Fresh cucumber was sliced into small pieces of each approximately 10g. Fourteen sliced pieces were soaked in 3 liters of aqueous solutions of 5-20% sorhitol, or 10% NaCl solutions containing 520% sorbitol at 4°C with continuous stirring.
Quantities (%) of sorbitol and NaCl permeated together with moisture content of the flesh were assayed during the soaking process. The results were as follows:
(1) Permeation of NaCl and sorbitol into the flesh proceeded at a fixed weight ratio of the two compounds throughout the whole soaking process.
The ratio of quantity between sorbitol and NaCl in the flesh was dependent on the composite ratio of the two compounds in the soaking solution employed.
(2) The quantity of sorbitol permeated in the flesh was inversely proportional to the moisture content of the same flesh. This inverse proportionality varied somewhat with co-permeation of NaCl.
(3) Similar inverse proportionality was observed between NaCl quantity and the moisture content of the flesh. The relationship also varied with co-permeation of sorbitol.
(4) From the linear relations between the quantity of the two compounds and the moisture content, apparent rates of dewatering by sorbitol and NaCl were evaluated. It was thus found that the dewatering rate induced by the combination of sorbitol and NaCl was nearly the same as the total of those induced by sorbitol and NaCl alone.
These results indicate that the moisture content of the cured cucumber can be controlled by changing the composition of NaCl and sorbitol in the soaking solution.

View full abstract

It is known that the harshness of wild plants disappears by the desalinization treatments at the time of final preparation, especially after heavily salted preservation without specific treatments for the removal of harshness. So, we examine the salted edible bracken by correlating its harshness disappearance with its properties and mineral compositon.
We conclude that, sight evaluation of the desalte bracken by 23 adults showed a lower value than the bracken removing the harshness; however, the texture and bitter after taste evaluations showed no significance among them. The desalinization process showed also no effect.
The hardness of the upper part of the bracken petiole was more increased during the salting period. The bracken preserved with salt for four months was harder than the one for four weeks. Significant quantities of each mineral ingredient were eluted into the soaking water and boiling water used for desalinization and little remained in the bracken itself. Moreover, the mineral ingredients eluted from the water-soluble part of the bracken to a greater extent than from the water-insoluble part.
Finally, there is no direct correlation between the reduction of the harshness by desalinization and the decrease of each mineral ingredient.

View full abstract

With increase in deep fat-frying dishes using a lot of cooking oil in households, the amount of waste oil for each person per year has reached to around 1100g. To conserve the limited fat resources and prevent environmental pollution, the frying conditions in 92 families were surveyed by the questionaire and the chemical and physical characterization of waste oils were examined. The acid value, peroxide value, TBA value, viscosity and color (L, a, b, chroma) of waste oils were found to be essentially similar to those of fresh oils. As frying oils are generally discarded after use for a short time, pouring of oil during cooking did not give any significant affects on the above parameters of frying oils. The major reasons for replacement of frying oil were color, concern for health and generation of greasy taste. The recycling of waste oil is carried out only to a limited extent. To promote the conservation of fat resources, frying oil is recommended to be used more often before replacement, because the most of waste oil from households were found to be hardly deteriorated.

View full abstract

Many papers have been published on the significance of dietary fiber for human nutrition. The beneficial influence of dietary fiber is its function on colon. An increased cereal fiber intake is desirable and this can best be achieved by means of bread. We studied on the processing of bread, in which some parts of the white wheat flour were replaced by fiber-rich material, Okara.
White wheat flour and Okara were blended and baked, and the effect of this Okara blending on functional properties in bread making was investigated. Loaf volume was measured by repassed displacement. Firmness and cohesiveness were analyzed using a rheolometer. And we made a sensory survey of the Okara-bread on sixteen 20-year old women who were students of Kyoritsu Women's University. The characteristics, like as loaf volume, crumb grain, and texture, of Okara-bread differed substantially from conventional bread. The deleterious effects of Okara could be counteracted by the additon of sodium stearoyl-2-lactylate (SSL), whey, and whole egg together.

View full abstract

The level of vitamin C in both leaves and stalks of three Chinese vegetables before and after different cooking (Taasai, Tingensai and stalk of garlic) was determined. The color tone and the level of chlorophyll in leaves of Taasai and Tingensai before and after cooking were also examined. The residual rate of vitamin C in the stalks after cooking was entirely higher than that in the leaves. The losses of reduced vitamin C in leaves of Taasai which were pan-fried with salt and of total vitamin C for boiled leaves of Taasai were high, with residual rates of 35.1 and 40.4% of raw samples, respectively. Vitamin C content in stalk of garlic showed a small loss, with a residual rate of 82-100% of raw sample. The changes in L, a and b values for Tingensai were larger than those for Taasai. The chroma of all cooked samples decreased. The color difference of these samples during cooking showed minimum with microwave heating and maximum with boiling with salt. The residual rates of total chlorophyll for Taasai and Tingensai were 74-90 and 72-87% of raw samples, respectively. The degradation reaction of chlorophyll by microwave heating was the fastest among both samples on rate constants, and chlorophyll of Taasai was entirely more stable to heating than that of Tingensai.

View full abstract