Sweetness and Palatability of Steamed Turnip

Abstract

The sweetness and palatability of steamed turnips were evaluated using physicochemical analysis and sensory evaluation by comparing them with those boiled and cooked in a microwave. The turnips were softened by cooking. The total amount of sugars (sucrose, glucose, and fructose) in turnips cooked in the microwave was significantly higher than that in the boiled turnips, although no significant difference was observed in steamed turnips when compared with uncooked ones.

Our sensory evaluation test showed that the scores of steamed turnips for sweetness, juiciness, and palatability were significantly higher than those of uncooked turnips. We observed no change in the total sugar content of steamed turnips, which indicated that the sugar content did not correlate with increased sweetness. However, the results of our pressure test using the steamed turnip sample showed that steam cooking softened turnips while maintaining their sugar contents. This suggests that sugars contained in the juice exuded due to pressure might increase sweetness. However, the sweetness of microwave-cooked turnip was suggested to be caused by an increase in sugar concentration due to water evaporation. In addition, we observed a positive correlation between the sweetness and palatability of turnips cooked by any of the above-mentioned methods.