기호도에 미치는 영향이 매우 큰 반면, 우럭의 경우 향미의 영향이 더 큰 것으로 나타났다. 광어와 우럭 모두 탄력성과 응집성 등이 강한 횟감을 선호하는 경향과 부드럽고 생선 향미가 강한 횟감을 선호하는 경향이 관찰되었다. 이러한 기호 경향은 회 섭취 빈도 등의 식습관과는 관련성이 없는 것으로 조사되었다. 향후 횟감의 기호 경향을 더욱 명확하게 도출하기 위하여 더욱 많은 표본 집단을 활용한 후속 연구를 해야 할 것이라 판단된다.
