The influence of process variables and inoculum composition on the sensory quality of kinema

Abstract

Kinema, a traditional food condiment, is produced in homes in a crude manner. The natural fermentation of soybeans usually produces an acceptable product. However, inconsistencies in the final product and spoilage do often occur. In order to standardize the production with quality consistency, the traditional process conditions were optimized by sensory evaluation. Thinly perforated polythene bag as a wrapping material, 10-15 min cooking in 0·7 kg cm -2 steam pressure and 48 h fermentation at 37°C were optimum for kinema making. The influence of micro-organisms, isolated from commercial kinema, was also studied. Organoleptically, the monoculture fermentation of soybeans by Bacillus subtilis produced the best quality kinema. Any microbial combination with this bacterium had significantly adverse effect on fermentation and consequent scoring. The monoculture fermentations by other micro-organisms could not produce kinema, suggesting B. subtilis as the sole fermenting organism for this product. Consumers' preference trials showed that the kinema produced under optimum conditions was more acceptable than even the best scored market samples.