
Sodium carbonate, NaH 2PO 4, sulfuric acid, potassium sulfate, and cupric sulfate were purchased from Duksan Pure Chemicals (Korea). Therefore, the objective of this study was to investigate the physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory characteristics of soy sauce fermented by the ceramics from different regions in the natural environment conditions. Although there are differences in ceramics originating from different regions, studies have been limited to controlling permeability for soy sauce (Chung et al. The distinct features of ceramics according to geographical origins are tall and narrow circumference in Seoul capital region, similar diameters from top to bottom in the central region, narrow mouth in southeast region, narrow bottom with wide circumference and mouth in southwest region, and reddish color due to the high iron content in the soil from Jeju Island (Choi 2011). Thus, ceramics varies by the region with respect to its size, shape, and porosity. Korea has distinct food cultures in different regions-Seoul capital region, central region, southwest region, southeast region, east mountain region and Jeju Island-due to different climates, soil, types of agriculture, available natural foods, etc. Using ceramics for anchovy soy sauce fermentation showed higher quality than that from glass jar, stainless steel tank, and PET tank (Chung et al. Ceramic consists of micro-pores that offer the permeation of oxygen, carbon dioxide, water, and salt during the fermentation of food, and the permeability of ceramics is mainly influenced by the clay type and ash-glazing treatment employed (Seo et al. Koreans believe that ceramics helps produce high-quality soy sauce due to its porosity (Park 2012). The ash-glazing treatment to provide the desired barrier properties is not included in all cases (Seo et al.

Ceramic is manufactured by forming and drying clay paste including fine sands, coating the surface with a natural ash, and firing at roughly 1200 ☌ in a tube kiln. In addition, the traditional soy sauce business in Korea can stretch to the global market with their high quality.Ĭeramics ( onggi) traditionally and widely used in Korea to ripen and store various salted fermented foods such as soy sauce, Doenjang (Korean fermented soybean paste), kimchi and pickled fish (Seo et al. Slowly produced Korean traditional soy sauce could be attractive for those people. In recent years, many people are paying attention to health and well-being which epitomize the slow food phenomena, in addition to fermentation science and a gluten-free diet (Choi et al. sojae like s hoyu, Japanese soy sauce (Luh 1995 Jeong et al. amyloliquefaciens, which are the dominant microorganisms in meju (Cho and Seo 2007), whereas Korean mass-produced soy sauce is produced by fermenting cooked soybeans and wheat flour with Aspergillus oryzae or A. Korean traditional soy sauce is produced through fermentation by Bacillus species such as B. The filtered soy sauce is re-contained in ceramic and continuously fermented in the natural environment prior to consumption. Korean soy sauce is traditionally made from a naturally fermented soybean brick ( meju) by soaking for several weeks in brine solution followed by filtration in order to remove solid residues. Soybean fermentation for soy sauce production in Korea is back to more than 2000 years (Lee 2001). Based on the physicochemical characteristics, soy sauces from southwest and Seoul capital regions had distinctive characteristics in comparison with the soy sauces from Jeju Island, southeast, and central regions. Five regional ceramics were categorized into three groups by principal component analysis.

In descriptive analysis, soy sauce fermented in the ceramic from Seoul capital region had a lower intensity of saltiness and biting taste, whereas the soy sauce in the southwest ceramic had comparable saltiness and biting taste attributes as those in the southeast and central regions, and Jeju Island ceramics.

Soy sauce fermented in the southwest regional ceramic, which has a low height and wide circumference, had significantly lower salt content, higher reducing sugar content, and protease activity rather than others. Ceramics from different regions generated differences in physicochemical characteristics. Physicochemical, microbiological, and sensory characteristics were analyzed. The average internal and external temperatures of soy sauce in ceramics were 20.0 and 18.3 ☌, respectively. Korean traditional soy sauce was fermented for 120 days in ceramics obtained from five different regions in Korea.
