To develop a starter of anchovy-meju, soybeans with anchovy were fermented using four strains isolated from traditional fermented food. Among them, a strain, L2, which showed high protease activity and cell numbers in the fermented sample, was selected as a starter. The selected strain L2 was identified as Bacillus velezensis based on 16S rRNA sequencing. Anchovy-meju was prepared using B. velezensis L2, and its quality properties were compared with those of the control (without a starter) during fermentation. Microbial analysis of the starter anchovy-meju revealed B. velezensis L2 to be the dominant organism after 30 days of fermentation. After 30 days of fermentation, the protease activities of control and starter anchovy-meju were 4,880 unit/g and 6,565 unit/g, respectively. The content of amino-type nitrogen was higher in the starter anchovy-meju (953.2 mg%) compared to that in the control anchovy-meju (711.7 mg%) after 30 days of fermentation. The pH increased, and the acidity decreased gradually during fermentation. In the case of color, the L and b values increased gradually in the starter anchovy-meju, while it decreased gradually in the control anchovy-meju during fermentation. The concentration of glutamic acid, which imparts a savory flavor to the meju, was 224.02 mg% in the starter anchovy-meju, which is more than 99.94 mg% of the control.

Keywords: meju, anchovy, Bacillus velezensis, fermentation, quality characteristics