Abstract
This study aims to analyze the effects of the salt and enzymes in shio-koji on the taste and tenderness of cooked pork that has been soaked in shio-koji before cooking. The cooked pork soaked in a type of shio-koji that had 1.2% added proteases was judged, in a sensory evaluation, as the most tender. The cooked pork soaked in any type of shio-koji received higher evaluation values than the control, pork that was not marinated, in indexes for all examined characteristics. We observed a significant correlation between sensory evaluation and physical parameters. The total free amino acid and glutamic acid in samples of pork soaked in shio-koji and the shio-koji with 1.2% added proteases increased two to three times compared to the control non-treated pork. The increase in amino acids was due to protease activity in the shio-koji. Results also suggested that salt contained in shio-koji lowered the cooking loss rate of the meat, retained the juiciness of the meat, and improved the taste and texture of pork through a synergistic effect the salt had with the enzyme action.
