Quality Characteristics of Meju According to Germination Time of Raw Soybean (Glycine max: Hwanggeumkong)

This study was conducted to observe quality characteristics of whole soybean meju fermented with germinated soybean (Glycine max: Hwanggeumkong). The germination rate after 24 hr was $23.0{\pm}1.2%$, then increased rapidly to $90.2{\pm}1.3%$ at 36 hr of germination, and finally reached a level of $99.4{\pm}0.3%$ at 60 hr of germination. It was confirmed that the total isoflavone content immediately after soaking was 100.1 mg%, increasing during the beginning of the germination process; it continued to increase to 114.0 mg% by 24 hr of germination, but decreased thereafter. The isoflavone content at 60 hr of germination was 101.6 mg%. A total of 6 organic acids were detected, and total organic acid content ranged from 963.1-1,145.3 mg%. Differences based on the degree of germination in the raw material were insignificant. The free amino acid levels of the whole soybean meju made from non-germinated soybeans and from soybeans that had germinated 48 hr were 2,580.9 and 2,519.7 mg%, respectively. The content of glutamic acid was highest followed by aspartic acid, lysine, leucine, and proline.