Abstract
We investigated the effect of mirin on sweet-cooked azuki beans. Raw azuki beans were cooked in one the following solutions: water-mirin, nikiri-mirin, sugared water and ethanol. They were then all further cooked in sugared water. The surface gloss of the azuk i beans after cooking was measured by a gloss analysis system, and the numbers of soft, hard and collapsed azuki beans were counted. The surface gloss of the azuki beans cooked with mirin was the strongest, and these beans best maintained their shape. It is considered that the shape of the sweet-cooked azuki beans was maintained by the effect of ethanol and glucose in the mirin.
