Effects of sweetener on the quality characteristics of radish kimchi during fermentation

Abstract

Kimchi, a traditional fermented food in Korea, has gained global attention owing to its health benefits. Herein, we determined the fermentation and quality characteristics of radish kimchi containing different sweeteners using physicochemical and sensory evaluations. The characteristics of radish kimchi fermented with sucrose, saccharin, stevioside, or sorbitol were evaluated. Kimchi without the addition of any sweetener was used as a control. The kimchi samples were stored for 7 weeks at 4°C; thereafter, their physicochemical properties and sensory characteristics were measured. Kimchi containing sweeteners was found to have higher acidity and lower pH than the control during fermentation, except for kimchi with saccharin, which had a lower acetic acid content and higher hardness than kimchi with other sweeteners. Based on the results of sensory analysis, the preferences for kimchi with saccharin, sucrose, and sorbitol were similar. These results suggest that different types of sweeteners significantly influence kimchi fermentation and sensory characteristics.

Keywords:

• artificial sweeteners
• fermentation
• kimchi
• sensory analysis
• food quality

Author contributions

Yun-Jeong Choi: Data curation, Formal analysis, and Writing-original draft; Hae-Won Lee: Formal analysis and Writing-original draft; Ji-Hee Yang: Validation and Methodology; Sung-Hee Park: Conceptualization and Project administration; and Mi-Ai Lee: Conceptualization, Writing-review and editing, and Supervision.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Data availability statement

The authors confirm that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the JMC Corporation under Grant and the World Institute of Kimchi, funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT, Republic of Korea, under Grant KE2302-3.