Abstract
The objectives of the present study were to demonstrate recipes for meals for individuals with mastication and swallowing difficulty (soft food) that was introduced to nursing homes. Furthermore, this study aimed to promote the introduction of soft food under various care conditions and elucidate the specific physical value of soft foods, which are recognized as safe foods with a high eating rate.
The following samples were prepared according to the routine cooking procedures provided by facilities: 1) porridge, 2) steamed tuna with grated yam, 3) spinach with kudzu sauce, and 4) soup (six types) .
1) Porridge served as a staple food became gel-like as the temperature decreased, and its hardness was such that it could be mashed with the tongue and picked up using chopsticks.
2) Steamed tuna with grated yam served as a main dish was significantly softer than porridge and spinach with kudzu sauce.
3) The hardness of the staple food, main dish, and side dish was determined to be approximately 5×103 to 1×104 N/m2, which satisfied the conditions for food for individuals with mastication and swallowing difficulty according to the food authorization standards set by the Ministry of Health, Labour, and Welfare, as well as foods that are “hard enough to be mashed with the tongue” according to the universal design food classification of the Japan Care Food Conference.
4) Viscosity of soups ranged from 4.9×104 mPa.s to 1.0×104 mPa⋅s, with a mean of 2.4±1.4×104 mPa⋅s. This value may be an indicator for food served as soups and pureed food.
5) The rotation dependency index of soups varied little, indicating that soups were easy to swallow.
