A Comparative Study of the Assay Methods Used to Quantify Fermentable Sugar in Makgeolli Sul-dut

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the accuracy and efficiency of different methods used for the fermentable sugar assay in the production of Makgeolli sul-dut. In the initial stage of fermentation, Ipguk treatment produced a higher alcohol content compared to the Nuruk treatment. However, the alcohol content was not significantly different between the two starters at the final stage of fermentation. Acidity in the Ipguk treatment was higher than that of Nuruk throughout the fermentation period. After analyzing the fermentable sugars using dinitrosalicylic acid (DNS), Fehling's method, refractometer, glucose kit, and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), it was confirmed that the HPLC method was the most accurate for fermentable sugar quantification. In both types of starters, DNS and Fehling's methods showed results comparable to HPLC in terms of fermentable sugar content, while the glucose kit and refractometer analyses showed relatively large discrepancies, indicating that the Fehling's method could also be effective for the analysis of fermentable sugars in the manufacture of Makgeolli.