抄録
A computer simulation was used to carry out a quantitative study of the effects of the size and shape of a sample on the optimum cooking time at 99.5°C. The softening ratio was evaluated on the basis of a thermal conduction analysis combined with the softening rate constant. The optimum cooking time, which is defined as the time required for the optimum softening ratio, was obtained at the center of various differently shaped samples. When the sample volume was kept constant, the optimum cooking time was in the order of sphere>cube>cylinder or rectangular brick>slab. In the case of constant volume, the larger the surface area, the shorter the optimum cooking time. The increase in optimum cooking time of the slab sample with increasing volume was remarkably small due to the low ratio of volume to surface area. It has been quantitatively proved that a slab is best for a short optimum cooking time and for efficient control of hardness during food processing.
