Akazake (a traditional Japanese rice wine of Kumamoto Prefecture) has a high sugar concentration and can be used in cooking instead of mirin (a sweet rice wine). Pieces of pork were soaked for 30 minutes in Akazake, mirin, sake or distilled water and cooked in a steam convection oven. Yield, breaking stress, color, and free amino acid content were measured. The samples of the cooked meat were observed by scanning electron microscope. The meat soaked in Akazake has the highest yield and a value of colour. It was also higher than other samples in the concentration of free amino acids. In sensory tests, panelists (n=31) preferred the taste and flavor of meat that had been soaked in Akazake (p＜0.05).
