Spicy Hot Flavor Grading in Hot Pepper Powder for Gochujang in Various Cultivars using Sensory Characteristics

Hot and spicy flavor grading in hot pepper powder for gochujang in various cultivars was studied using sensory and physicochemical characteristics. Chungyang, which had the highest capsaicin content had very low redness a value of 17.49 representing stronger red color does not relate to the stronger hot and spicy flavor. Sensory results showed that chungyang had significantly the highest value of hot and spicy aroma and flavor of 5.73 and 7.87, respectively(p<0.05). Although wurigun had the second highest capsaicin contents, it had relatively low hot and spicy aroma value as 3.87, some sweet flavor, and relatively low stingingness in the mouth value of 4.67, thus, comparatively weak hot and spicy flavor of 4.87 suggesting the difficulties in grading the hot and spicy flavor only by the capsaicin contents. Capsaicin content was highly positively correlated with the hot and spicy flavor, aftertaste and stinging flavor, and negatively correlated with the sweet flavor. In the principal component analysis, samples of chunyang, balita, and gumbit groups with greater hot and spicy aroma and flavor, were loaded in the first principal component. Classifying hot and spicy flavor of hot pepper powder for gochujang in various cultivars are suggested as 'very weak', 'weak', 'intermediate', 'strong', and 'very strong' with capsaicin contents under 40.00 mg/dL, 40~100 mg/dL, 100~150 mg/dL, 150~500 mg/dL, and those higher than 500 mg/dL, respectively. Since too many sample groups were located in the specific stages in the five stage grading, the nine staged classification is also suggested.