Ebiimo is a traditional variety of taro that was originally grown in Kyoto. Owing to the difficulties in its long-term preservation either at room temperature or under refrigeration, ebiimo can only be consumed for a short season during the year. Therefore, to attempt long-term preservation of ebiimo, we focused on a method of rapid freezing in brine, which involves blanching (for 0, 2, 5 minutes) before freezing, and application of high voltage during freezing.
Significantly less free sugars were eluted in boiling water from blanched and frozen than from fresh ebiimo (p < 0.05). Structural damage was minimal, and the rupture property was similar to that of fresh ebiimo after blanching for 5 minutes, followed by freezing at high voltage in brine. Sensory evaluation indicated that it has a softer and stickier texture and a less harsh taste (egumi) than others. These findings suggest that ebiimo can be preserved for a long-term after blanching for 5 minutes and then freezing in brine at high voltage. Moreover, the properties associated with its freshness are also maintained by this process.

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To investigate the knowledge of and confidence in knife cuts, we conducted a survey of 1,149 college and vocational school freshmen, every April from 2010 to 2013. Twenty kinds of knife cuts were listed on the survey, which were later classified into three groups based on the responses on the level of difficulty. The knowledge of and confidence in the knife cuts depended on the frequency of cooking, attitude towards cooking, having their own specialty dishes, and their major in college and vocational school. The students who cooked regularly, liked cooking, or had their own specialty dishes had more knowledge of and higher confidence in the knife cuts. However, students who were majoring in food and nutrition, cooking, or home economics did not have higher confidence in the knife cuts compared to other students, despite their greater knowledge in the subject. Therefore, it was concluded that liking and having interest in cooking were important to acquiring the skills of cooking, although it was also important for students to learn fundamental knife cuts in college or vocational school.

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