The salinity of the brining solution for preparing kimchi imparts saltiness to kimchi, and affects its overall taste. In this study, the changes in the overall taste and quality of kimchi depending on the salinity of the brining solution (6% and 12%) were investigated. The salinity of kimchi brined in 6% NaCl solution was approximately 1.3%, and its umami (2.22±0.22) was lower than that (2.96±0.16) of the conventional kimchi, brined in 12% NaCl solution. In contrast, its bitterness (-3.77±0.05) was higher than that of the conventional kimchi (-4.48±0.12). The sensory evaluation results showed that the overall taste score of the low-salinity kimchi (2.8±0.4) was significantly lower than that of the conventional kimchi (4.5±1.1). To overcome the deterioration in the overall taste, a taste enhancer with a sea tangle extract and anchovy extract was added to the low-salinity kimchi. The overall taste score (4.4±1.2) of the seasoned kimchi, which is the low-salinity kimchi supplemented with the taste enhancer, was comparable to that (4.5±1.1) of the conventional kimchi, while maintaining a salinity of 1.7%. This study demonstrated the benefits of proper taste enhancer for improving the taste of low-salinity kimchi.

Abstract
Introduction
Materials and Methods
    Kimchi samples
    Cell counts and chemical analysis
    Taste sensing analysis
    Sensory evaluation
    Statistical analysis
Results & Discussion
References

• Ki-Eui Lee(Korea Traditional Fermented-foods Association)
• Ha-Yull Chung(Department of Food Science and Biotechnology and Global K-Foods Research Center, Hankyong National University) Corresponding author