A Western cuisine menu with higher antioxidative activity than the standard cuisine menu was designed by changing the food materials and preparation methods. The antioxidative activity was measured by the chemiluminescence method, estimated by the IC₅₀ value for the peroxyl radical scavenging activity. The standard Western cuisine menu consisted of a staple component of bread made from rice flour, a main entrée of sautéed Japanese horse mackerel, a side dish of heated potato, consommé soup, crudités of mesclun greens of potherb mustard etc. with dressing and yogurt jelly for sweet. We then changed the standard menu to give one with higher antioxidative activity by using bread made from rice flour with walnuts, a main entrée of sautéed Japanese horse mackerel with tomato sauce, a side dish of steamed Kita-akari potato with raw parsley, consommé soup containing spices without the scum coming from sliced beef, crudités of mesclun greens of potherb mustard etc. with sesame oil dressing and yogurt jelly with blueberry sauce for sweet. We confirmed the significantly higher antioxidative activity with this menu than with the standard menu by measuring the IC₅₀ value for each, enabling us to propose an ideal Western cuisine menu with high antioxidative activity.

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The internal temperature and hardness of various shaped potato samples cooked in water with a rate of temperature increase of 1.5-20°C/min or only boiled were simulated, and the optimum cooking time was calculated by using a computer program. The results revealed that an increasing rate of water temperature reduced the boiling time needed for the sample to reach the optimum hardness and also reduced the difference in boiling time among various shaped samples when compared to only boiling, while rate of increase of less than 3°C/min prolonged the boiling time due to the strong hardening effect. Simulation of cooking with a slow rate of temperature increase of 1.5°C/min, or at a constant temperature at 95°C showed uniform internal hardness and prevented collapse of the sample shape. A sensory evaluation with a 5-point rating scale confirmed that there was little shape-collapse of the samples cooked with a rate of water temperature increase of 1.5°C/min.

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Conduction of heat from a variety of solidified foods induced close to the cooling plane was detected precisely along a one-dimensional axis. Cooling commenced rapidly, followed by a gradual reduction in rate and eventual suspension of the process. The observed cooling patterns of the solidified food samples result from the relaxation process without experimental error caused by the phase transition of the sample components. Such a cooling behavior of solidified foods is different from the behavior following the heating of foods. Thus, the cooling of foods can simply be attributed to the relaxation process of thermal energy with a series of relaxation times along the one-dimensional axis of the cooling plane.

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The changes in NaCl concentration of 1-3 cm cubes of Japanese radish, carrot and potato soaked in a 0.8-2.0% brine solution at 20°C were calculated by a computer program. This program applied the finite difference method based on unsteady three-dimensional heat conduction and a diffusion analysis by Visual Basic (Microsoft). Each sample was prepared to obtain the optimum hardness. The sample was cooked from room temperature to boiling, after which the heat sauce was turned off and the sample was heated by residual heat. Each sample was soaked in a brine solution after attaining optimum hardness. A sensory evaluation for the strength of saltiness was carried out by using a 5-point rating scale (−2-+2). The soaking time was calculated to reach an average NaCl concentration of 0.6-0.9%. The results of the sensory evaluation showed an optimum average NaCl concentration of 0.7% when the concentration of the brine solution was 0.8-1.5% independent of the kind of vegetable and size of the sample. The optimum condition was not obtained when the brine solution concentration was 2.0%, because the NaCl concentration at the surface of the sample was too high. The optimum seasoning time was in the order of potato > carrot > Japanese radish.

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We evaluated the radical-scavenging activity and antioxidative components in chicken meat. Meat samples from three kinds of broiler chicken (thigh, chest, sasami, wing, skin, liver and gizzard), jidori (thigh, chest, sasami, wing, skin, liver and gizzard), and herb-fed chicken (thigh and chest) were tested. The radical-scavenging activity was evaluated by 1,1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH)-HPLC and 8-hydroperoxy-2'-deoxyguanosine oxidation methods. The amounts of ascorbic acid, tocopherol, polyphenol and glutathion were also determined as possible antioxidative components. All the samples of the chicken meat had radical-scavenging activity, the liver having particularly high activity. The chest meat had significantly higher activity than the other parts of the herb-fed chicken and jidori. Among the antioxidative components, the amount of glutathion was very low, and almost no ascorbic acid or tocopherol was present. However, the herb-fed chicken had significantly higher polyphenol activity than the broilers in the thigh and chest samples,which may have be due to the herb-feeding. These results demonstrate that the antioxidative components in the feed can be transported to the chicken meat.

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The changes in amounts of chemical components and L-DOPA in Mucuna beans under different cooking conditions were measured. More than 80% of the carbohydrate, crude protein, calcium and insoluble dietary fiber, and less than 30% of L-DOPA in the raw dehulled beans remained in dehulled beans which had been boiled for 40 minutes after soaking at 90°C for 3 or 4 hours. The amount of L-DOPA in the beans that had been roasted under the optimum conditions of 170°C for 20-30 minutes or 190°C for 10-20 minutes was 45-67% of the amount in the raw dehulled beans. Almost no L-DOPA remained in the bean flour that had been washed 7 times or in the bean paste that had been washed 3 times. These results quantify the effects of different cooking conditions on the amount of L-DOPA in Mucuna beans.

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