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Fish and seafood from Korea

Myeongnan-jeot명란젓

Myeongnan-jeot is Alaska pollock roe salted, seasoned and ripened cold. One 2003 study made a low-salt version with about 8 % salt. In a separate 1996 study, plain low-salt roe kept only about two weeks at 10 °C.

Fully documentedFish and seafood15 daysFamily: Jeotgal (Korean salted fermented seafood)

Recipe

No fixed amounts recordedNo recipe amounts are published in the sources read. The salt level is given for the finished roe, not as an amount added.
Alaska pollock roe sacs[lee2003]
SaltApplied as a brine; one low-salt method brings the roe to 8 % salt[lee2003]
SeasoningThe studies describe the roe as seasoned but do not list the seasoning[lee2003]

Total time across the recorded steps: 15 days

Start
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What changes: Starting material: Alaska pollock roe

Step 1 of 4
Take the pollock roe
Time
Not documented
Temperature
Not documented
Salt
None given
Acidity
Not documented

Output: pollock roe.

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

Myeongnan-jeot is Alaska pollock roe salted, seasoned and ripened cold. One 2003 study made a low-salt version with about 8 % salt. In a separate 1996 study, plain low-salt roe kept only about two weeks at 10 °C. Made in 4 steps over 15 days. The longest step, ripen cold, takes 15 days (The effects of food additives on the shelf-li…) and runs at 10 °C (The effects of food additives on the shelf-li…). Salt is 8 % (Changes in physicochemical quality during the…).

Key numbers
Main step15 daysMeasured[kim1996]Ripen cold
Temperature10 °CReported[kim1996]Ripen cold
Salt8 %Reported[lee2003]Salt the roe in brine

What makes this one different

A 2003 study calls traditional Korean jeotgal too salty. The low-salt myeongnan-jeot it tested had 8 % salt. A separate 1996 study found that plain low-salt roe kept only about two weeks at 10 °C.

Related ferments

Safety

In a 1996 study, the estimated shelf life of plain low-salt myeongnan-jeot ripened at 10 °C was about 14 days. Enterobacteriaceae and Staphylococcus have been detected in salted pollock roe.

Hazards the sources name: Enterobacteriaceae and Staphylococcus, detected in salted pollock roe.

History and sources

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

The Encyclopedia of Korean Culture (Seo Hye-gyeong, written 1995, revised 2023) says people began to eat pollock roe once large pollock catches began, and that pollock was the leading fishery by catch in late Joseon. It says myeongnan-jeot first appears in writing in Oju yeonmun jangjeon sango and that its method is recorded in Siuijeonseo, which it dates to the late 1800s.

Starter
The sources we found do not say how its fermentation begins.
  1. [lee2003] Changes in physicochemical quality during the seasoned and fermented Alaska pollack roe with vacuum fermentation, The Korean Journal of Food and Nutrition 16(4):353–358, 2003 (abstract)paper
  2. [kim1996] The effects of food additives on the shelf-life of low-salted Myungran-jeot, Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition 25(6):937–943, 1996 (abstract)paper
  3. [kim2023] Kim B.K., Kim S.A. 2023, Investigation of microbial ecology of salted seafood based on culture method and 16S rRNA metagenome sequencing, LWT 187 (abstract)paper
  4. [kim2026] Kim Y.M., Kim S.A. 2026, Stage-specific microbial dynamics and transmission pathways in salted seafood processing plants, a comparison of salted pollock roe and salted squid, Food Research International 235 (abstract)paper
  5. [encykorea-myeongnan] Seo H.G. 1995 (revised 2023), 명란젓 (Myeongnanjeot), Encyclopedia of Korean Culture, Academy of Korean Studiesbook