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Fermentation Atlas

Soy and legumes from Korea

Hansik doenjang and hansik ganjang (joseon ganjang) — made together from meju in brine한식된장

Fermented soybean bricks (meju) steep for about two months in salt brine with charcoal and dried chillies in an earthenware crock. The liquid is then drawn off and aged as soup soy sauce (guk-ganjang), and the softened bricks are mashed and aged as doenjang. One brining gives both sauces. Made in 4 steps over 20 months – 2.2 years. The longest step, age the liquid as ganjang, takes 5.9–12 months (Song D.H 2021). Salt is 17–18 % (Song D.H 2021). Bacillus and Aspergillus do most of the fermenting.

Key numbers
Main step5.9–12 monthsReported[song2021][han2026][chin2024]Age the liquid as ganjang
Temperature25–30 °CMeasured[song2021][han2026]Steep the meju in brine with charcoal and chillies
Salt17–18 %Reported[song2021][chin2024]Steep the meju in brine with charcoal and chillies
AciditypH 4.7–6.8Measured[bahuguna2023]Mash the solids and age them as doenjang
Fully documentedSoy and legumes20 months – 2.2 yearsMore soy and legumesMore from Korea

Recipe

Amounts from a sourceOne crock in Song et al. 2021, who followed the traditional method. Households scale the same proportions to their crocks.
4 bricks, about 1.6 kg eachMeju · Soybean bricks already fermented by Bacillus and moulds[song2021]
20 LBrine, 18 % w/v solar salt[song2021]
2Dried hot red peppers[song2021]
1 lump, about 12 gCharcoal[song2021]
Startermeju (its moulds and Bacillus)

Total time across the recorded steps: 20 months – 2.2 years

Start
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Close-up: salt moving into a bean25–30 °CSalt 17–18 %shapes, not to countBacillusTetragenococcusYeasts

What changes: Salt brine soaks into the meju bricks while their flavour moves into the brine

Step 1 of 4
Steep the meju in brine with charcoal and chillies
Time
2 months
Measured
Temperature
25–30 °C
Measured
Salt
17–18 %
Reported
Acidity
Not documented
Which microbes the steps name, step by step
Bacillus
Tetragenococcus
Yeasts

Output: dark brine and softened meju.

Flavour
Not documented
Texture
meju softens
Colour
Not documented

Microbes at work in this step

meju enzymes dissolve into the brine; the Bacillus and Aspergillus of the meju give way to salt-tolerant Tetragenococcus, Staphylococcus and yeasts

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

What makes this one different

Japanese miso and shoyu start from grain koji grown with a pure mould. Hansik jang starts from whole meju bricks fermented by wild Bacillus and moulds, and one brining gives two products, the liquid (ganjang) and the solids (doenjang). Factory doenjang is made from koji instead.

Related ferments

Variants

  • Tojangdoenjang mashed from meju left after ganjang is drawn off
  • Jangjaeless brine from the start, so no soy sauce is drawn off
  • Gaeryang doenjang (factory)made from koji of soybean, rice, barley, wheat or defatted soy with Aspergillus, plus brine; often wheat flour
  • Ssamjangdoenjang blended with gochujang, garlic and sesame oil; mixed, not fermented

Made the hansik doenjang and hansik ganjang way

Safety

Korea's Food Code limits Bacillus cereus in jang (except meju) to 10,000 CFU per g. In a survey of 36 cottage-industry doenjang, 5 carried B. cereus and 3 were above that limit, most likely from raw materials or poor hygiene. The Food Code also limits ochratoxin A in meju to 20 µg/kg.

Hazards the sources name: Bacillus cereus (in 5 of 36 cottage doenjang; 3 above the Korean limit, up to 6.15 log CFU/g).

History and sources

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

In 2024 UNESCO added Korean jang making to its Representative List of intangible heritage. It is passed on within families, mostly from mothers and mothers-in-law to daughters and daughters-in-law.

  1. [song2021] Song D.H., Chun B.H., Lee S., Son S.Y., Reddy C.K., Mun H.I., Jeon C.O., Lee C.H. 2021, Comprehensive metabolite profiling and microbial communities of doenjang and ganjang, a comparative study, Foods 10(3):641, doi:10.3390/foods10030641paper
  2. [bahuguna2023] Bahuguna A., Kumar V., Bodkhe G., Ramalingam S., Lim S., Joe A., Lee J., Kim S., Kim M. 2023, Safety analysis of Korean cottage industries' doenjang, Foods 12(22):4084, doi:10.3390/foods12224084paper
  3. [han2026] Han D.M., Baek J.H., Choi D.G., Lee J.K., Chun B.H., Jeon C.O. 2026, Effects of yeast inoculation on community, metabolites, and flavors in ganjang, Food Chemistry X 37:104200, doi:10.1016/j.fochx.2026.104200paper
  4. [chin2024] Chin Y.W., Hong S.P., Lim S.D., Yi S.H. 2024, Investigation of microbial community of Korean soy sauce (ganjang) using shotgun metagenomic sequencing, Microorganisms 12(12):2559, doi:10.3390/microorganisms12122559paper
  5. [mfds-jang] Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (Korea), Korean Food Code, chapter 5.12 Jang (definitions and standards)spec
  6. [mfds-general] Ministry of Food and Drug Safety (Korea), Korean Food Code, chapter 3, general standards (Bacillus cereus and mycotoxin limits)spec
  7. [unesco2024] UNESCO Intergovernmental Committee for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage 2024, decision 19.COM 7.B.3, Knowledge, beliefs and practices related to jang making in the Republic of Korea (file 01975)archive
  8. [wp-doenjang] Wikipedia, Doenjang (variant names only)wiki