Abstract
“Igesu-ryori, ”a special local food in the southern part of Okayama Prefecture, is made of agar the polysaccharides from the seaweed Ceramium boydenii. In the cooking process, the addition of the extract of rice bran and vinegar is essential. Their roles in the solubilization of agar were analysed by measuring the gel strength and the mineral contents in the solubilized agar. The addition of 3-5% extract of rice bran resulted in an acceleration of agar solubilization and an increased hardness of agar gel, and this effect became greater with the addition of 1-2% vinegar.
Based on our finding that the addition of 0.02% solution of sodium phytate accelerated the solubilization of agar, we concluded that the phytic acid in rice bran and vinegar played an essential role in solubilization of the agar of this seaweed.
