Properties of Doenjang (Soybean Paste) Prepared with Different Types of Salts

Samples of doenjang (a fermented soybean paste) were prepared with different types of salts; purified salt (PS), 3-year-aged solar salt (SS3), 1-year-aged solar salt (SS1), and bamboo salt (BS, 3(rd) processing product). For starter doenjang samples, selected starters comprising two bacilli, one yeast, and one fungus were inoculated, whereas for non-starter doenjang samples, microorganisms present in rice straw were inoculated after enrichment. The doenjang samples were fermented for 13 weeks at 25°C. During the fermentation period, SS and BS doenjang samples showed higher bacilli counts as well as much lower yeast counts than PS doenjang. At 13 weeks, yeast counts of starter doenjang samples were 7.75, 5.69, 6.08, and 4.74 log CFU/g for PS, SS3, SS1, and BS doenjang, respectively. For non-starter doenjang samples, counts were 7.17, 5.05, 5.92, and 4.54 log CFU/g for PS, SS3, SS1, and BS doenjang, respectively. SS and BS promoted growth of bacilli but inhibited growth of yeasts compared with PS. Debaryomyces hansenii was the dominant yeast in PS doenjang, whereas Candida guilliermondii and Pichia sorbitophila were dominant in SS and BS doenjang. In the sensory evaluation, SS and BS doenjang scored better than PS doenjang. In conclusion, SS and BS seem better than PS for production of high-quality doenjang.