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Fish and seafood from Korea: the east coast

Changnan-jeot창난젓

Changnan-jeot is jeot of Alaska pollock intestines, a by-product of the pollock catch. The guts are washed and soaked in about 3 % salt water, salted at about 25 %, sealed and ripened about 3 months at 15 °C in the shade, then cut and dressed with chilli, garlic and spring onion.

Fully documentedFish and seafood3 months – 3.1 monthsFamily: Jeotgal (Korean salted fermented seafood)

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceHousehold and small-factory method from the folk encyclopedia, with no batch size; the percentages are its figures.
Fresh pollock intestinesGuts of fresh (saengtae), not frozen (dongtae), pollock make the better jeot[nfm-changnan]
Brine for washing and soakingAbout 3 % salt water[nfm-changnan]
SaltAbout 25 %[nfm-changnan]
Chilli powder, chopped red chilli, garlic and spring onion strips, ginger juiceTo tasteFor the seasoned jeot[encykorea-changnan]
Starterspontaneous; the guts' own enzymes

Total time across the recorded steps: 3 months – 3.1 months

Start
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What changes: The pollock intestines are pulled out whole, without tearing

Step 1 of 6
Take out the guts whole
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

The intestines are pulled from the pollock without tearing them; the folk encyclopedia calls this the most important step.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
Not documented
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

Not documented for this step.

Method

Measured measured in a studySet fixed by a specification or tested recipeReported one source reports itTypical a general value, not sourced for this fermentUnconfirmed not yet checked against a source

At a glance

Changnan-jeot is jeot of Alaska pollock intestines, a by-product of the pollock catch. The guts are washed and soaked in about 3 % salt water, salted at about 25 %, sealed and ripened about 3 months at 15 °C in the shade, then cut and dressed with chilli, garlic and spring onion. Made in 6 steps over 3 months – 3.1 months. The longest step, ripen in the shade, takes 3 months (Han J.S. (한진숙)) and runs at 15 °C (Han J.S. (한진숙)). Salt is 3 % (Han J.S. (한진숙)).

Key numbers
Main step3 monthsReported[nfm-changnan]Ripen in the shade
Temperature15 °CReported[nfm-changnan]Ripen in the shade
Salt3 %Reported[nfm-changnan]Strip and wash in salt water

What makes this one different

Made from pollock intestines alone, which are soaked a day or two in weak brine before salting, and cut and dressed with chilli before eating; most jeotgal is whole seafood salted once.

Protein
11.5 % protein
Fat
2.2 % fat, with much DHA (17.3 %) and EPA (15.5 %) for a jeot
Season
Made in January and November in the Encyclopedia of Korean Culture's jeotgal calendar
Part used
Intestines only; the roe makes myeongnan-jeot and the gills seogeori-jeot

Related ferments

Safety

Salt at about 25 % and a sealed, shaded crock at about 15 °C hold it while it ripens. The Korean Food Code requires changnan-jeot to be stripped, washed and checked with light for foreign matter, and bans adding water or brine to bulk it up.

History and sources

Every number is labelled with how it is known. How this atlas is made

The folk encyclopedia quotes the 6th-century Qimin yaoshu for a gut jeot sealed in a jar and ripened 20 days in summer, 50 in autumn and 100 in winter, and calls it almost the same as today's method. The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture notes that such early gut jeot need not have been pollock, and dates changnan-jeot to mid-Joseon, when pollock came to Korean tables.

Microbes
No study we found names its microbes.
  1. [nfm-changnan] Han J.S. (한진숙), Changnan-jeot (창난젓), National Folk Museum of Korea, Encyclopedia of Korean Folk Culture: Korean Food, Clothing and Housing (한국의식주생활사전)book
  2. [encykorea-changnan] Kang I.H. (강인희) 1995 (revised 2023), Changnan-jeot (창난젓), Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, Academy of Korean Studiesbook
  3. [lee2001] Lee W.D., Chang D.S., Kang S.M., Yoon J.H., Lee M.S. 2001, Development of new manufacturing process for changran-jeotgal 1. Optimization of salting process, J. Korean Fish. Soc. 34(2):109-113 (abstract)paper
  4. [mfds-code] Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, Korean Food Code (식품공전), 5. Standards by food, 20-2 jeotgal (젓갈류)spec
  5. [encykorea-jeotgal] Seo H.K. (서혜경) 1995 (revised 2022), Jeotgal (젓갈), Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, Academy of Korean Studiesbook