Sterilization of Gochujang sauce with continuous ohmic heating

In this study, five different Gochujang (a traditional Korean sauce prepared using fermented red pepper paste) sauces were heated at 100°C for 5 min using a continuous ohmic heating system. Ohmic heating yielded greater reduction in microbial counts (90-95% reduction) than did conventional heating (65-75% reduction). The sterilization effect of the continuous ohmic heater increased with increasing sample flow rate and decreasing Reynolds number inside the pipe. Lowviscosity samples had higher electrical conductivity and were better suited for ohmic heating than were high-viscosity samples. The color and texture were also satisfactorily maintained after ohmic heating. Compared with conventional heating, ohmic heating provided rapid and uniform heating, which is more suitable for aseptic thermal processing of viscous foods.