Volume 3, Issue 2, June 2016, Pages 107–116
Open Access
Original article
- a Department of Food and Nutrition, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, South Korea
- b Institute of Agriculture and Life Science, Gyeongsang National University, Jinju, South Korea
- c The Academy of Korean Studies, Songnam, South Korea
- d Food Safety Research Group, Korea Food Research Institute, Songnam, South Korea
- Received 13 January 2016, Revised 20 February 2016, Accepted 22 February 2016, Available online 14 June 2016
- Open Access funded by Korea Food Research Institute
- Under a Creative Commons license
Abstract
Jeotgal (醢) is a traditional Korean fermented food with thousands years of history with kimchi and other jang (fermented soybean products, 醬). The history was proved by research from historical literature and antique architecture. Jeotgal was developed along with jang (豆醬), fish jang (魚醬), meat jang (肉醬) as a part of jang
(醬) up to the Chosun Dynasty and it was always offered during the
ancestral rites or ceremonies. According to antique documents written by
women, jeotgal had been used as seasonings or condiments that
were popular especially for women rather than as food served for
ancestral rites. In Southeast Asia and other countries, jeotgal
uses varieties of fish and seafoods to provide rich and varied flavors,
and thanks to the next generation sequencing technology, we can
identify microorganisms that are involved in the fermentation process.
Major microorganisms in jeotgal are Bacillus, Brevibacterium, Micrococcus, Pediococcus, Pseudomonas, Lactobacillus, Leuconostoc, and Halobacterium. Recently, much research on various health function of jeotgal has been conducted, reflecting increasing interest in the safety and the functionality of jeotgal. Many reports on functionalities of jeotgal
such as supplying essential amino acids, and having antioxidant and
antitumorgenic have been published recently. Because of the diverse
flavor, types, and their function, jeotgal is expected to continue to develop as an important seasoning in the world sauce market.
Keywords
- fermented fish;
- fish products;
- jeot;
- jeotgal (젓갈);
- Korea traditional fermented fish
1. Introduction
Much
of the food technology development in food products has been motivated
by the desire to preserve food in good condition for future consumption [1].
Each country has developed unique ways of preserving food, especially
meat and fish. The most prevalent method of preservation is through
reducing water activity by adding salt or drying, which protects against
microbial spoilage by inhibiting the growth of harmful microorganisms.
Fish, for example, was usually salted down immediately in order to
prevent spoilage. It is presumed that food would ferment during this
preservation process by beneficial microorganisms. As fermentation does
not lead to any health issues, people would have continued to consume
fermented foods even if they had never come to understand how
fermentation changes food. In the Orient, fermented foods have been
produced using beans, fish, and meat, and the general term for these
products is jang (醬) [2] and [3]. Jang made from beans is referred to as dujang (豆醬, soy jang), from fish as eojang (魚醬, fish jang), and from meat as yukjang (肉醬, meat jang) [3]. Dujang, a representative type of jang in Korea, has been discussed previously in this journal [4]. At present times, the variation in yukjang (肉醬) such as this was limited, although jang-jorim, beef salted in soy sauce, was widely enjoyed, [1] and [5]. The most preferred type of salted and fermented food in Korea is eojang (魚醬), which is made with salted fish and is referred to as jeotgal. Fermented fish products have developed into other unique forms across East Asia, Southeast Asia, and Europe.
Fermented
fish products have been consumed as the fish itself, fish sauce, fish
paste, and other types of food throughout the world. some of the
examples of fish sauces are jeotkal in Korea [6], shottsuru from Japan [7], nuoc-man from Vietnam [3], various fermented fish products in India [8], hakarl in northern Europe [9], and Worcestershire sauce in England, which is mostly manufactured from anchovies; these are liquid type of sauces [10]. Fish pastes, which are made with minced or blended fish or shellfish include padaek from Laos, prahok from Cambodia, and shrimp paste from China [10].
These types of food are consumed as proteinaceous staples or condiments
in Southeast Asia while northern Europeans consume them as condiments [8]. Korean jeotgal refers to both liquid and paste types of fermented fish foods.
Jeotgal is a traditional fermented fish food in Korea that is produced from the whole meat ( Fig. 1) and/or internal organs of fish and shellfish (Fig. 2),
salted and fermented for inhibition of spoilage, for autolysis, and for
decomposing the main ingredients by microbial activities [11] and [12]. Unlike salted food to minimize the decomposition of the meat by harmful microorganisms, jeotgal produces a unique flavor during the protein decomposition of raw materials by beneficial organisms. As jeotgal has thousands of years of history, it has its own unique and many different characters [2] and [13].
Not only does proteolysis proceed during fermentation, but also
carbohydrates, lipids, and organic acids are broken down to enhance the
flavor, so that jeotgal is one of the important subingredients or seasonings in kimchi and other Korean foods [14].
Traditionally, fish products have been a great source of protein in the
Korean diet, but have varied in how they are consumed. For example, hongeo (fermented skate) [15] (Fig. 3A) is prepared with strong fermentation while gulbi (salted yellow corvina) [15] (Fig. 3B) is preserved by salting and drying without additional fermentation. In preparations such as myeongtae (dried pollock) and hwangtae
(dried, aged pollock), another fish product for protein source, fish
are frozen first and then dried to prevent spoilage without adding salt
[16].