Abstract
In this study, the strength of kamaboko gels heated by microwaves was investigated, and the change of elasticity of kamaboko gel during microwave heating was determined. The strength of gels made under direct microwave heating was low ; therefore, a new method using microwaves to set and to cook the gels was developed. It was found that the strength of two-step gels prepared by microwave heating had a value similar to gels heated using a water bath. Moreover, setting and cooking the gels using microwave heating took 11 minutes, which constituted an 80% reduction in production time compared to the boiling method.
