Salted fish and shellfish have been widely used in Korea from olden times as side-dishes,
although the processes and methods of pickling have varied depending on localities.
The common raw materials for these subsidiary food articles include anchovy, shrimp,
vellow corvina, oysters, octopus, top-shell, shellfish, pollack roe and pollack intestines.
It must be pointed out here, however, that the salted stuffs now marketed locally are highly
unscientific and unsanitary in the way they are processed and sold, and this has prompted
this writer to undertake a study on these native food articles.
The following findings have been obtained from this study on the changes in Formonitrogen and Protease Activity, effected by the density of salt and the degree of storing temperature, of the pickles of cedfish gills, codfish intestines, pollack intestines, shellfish, oysters, cuttle fish and octopus.
1) Codfish Gills
The Protease Activity of the pickled codfish gills was greater in the groups of lesser doses of salt and higher´ degrees of storing temperature.
The same was true in the case of Formonitrogen, too. The Formonitrogen of the pickled codfish gills was larger in the groups of lesser salt and higher temperature.
2) Codfish Intestines
The amount of Formonitrogen of the pickled codfish intestines became greater, as time went by, in the groups of lesser salt than those of larger doses of salt, with the speed of its formation getting faster as the storing temperature rose from 5C to 15C and 30C.
The Protease Activity was also greater in the groups of lesser salt and higher temperature. The group, stored at 10% salt and 30C, rotted in five days.
3) Pollack Intestines
The amount of Formonitrogen of the pickled pollack intestines was greater in the groups of lesser amount of salt and higher degrees of storing temperature.
The Protease Activity of the pickled pollack intestines began decreasing from the 11th day after the pickling in the groups stored at comparatively high degrees of temperature(15C-30C), while that of the group stored at 5C kept rising. The effects of the amount of salt were little.
The group stored at 15% salt and 30C started rotting on the 13th day while that stored at -30C decayed on the 7th day. The group stored at 20% salt and 30C rotted on the 9th day.
4) Oysters
The amount of Formonitrogen of the pickled oysters became greater as the storing´ temperature rose and the doses of salt were lowered.
The Protease Activity was not affected at any measurable degree by the density of salt in the group stored at 5C, but became greater as the storing temperature rose to 15C and 30C.
The group stored at 10,o salt and 30C rotted on the 5th day while that stored at 20% salt and 30C on the 13th day.
5) Shellfish
The amount of Formonitrogen of the pickled shellfish became greater, as time went by, in, the groups of lower consistency of salt than the groups of higher density of salt, although thedecav of the former groups was faster than the latter groups.
The density of salt best fitted for the pickling appeared to be about 20% with the storing temperature to be 15C, at which the pickled stuff became most tasty on the 7th day.
The oysters stored in three groups at 5C, 15C and 30C respectively showed the greatest Protease Activity alike at 00 of salt, but the activity declined as the density of salt increased.
The Protease Activity of each group rose for the first 11 days after the pickling, but began declining from the 13th day onward, with the groups of higher temperature retaining higher Protease Activity than the groups of lower temperature.
6) Cuttlefish
Both the amount of Formonitrogen and the degree of Protease Activity of the pickled cuttlefish were greater in the groups of lower density of salt and higher degree of storing temperature.
The oysters pickled at 10% salt and 15C degenerated on the 13th day while that of 100 salt and 30C deteriorated on the 7th day.
7) Octopus
Both the Formonitrogen and the Protease Activity of the pickled octopus were greater in the groups of lower density ´of salt, but as time went by, the Protease Activity in all groups dwindled after a climbing.
In general, the Formonitrogen and the Protease Activity of the pickled oysters became greater as the storing temperature got higher.
One group stored at 10% salt and 15C rotted in 13 days while another group stored at 30C decayed in 7 days.
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