Characteristics of Bacterial Strains with Desirable Flavor Compounds from Korean Traditional Fermented Soybean Paste (Doenjang)

To identify and analyze the characteristics of the microorganisms involved in the formation of the desirable flavor of Doenjang, a total of 179 strains were isolated from ninety-four Doenjang collected from six regions in South Korea, and fourteen strains were selected through a sensory evaluation of the aroma of each culture. The enzyme activities of amylase, protease and lipase was shown in the various strains. Bacillus sp.-K3, Bacillus sp.-K4 and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens-J2 showed relatively high protease activity, at 317.1 U, 317.3 U and 319.5 U, respectively. The Bacillus sp.-K1 showed the highest lipase activity at 2453.6 U. In the case of amylase, Bacillus subtilis-H6 showed the highest activity at 4105.5 U. The results of the PCA showed that Bacillus subtilis-H2, Bacillus subtilis-H3, and Bacillus sp.-K2 were closely related to the production of 3-hydroxy-2-butanone (23.51%~43.37%), and that Bacillus subtilis-H5 and Bacillus amyloliquefaciens-J2 were significantly associated with the production of phenethyl alcohol (0.39% and 0.37%). The production of peptides was observed to vary among the Bacillus cultures such as Val-Val-Pro-Pro-Phe-Leu and Pro-Ala-Glu-Val-Leu-Asp-Ile. These peptides are precursors of related volatile flavor compounds created in Doenjang via the enzymatic or non-enzymatic route; it is expected that these strains could be used to enhance the flavor of Doenjang.

Hardening Properties of Cheeses by Latilactobacillus curvatus PD1 Isolated from Hardened Cheese-Ddukbokki Rice Cake

Hardening of cheese is one of major issues that degrade the quality of Home Meal Replacement (HMR) foods containing cheese such as Cheese-ddukbokki rice cake (CD, stir-fried rice cakes with shredded cheese). The quality of cheese, such as pH, proteolytic, and flavor properties, depends on various lactic acid bacteria (LAB) used in cheese fermentation. The hardening of cheese is also caused by LAB. In this study, various LAB strains were isolated from CD samples that showed rapid hardening. The correlation of LAB with the hardening of cheese was investigated. Seven of the CD samples with different manufacturing dates were collected and tested for hardening properties of cheese. Among them, strong-hardening of cheese was confirmed for two samples and weak-hardening was confirmed for one sample. All LAB in two strong-hardening samples and 40% of LAB in one weak-hardening sample were identified as Latilactobacillus curvatus. On the other hand, most LAB in normal cheese samples were identified as Leuconostoc mesenteroides and Lactobacillus casei. We prepared cheese samples in which L. curvatus (LC-CD) and L. mesenteroides (LM-CD) were most dominant, respectively. Each CD made of the prepared cheese was subjected to quality test for 50 days at 10 °C. Hardening of cheese with LC-CD dominant appeared at 30 days. However, hardening of cheese with LM-CD dominant did not appear until 50 days. The pH of the LC-CD was 5.18 ± 0.04 at 30 days, lower than that of LM-CD. The proteolytic activity of LC-CD sample was 2993.67 ± 246.17 units/g, higher than that of LM-CD sample (1421.67 ± 174.5 units/g). These results indicate that high acid production and high protease activity of L. curvatus might have caused hardening of cheese.

IMPROVING THE BREAD QUALITY OF SUNI-BUG DAMAGED WHEAT FLOURS BY SOURDOUGH BREADMAKING AND LIQUID RYE SOUR

The breadmaking quality of bug-damaged wheat flours with high protease activity (HPAWF) and low protease activity (LPAWF) was attempted to be improved by using sourdough (prepared by L. plantarum (SD1) and L. sanfrancissensis (SD2)) and liquid rye sour (LRS) in this study. The effects of sourdoughs (20 and 40%) and LRS (1 and 2%) on the protease activity of the HPAWF were determined by SDS-PAGE. Protease activity of HPAWF decreased with the addition of 40% SD1, 20% SD2, and both levels of LRS (1 and 2%) compared to a control sample. The HPAWF bread samples produced with LRS (1 and 2%) had higher volume (P<0.05) and bread quality as compared to sourdough applications. LPAWF bread sample was comparable with those of 40% SD2 added sample in terms of volume and hardness (N) values (P>0.05), while SD1 addition caused quality losses. The overall results suggested that addition of 2% LRS had promising results for improving bread quality flours that were damaged by suni-bug at low levels.

Enzymes of Aspergillus Oryzae I. The Development of a Culture Medium Yielding High Protease Activity

When grown on modified Raulin's medium, containing additional sucrose, ammonium tartrate, and phosphate, Aspergillus oryzae yields more protease than when cultivated on unmodified Raulin's or Czapek-Dox media. Replacement of sucrose in the medium by fructose, invert sugar, glucose, maltose, starch, or lactose decreases the yield of enzyme in that order. Ammonium tartrate may be replaced by equivalent concentrations of the more readily available salts, sodium potassium tartrate (Rochelle salt) and ammonium chloride, without loss in activity.