KOREASCHOLAR

Kimchi and soup/stew samples were collected from Korean restaurants in the Jeonju area and their salinity levels were analysed. Restaurant owners were also surveyed to assess their salt acceptability and attitudes. The average salinity of the Kimchi samples was 2.0±0.4% and that of the soup/stew samples was 1.0±0.3%. The average salinity of the soup samples was 0.9±0.2% and that of the stew samples was 1.1±0.3%, and the average salinity of the stews was significantly higher than that of the soups (p〈0.001). The average salinity of bean-paste soups was 0.9±0.2% and that of clear soups was 0.8±0.2%, in which the average salinity of the bean-paste soups was significantly higher than that of the clear soups (p〈0.05). When asked about the saltiness of their side dishes, soups/stews, and Kimchi, the largest number of owners answered 'ordinary'. About 50.4% of the owners also answered 'ordinary' for their salt acceptability, and 59.8% answered that their customers have 'ordinary' salt acceptability. However, a significantly higher ratio of owners in the group whose Kimchi samples had low salinity answered that their customers' salt acceptability was for 'flat' foods as compared to the group whose Kimchi was of high salinity (p〈0.05). About 45.7% of the owners answered that 'they participated in controlling the saltiness of all their dishes', and 40.2% answered that 'they considered the traditional saltiness of their menu items as more important than the saltiness acceptability of their customers.' Also, 82.7% of the owners answered 'they made the Kimchi themselves.' The types of frequently served soup were clear soup, such as bean-sprout soup and seaweed soup, followed by bean-paste soup and thick beef soup, in order. The types of frequently served stews were Gochujang stew with frozen pollack or croaker, bean-paste stew, and clear stew.

• 이경자 | Lee, Kyung-Ja
• 송미란 | Song, Mi-Ran