누룩 원료에 따른 시판 막걸리의 품질과 향미 특성 비교 연구

This study compared the quality of fifteen commercial makgeolli collected from five Korean regions and classified them by starter: rice nuruk (RN, n=3), wheat nuruk (WN, n=6), and wheat nuruk with exogenous yeast (WNY, n=6). We measured alcohol, pH, titratable acidity, soluble solids, and reducing sugars under national standards, profiled taste with an electronic tongue and volatiles with an electronic nose, and analyzed the data by PCA and PLS-DA. Alcohol ranged from 5.43 to 12.82% (v/v), pH from 3.39 to 4.74, titratable acidity from 0.21 to 0.71% (v/v, citric acid equivalents), indicating an overall mildly acidic profile. RN showed lower residual sugars and higher alcohol than WN and WNY, consistent with faster saccharification and more complete fermentation. All three electronic-tongue scores (sourness, saltiness, and umami) were highest in the RN group, with sourness and umami tracking titratable acidity, whereas WN and WNY showed a more moderate overall taste profile. In makgeolli, sixty-four volatiles were detected and ten high-discrimination markers (discrimination power >0.900) separated products according to starter type, with RN characterized by ethyl 2-methylbutyrate and 2-butanone, WN by butanol/propanol and ethyl acetate, and WNY by isoamyl acetate. PLS-DA and heatmaps corroborated these modules (acid-taste for RN; alcohol/carbonyl for WN; ester-acetate for WNY). Collectively, these indicators, such as pH-acidity, residual sugar-alcohol balance, and ester/alcohol ratios, offer actionable targets for selecting nuruk or yeast and standardizing makgeolli quality.