Ganjang is made from beans which have plenty of protein and amino acids and was made first to satisfy the needs arisen when meat was forbidden by the spread of Buddhism. Ganjang made of beans is not only an excellent source to supply protein but a scientific food that can be stored for a long period by our ancestors’ wisdom.

It is made by fermenting its main ingredients such as soybean, rice, barley, wheat, or non-fat soybean or by making Meju with beans and putting it into salted water to get the fermented lump of Doenjang. Doenjang containing plenty of high-quality vegetable protein which frees us from the worry about cholesterol promotes the circulation of blood. In addition, it has anti-cancer effects, and is good for recovering the functions of liver, and detoxicates the body. One of the constituents of beans, lecithin is known for its effects of preventing senility or hypertension.

Gochujang made of red pepper that was introduced in Korea after the 16th century is a source of supplying the protein of beans and is a nutritious food in which savory taste, and sweet taste from the carbohydrate of glutinous rice, non-glutinous rice, and barley corn, and hot taste and red color from red pepper powder, and salty taste from Ganjang and salt used for adding the saltiness to it are harmonized with each other. The capsaicin in red pepper has anti-bacterial and anti-cancer effects, and its hot taste stimulates the skin to speed up the blood circulation and is good for diet.

In Manchuria, the old territory of Goguryeo, horse-riding people put boiled beans under the saddle to make them naturally fermented by the horse’s temperature as an easy way to take in protein, which is the origin of Cheonggukjang. It is made from beans and the constituents adhered to rice straw and can be made in a shortest time among the fermented foods made of beans. Cheonggukjang has anti-cancer effects, and especially the Bacillus subtilisin it suppresses the growth of intestinal saprogenic bacteria.

Kimchi is a food that is made by salting the radish or Chinese cabbage and seasoning it with red peeper, garlic, green onion, ginger, Jeotgal, and so on, and Kimchi was initially called ‘Chimchae’ which means vegetables simply soaked in salted water. Kimchi came to have its present shape after developed drastically due to the introduction of red pepper in Joseon Dynasty. It is a grateful legacy from our ancestors, which is a good way to store vegetables for a long winter period so as to get minerals and vitamins produced from fermentation in that period. Kimchi is a low-caloric food and has much dietary fiber that it can help us prevent geriatric diseases and obesity by stimulating the intestinal movement and lowering sugar or cholesterol. In addition, its efficacy has been proved scientifically such as on intestinal regulation or anticancer with its lactic bacteria produced during fermentation, so it became one of the favored foods in the world.

Jangajjis are made by salting vegetables of the right reason or putting them in Gochujang for a long period. They are stored as salted for a long period, and the salty taste excites our appetite. The Jangajjis from all over the regions in Korea are said to be over 200. At the Royal Court, Jangajji was called ‘Janggwa’, and which includes ‘Sukjanggwa’ for long storage and ‘Gapjanggwa’ for instant eating.

These are the foods made by salting fish and shellfish’s flesh or internal organs, or germ plasma to prevent the rotting and ripening them through degrading their tissue appropriately by self-digestion and microorganisms’ functions. As the ingredients are fermented by their own autolysins or microorganisms during the ripening period, they come to have unique tastes. After the fish, shrimp, or shellfish is salted for a while, it comes to have its own unique taste and flavor. The small fish’s bone or shrimp, or the outer shell of crustaceans gets softened while fermented, so it can be a good source to provide us with calcium.