Abstract
Dried sea cucumber is used in both Japanese and Chinese dishes after being soaked in water, and its characteristic texture is appreciated. Successive in soaking water, boiling and cooling of the dried material is the most common restoring method, but the weight ratio and texture of the restored sea cucumber varies according to the test sample. To investigate why this happens, we investigated the components of dried sea cucumber before and after being soaked in water. It was found that the sea cucumber after soaking was higher in weight ratio and more tender in texture with increasing collagen and glucosaminoglycan contents of the dried material. This result was confirmed by scanning electron micrography, whereby the dried sample containing more collagen and glucosaminoglycan, after being soaked in water, was better able to expand its network structure and retain more water.
