Evaluation of the storage quality characteristics of ‘Tteokbokki’ sauce in the presence of preservat
When ‘Tteokbokki’ sauce is distributed and stored in the summer, the number of microbial generations increases
rapidly, and the sauce packaging swells or breaks due to gas generation. In this study, the use of preservatives
and heat sterilization was examined to determine their effects on red pepper paste-based ‘Tteokbokki’ sauce. When
preservative addition and heat sterilization were combined, CO2 gas generation was increased, while the use of
either preservatives alone or heat sterilization alone reduced gas generation compared to the control. Microbial
load was significantly lower in the combined sample, and heat sterilization treatment was found to exhibit only
a slight sterilization effect. However, no bactericidal effect was observed only in the presence of preservatives.
Similar sensory evaluation results were obtained for all treated samples. These results therefore indicated that the
sterilization effect of heat sterilization in ‘Tteokbokki’ sauce was maximized when combined with preservatives,
with no significant alteration in the quality characteristics being detected. However, in the case of the combined
treatment, a heat stable preservative should be used to prevent the generation of carbon dioxide gas.
Key words sauce, heat sterilization, preservative, CO2 gas, microorganism