Quality Evaluation of the Home-made Soy-Sauce Jangachi, Korean Traditional Pickle, Prepared by the Head-Families of Andong, Korea

In an effort to characterize the physicochemical properties and microbial risks associated with the soy sauce jangachi (Korean traditional pickle), 15 different home-made products, which were prepared from medicinal plants and wild edible vegetables, from head-families of Andong, Kyungsangbuk-do Province in Korea, and 6 different commercial products sold at supermarket, were investigated. The average pH of the mature soaking solutions and plants soaked in the 21 jangachi were 3.99±0.38 and 3.51±0.41, and the average acidity of the mature soaking solutions and soaked plants were 1.59±0.54 and 1.65±0.76, respectively. The average brix of the mature soaking solutions and plants soaked were 27.67±8.38 and 25.61±6.60, respectively. In salinity, which is a major factor in jangachi industry production, the average salinity of the mature soaking solutions and soaked plants were 7.55±3.26 and 5.75±2.23, respectively. In particular, the hot-peppers, eusuri, du-rup, kaet-ip, kuji-ppong, myeng-i and sancho jangachi were amongst the home-made products, and the salinity was above 8.8%, which was 2 folds-higher than that of the commercial sterilized products, and 1/3-lower than commercial non-sterilized products. The color difference and turbidity of jangachi were dependent on the plant parts used. In microbial risk assessment, the microorganisms related with food-borne disease, such as Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp, and Shigella sp., were not detected. After some time, total cell count analysis revealed that the commercial products sold at supermarkets were more vulnerable than the home-made products.