Aroma Components of Traditional Korean Soy Sauce and Soybean Paste Fermented with the Same Meju

We identified volatile components of traditional Korean soy sauce and soybean paste which had been manufactured with the same traditional Meju with a view to improving the quality of traditional Korean soy sauce and soybean paste. All of the volatile components were extracted by simultaneous steam distillation-extraction (SDE) apparatus. To obtain more detailed information, whole volatile components were separated into fractions. The volatile components of the whole and of each fraction were identified by GC-mass and Kovat's retention index. Sixty two and eighty six components were identified in traditional Korean soy sauce and soybean paste, respectively. Many aroma components of traditional Korean soy sauce differ from those of traditional Korean soybean paste. It was confirmed that many aroma components of traditional Korean soy sauce and soybean paste are completely different from those of Japanese fermented soy sauce (Shoyu) and soybean paste (Miso).