Abstract
Seasoned daikon was used as a material in order to examine the effect of sample size and mouthful amount of foods on the properties. Five sample sizes and six mouthful amounts were chosen. A cube of 1 cm3 was used and cut to prepare the five sizes, and the mouthful amounts were equivalent to 1-6 cubes of 1 cm3. As the sample size decreased, the breaking properties decreased, the average masseter muscle activity and average chewing force decreased, the total number of chewing strokes increased, and there was no significant difference in the while sensory softness. Evaluations of ease of chewing, shape-keeping ability, and ease of eating were lower when the sample size was small. As the mouthful amount was increased, the breaking properties increased, and the chewing duration and total number of chewing strokes increased. Softness and shape-keeping ability did not depend on the mouthful amount. Evaluations of the ease of chewing and ease of eating became higher as the mouthful amount was increased. The effect of size and mouthful amount was plotted two-dimensionally by using a principal component analysis. The ease of eating decreased as the cube of 1 cm3 was cut smaller. As the mouthful amount increased, the chewing duration and total number of chewing strokes increased, although the ease of eating tended to improve.
