Changes in Quality Characteristics of Soybean Paste Doenjang with Addition of Garlic during Fermentation

In this study, we investigated the quality characteristics of Korean soybean paste, Doenjang, fermented for 6 weeks at room temperature with the addition of 0, 10, 20 and 30% garlic. Samples were analyzed in one-week intervals. The lightness decreased in all samples as the fermentation period and garlic concentration increased. Yellow index decreased in weeks 5~6 compared with weeks 0-1, for which the values were lower for the garlic-added Doenjang than the control. The pH increased, greatly reducung the acidity in week 1 compared with week 0. Significant differences in the pH and acidity were not observed among the sample groups. Amino type nitrogen contents increased continuously up to weeks 5, displaying no significant differences among the sample groups at weeks 5 and 6. In addition, reduction in the sugar content increased depending on the fermentation period. It increased in all sample groups by about 2.5 times after 6 weeks compared with the initial levels. Isoflavone content was also reduced generally depending on the fermentation period. In the early fermentation periods, the aglycone contents were the higher than the glycosides, while the glycoside contents increased over the fermentation period. The presence of Bacillus was not significantly different among the garlic added groups, but yeast was lower in the Doenjang with high garlic content.