"Analyzing 'This Kimchi Is Really Spicy' in 1 Minute"

Volunteers participating in the '2019 Sharing Love Kimchi Making' event held on the 13th at Seocho-gu Office in Seoul are making kimchi to share with neighbors. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@ (unrelated to the article content)

[Asia Economy Reporter Hwang Junho] "This kimchi is really spicy"

This is something you can say immediately after tasting kimchi. However, to know exactly how spicy it is, a component analysis must be conducted. This process takes about an hour. Recently, an analysis method that can complete this in under one minute has been developed. As the component analysis time decreases, the time required to standardize the spiciness also shortens. It is expected that the day will soon come when consumers can select and purchase kimchi with the desired level of spiciness.

"This Kimchi is Spicy" Analyzed in Just One Minute

High-Sensitivity Simultaneous Analysis Technology for Spicy Components in Kimchi

The World Kimchi Research Institute announced on the 27th that a joint research team from the Hygiene Safety Component Analysis Center and Kyung Hee University has developed a technology that can analyze the spicy components of kimchi within one minute. The World Kimchi Research Institute is a research organization under the Ministry of Science and ICT, conducting research and development activities for the globalization of kimchi.

The research team developed a new method to quantitatively analyze the content of the main spicy components, 'capsaicin' and 'dihydrocapsaicin.' This technology (high-sensitivity capillary electrophoresis) fills a capillary thinner than a human hair with a surfactant, then uses an electric field and laser to accurately detect only these two spicy components among various sample components.

Using this technology, the analysis time and detection sensitivity can be greatly improved. The research team simultaneously separated capsaicin and dihydrocapsaicin from the sample in just 53 seconds. Previously, this process took about an hour.

In particular, the research team stated that the detection sensitivity increased by 4,230 times for capsaicin and 2,382 times for dihydrocapsaicin compared to previous analyses. This means that even trace amounts of these components in the sample can now be detected.

Choose Deliciously Spicy Kimchi

The institute expects this technology to contribute to the standardization of kimchi spiciness. Since the perception of spiciness varies from person to person, having a standardized spiciness level would allow the production of kimchi adjusted to that standard. This means consumers will be able to select kimchi with the spiciness level that suits their taste. Using the results obtained from the new spicy component analysis method, the institute plans to establish a standard spiciness level and classify spiciness grades.

Choi Hakjong, Acting Director of the World Kimchi Research Institute, said, "Through the new analysis method, we expect to provide detailed information about the spiciness of commercial kimchi, enabling consumers to choose kimchi according to their preferences," and added, "We will continue to promote standardization research on the taste and aroma of kimchi in the future."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.