Quality Characteristics of the Kochujang Prepared with Mixture of Meju and Koji during Fermentation

Quality characteristics of kochujang prepared with meju, koji and mixture of the two(meju+koji) were investigated during fermentation to improve quality of kochujang. During fermentation of kochujang, moisture content was in the range of , salt was , crude protein was and pH of kochujang was . Amino-nitrogen content increased during fermentation and the levels were after 150 days of fermentation. The highest amino-nitrogen content was found in mixed kochujang at the beginning stage of fermentation, but in koji kochujang after 30 days of fermentation. Maximum reducing sugar content was at 60th day of fermentation. The highest amino acid content of kochujang protein was found in meju kochujang followed by koji kochujang at the first stage of fermentation. The content of glutamic acid, a major amino acid was of total amino acid content. High levels of aspartic acid, leucine, arginine, alanine and phenylalanine were found in the kochujangs. Mixed kochujang showed the highest L value among the samples until 30 days of fermentation. After that, the highest L value was found in meju kochujang. The highest degree of redness was observed in meju kochujang until 60 days of fermentation and in koji kochujang during days of fermentation.