Abstract: Although there are many kinds of sufu available in the market nowadays, the quality of sufu varies from inferior to superior. There are few studies reported in the literature on the correlation between soybean cultivars and the quality of sufu. In this study, soybean seeds of nine cultivars were measured for protein content, fat content, moisture content, 100-grain mass, diameter and color. The taste and flavor characteristics, texture properties, protein, fat and moisture contents, yield and color of Mucor fermented sufu made from each cultivar were determined by gas chromatograph-mass spectrometry, an electronic tongue, a texture analyzer and conventional analysis methods. Then correlation analysis and cluster analysis were used to explore the effects of soybean cultivars on the quality of sufu. The results showed that the nutrition and physical properties of sufu were significantly different among the cultivars. The protein content of soybeans was significantly positively correlated with the protein content (r = 0.965), yield (r = 0.761) and elasticity (r = 0.748) of sufu. The fat content of soybean was significantly negatively correlated with the protein content and yield of sufu (r = ?0.713 and ?0.721, respectively). The 100-grain mass of soybean was significantly negatively correlated with the salty taste of sufu (r = ?0.679) but significantly positively correlated with the acidity (r = 0.775). The yellowness of soybean was positively correlated with that of sufu (r = 0.705). ‘Liaodou 66’ and ‘Handou L2’ were found to be more suitable for sufu processing. This study provides reference for the processing of high-quality sufu.

Key words: sufu; soybean; quality indexes; correlation analysis