1994 Volume 41 Issue 2 Pages 148-156
To study the difference of taste characteristics of soy sauce and soy paste between Korea and Japan, organic acids, free sugars(FS), free amino acids (FAAS) and oligopeptides (OPT) were analyzed, and their contents were compared. Furthermore, the difference of the palate between Japanese and Korean people was discussed according to the results obtained. The results were as follows: (1) The soy sauce of Japan (SSJ) was lower in pH, smaller in the NaCl content and larger in the contents of total nitrogen and FS than the soy sauce eaten commonly in Korea (SSK). (2) The SSJ contained large amounts of organic acids, especially lactic acid and pyroglutamic acid, whereas the SSK contained mostly lactic acid. (3) The FAAS content in SSJ was nearly 3.7 fold than that of SSK, the major acids found being glutamic acid, aspartic acid and proline in SSJ, and glutamic acid in SSK. (4) The OPT in SSK was about 2.8 fold than that of SSJ. The OPT in SSK was mainly composed of glutamic acid, aspartic acid and proline, but that of SSJ was mainly composed of proline and aspartic acid. In addition, the amount of OPT in SSK was similar to FAAS content, but the OPT in SSJ was about 10% the amount of FAAS content. (5) The soy paste of Japan (SPJ) was lower in pH and remarkably larger in the content of FS than the soy paste commonly eaten in Korea (SPK). (6) The content of organic acids in SPJ and SPK was almost the same, the major ones being pyroglutamic acid, citric acid and lactic acid in SPJ, and lactic acid and pyroglutamic acid in SPK. (7) The FAAS of soy pastes made in both countries were hardly different in content, the major ones being glutamic acid, leucine and aspartic acid in SPJ, and glutamic acid and leucine in SPK. (8) The OPT of soy pastes in both countries were almost the same content, and the main component amino acids were almost the same variety. Furthermore, OPT contents were only 49% the amount of FAAS content in both. The results described above seem to indicate that the taste of soy sauce is strongly affected by FAAS, especially glutamic acid in the Japanese product, and both glutamic acid and OPT in the Korean product. The similarity in content of FAAS and OPT in soy pastes may account for the similarity in taste between the Korean and Japanese products, although the Japanese soy paste seems to be a little sweeter. From these results, it is presumed that Japanese people especially prefer the flavor enhancer of glutamic acid, whereas Korean people prefer both the tastes of glutamic acid and OPT.
