Abstract
Charcoal is generally considered to be a good heat source for broiling foods. This study was carried out to clarify the cooking characteristics of charcoal. A gas burner (gas ring), a metal broiling plate heated on a gas ring and an electric heater were used as heat sources to compare with charcoal. After the heat flux from each heat source had been regulated to be the same, the ratio of radiative heat transfer to total heat transfer was measured. Food samples (hanpen, chicken and salmon) were broiled over these four heat sources for fixed times (2, 10 and 13 min). The surface temperature, burn color (G value), moisture less, moisture content in the surface layer and hardness of the broiled samples were each measured. When the burning state of the charcoal (binchoutan) became stable, the highest temperature on the surface was about 750°C, and the heat flux from the heat source was 1.1 × 104 W/m2 at a distance of 100 mm above the burning charcoal. The ratio of radiative heat transfer to total heat transfer of the charcoal was about 75%. The radiative heat from the gas burner was very low, but than from the other two heat sources was approximately equal to that from charcoal. In the case of food broiled over charcoal, the surface temperature was higher, surface color was darker and moisture content was less than the effects from gas burner broiling. Additionally, in the case of food broiled over the broiling plate and electric heater, the quality of the cooked food was similar to that from charcoal broiling.
