Changes in Texture and Sensory Properties of Low-Temperature and Long-Term Fermented Baechu Kimchi during the Fermentation

To develop a low-temperature and long-term fermented Baechu kimchi, kimchi was prepared according to a recipe of specific ratio with major and minor ingredients and adjusted its final salinity to 3.7%. Baechu kimchi fermented at 24 hours and transferred them into in a refrigerator only for kimchi, and then continued to ferment at for 30 weeks to make a low-temperature and long-term fermented kimchi. The initial cutting force of 8.45kgf dropped gradually and reached to 5.19kgf after 30 weeks of fermentation. In compression force the gumminess, hardness and chewiness of Baechu kimchi showed a great decrease during the fermentation, but the springiness and adhesiveness increased in slight. Correlation coefficient between the chewiness and gumminess was the highest(r=0.879). In spite of sensory evaluation scores of the appearance and texture were the highest on 0 day of fermentation, the saltiness was evaluated the worst to eat. Scores for sourness and carbonated flavor were the best during 18 to 22 weeks of fermentation, and overall acceptability was the best after 14 weeks of fermentation. Very high correlation coefficients were revealed between the sourness and carbonated flavor(r=0.813) and between the sourness and off-flavor(r=0.805). According to these results we concluded that the best low-temperature and long-term fermented Baechu kimchi prepared with 3.7% salinity and fermented at for 24 hours and then transferred into a kimchi refrigerator at , and completed the fermentation for 18 weeks.