The consumption of high-salt foods is an independent risk factor for increased hypertension. Thus, evaluating the relationship of taste sensitivity and pleasantness of high-salt foods such as Korean jang products, would help contribute to an understanding of salty food eating behaviors of the Korean rural elderly. This study aimed to verify the association between taste sensitivity and salinity of Korean jang products, and the preferences of food groups and nutrient intake in the rural elderly. We studied 269 elderly persons (males 83, females 186) aged above 65 years, residing in the rural area, Sunchang gun Jeonbuk. For each subject, a recognition threshold of 4 basic tastes and pleasant concentrations of NaCl were estimated using the sip- and–spit method. Taste preferences, frequency of intake of food groups, nutrient intakes, and salinity and sweetness of Korean jang products (Doenjang, Ganjang, Gochujang) were assessed. No association was found between salt taste recognition threshold and optimally preferred concentration of salt and salinity of Korean jang products. However, the sweet taste recognition threshold was positively related to the sweetness of Korean jang products. Also, the salinity of Doenjang positively correlated with the frequencies of food groups and nutrient intakes. That is to say that the sweet taste sensitivity was related to the sweetness of Korean jang products, but was not sensitive to the salty taste. The salinity of Doenjang correlated with the consumption of food and nutrient intakes. Taken together, these findings suggest the need for appropriate intervention and education to reduce the salinity of Doenjang, which is an important modifiable factor contributing to reducing sodium intake in the rural elderly.

The origin of Korean traditional food's spicy taste dates back to the first telling of the Dangun myth-a story of a tiger and bear who tried to reincarnate themselves in human form by eating garlic and wormwood. For a long time, Koreans have eaten spicy vegetables such as green onion, garlic, ginger, mustard, leeks, corni, cinnamon bark, and Chinese peppers (Zanthoxylum schinfolium) and Zanthoxylum bungeanum. In prehistoric times, spicy vegetables were probably used to eliminate the smell of meat. In the agricultural age, they were used to supplement meals with fresh taste. They were also used as a substitute for salt (salt was very precious and expensive) as well as side dishes for the poor. Spicy vegetables have also been used as a substitute for main dish like medicinal gruel and used to increase the spiciness of soup, and they are usually used as a side dish and with condiments in namul (cooked vegetable dishes), sangchae (salad), ssam (wrapped in greens and garnished with red-pepper paste or other condiments) and Kimchi. In addition, chili pepper was introduced to the Korean Peninsula in the middle of the Joseon Dynasty (mid-15th, 16th century). The soil and climate of the Korean Peninsula are suitable to growing chili pepper, and chili pepper has excellent adaptability and productivity. Accordingly, it is processed to red pepper powder and has become a major part of traditional Korean food along with Chinese pepper. Since the Joseon Dynasty, many kinds of Kimchi made with red pepper powder have been developed, and most Koreans enjoy them these days. The main characteristics of Korean food are spiciness and honest-to-goodness taste.