This study examined the effects of plums produced in Gimcheon area on the glucose and lipid metabolism in streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Male Sprague-Dawley diabetic rats were divided into four groups: control, diabetic control, Diabetes-low plum (containing 10% plum powder), and Diabetes-high plum (containing 20% plum powder). The animals were fed isocaloric experimental diets based on an AIN-76 diet for 6 weeks. Feed efficiency ratio (FER) of the diabetic groups were significantly lower than that of the control. On the other hand, among the diabetic groups, the FER of the high plum intake group was higher than that of the diabetic control. The liver weight per 100 g body weight of each group was similar but the liver weights tended to decrease as the amount of plum intake was increased. Kidney weight per 100 g body weight of the plum intake groups were significantly different compared to that of the diabetic control. The supplementation of plums lowered the fasting blood glucose level of the diabetic groups and improved the glucose tolerance, thereby lowering the glycosylated hemoglobin index. In addition, the supplementation of plum was lowered the blood total cholesterol concentration and increased the HDL-C/TC (%) significantly, thereby lowering the atherosclerotic index (AI) and hepatic peroxide level. A steady diet of plums produced in Gimcheon may be effective in controlling the blood glucose level and preventing chronic diabetes mellitus.

The objective of this study was to explore the role of familiarity in cross-cultural product perception and perception changes according to food systems (hot sauce and spicy-chicken) in Korean and US consumers. Free choice profiling was conducted by Korean and US consumers on four spicy-chicken samples made using four hot sauce samples. Half of the hot sauce samples were selected to be more familiar to US consumers and vice versa to Korean consumers. A previous study that investigated cross-cultural perceptions of the same four hot sauce samples in US and Korean consumers was incorporated in this study. For distinct sample differences, US and Korean consumers perceived products similarly. However, for less obvious differences, flavor familiarity seemed to affect consumers’ product perceptions. In addition, product perceptions changed more dramatically according to food systems for familiar samples in each country. The findings of this study show that consumers’ product perception can be affected by flavor familiarities.

Despite expansion of the mulnaengmyeon market, there have been no studies on consumers’ attitudes towards mulnaengmyeon. The purpose of this study was to investigate the usage and consumption patterns for mulnaengmyeon among adults in the Seoul metropolitan area of Korea. A survey including demo- and socio-graphics, general mulnaengmyeon usage, and consumption questions was tested on 210 consumers. The results of the survey showed that the majority of consumers consumed mulnaengmyeon more frequently during summer. Although the instant mulnaengmyeon market has rapidly increased, it was found that mulnaengmyeon is a food that is generally consumed in restaurants. In addition, mulnaengmyeon usage and consumption patterns significantly differed according to consumer age, whereas there was no difference observed according to parent’s or grandparent’s hometown of origin. Older consumers were observed to consume and purchase mulnaengmyeon as well as instant mulnaengmyeon more often than young consumers. Also, older consumers were shown to consider “health” related factors as more important when selecting mulnaengmyeon, whereas young consumers considered “price” related factors to be more important.

Bulgogi (Korean-traditional barbequed beef) is one of the most globally well-known Korean foods. Though various attempts have been made to promote bulgogi, studies are limited understanding mostly to US consumers or foreigners who reside in Korea. China, the world’s most populous country, has the biggest market potential in the world. The purpose of this study was to understand reasons of liking or disliking bulgogi products in Chinese consumers who reside in China in comparison to Korean consumers. The bulgogi used in this study differed in its main marinating ingredients. Check-all-thatapply (CATA) questionnaire was used to collect the reasons why one liked or disliked the given bulgogi product. CATA result showed that even for the same product, Korean and Chinese consumers liked or disliked it for different reasons. In particular, unlike Koreans, Chinese consumers reported sweet taste and garlic flavor as reasons for disliking the samples with high amounts of sugar and garlic, respectively. This seemed to be the result of differences in familiarity of consumers to certain tastes and flavors. The results imply the influence of culture in consumer preferences.

Soy sauce, a basic ingredient in Asian cuisine, is made of fermented soybeans, salt, water, and barley or wheat flour. The sensory characteristics of soy sauce are not only determined through its main ingredients but also by various flavor compounds produced during the fermentation process. This study was conducted to identify the sensory attributes of five different commercial soy sauce samples that differ in Meju types (traditional Meju or modified Meju) and usage types. Thirty three sensory attributes, including appearance (1), odor (16), flavor (14), and mouthfeel (2) attributes, were generated and evaluated by eight trained panelists. The collected data were analyzed by analysis of variance and principal component analysis. There were significant differences in the intensities of all sensory attributes among the soy sauce samples. Soy sauce made with traditional Meju had high intensity of fermented fish, beany, musty odors and salt, Cheonggukjang, fermented fish flavors. Whereas two soy sauces made with modified Meju were strong in alcohol, sweet, Doenjang, roasted soybean flavors. Two soy sauces for soup made with modified Meju had medium levels of briny, sulfury, fermented odors and bitter, chemical flavors and biting mouthfeel characteristic.

The consumer acceptance of food is not only affected by the sensory characteristics of food but also by the non-food factors, including food experience, consumption frequency, and food attitudes. Therefore, food attitude scales such as the food neophobic scale, VARSEEK scale, Dutch restrained eating scale, health taste attitude scale, etc. have been developed and effectively used to predict consumer liking and behaviors. Since the globalization of Korean food is currently one of the hottest topics in the Korean food industry, the aim of this study was to identify the tastes and flavors that may represent Korean cuisine. Additionally, an attitudinal scale for Korean taste and flavors was developed, which can then be utilized to predict a consumer’s liking of Korean food. In the first stage of the experiment, the representative taste and flavors of Korean cuisine was surveyed by a Korean culinary expert group (n=23) and general consumers (n=62). As a result of these surveys, 4 types of flavors, hot pepper flavor, ‘goso’ flavor, garlic flavor, and fermented flavor were shown to be the most representative flavors of Korean cuisine. Based on these results, the second stage of the experiment was carried out to develop an attitudinal scale for Korean style flavors. Eleven to 17 questionnaires were developed for each of the 4 types of flavors. The survey consisted of a total of 53 questionnaires and 154 female consumers and 158 male consumers participated in the survey. The data was analyzed by factor analysis. For each type of flavor, the final attitudinal questionnaires were selected based on the following criteria: 1. high absolute factor loading value, 2. carrying clear meaning of the corresponding flavor attitude, and 3. delivering the meaning sufficiently when translated into other language. The final Korean style flavor attitude scale consisted of 7 hot pepper flavor, 6 ‘goso’ flavor, 6 garlic flavor, and 7 fermented flavor questionnaires. In the next step of this study, experiments will be carried out to validate the Korean style flavor attitude scale.