The influence of the addition of egg yolk on the characteristics of pie crust made with fine rice flour and pie crust made using wheat flour were compared. Pie crust made with fine rice flour required an increased amount of rolling. This pie crust was compact, and the pie crust colour was dark on baking, with a hard texture. However, adding egg yolk to the fine rice flour pie crust made it less dense. In addition, the colour after baking was golden brown, the texture became softer, and the crust became flaky, which is desirable. The texture of the pie crust made with fine rice flour was different from the pie crust made with wheat flour.

Vegetables are rich in several polyphenols and minerals. However, when vegetables are cooked for consumption, the quantity of polyphenols and minerals changes. The aim of this study was to determine the difference in residual percentage of polyphenols and minerals in burdock after different forms of preparation and cooking.

The cutting techniques used in this study were "round slicing", "julienne", and "shaving". Following cutting, two soaking techniques, "soaking in water" and "soaking in vinegar water", were employed. Finally, the cooking methods used were "boiling in water" and "boiling in vinegar water". The amount contained in the burdock before cooking was taken as 100%, the percentages of residual polyphenols and minerals in the burdock after cooking were measured for the various combinations of cutting techniques, soaking techniques, and cooking methods.

The residual percentage of polyphenols when burdock was boiled in vinegar water was higher compared to that when it was only boiled in water. Moreover, residual polyphenol percentage was the lowest for the shaving technique as compared with the other cutting techniques. The residual percentage of sodium was low in the julienned burdock, while that of potassium was high in burdock that was boiled in water after soaking in vinegar water. The difference in residual percentage of calcium was minimal between the various preparation methods. The residual percentage of magnesium was the lowest in the julienned and shaved burdock that was boiled in vinegar water after soaking in vinegar water.

A survey study was conducted by the authors to determine the ideal presentation method for serving rice in a bowl. Based on the conducted survey, an instructional method is proposed which specifies the indicators of the ideal rice serving presentation discussed in previous studies. The proposed method specifically emphasises on criteria such as ‘mid-to-high rice mound height’ (an indicator of whether the peak of the rice mound placed in the serving bowl appears well-balanced) and ‘smoothness of rice mound texture’ (an indicator of whether the rice appears to be compacted into a contiguous mound which seems visually pleasing when viewed directly from above). The proposed instructional method was written down, and subsequently it was verbally explained and demonstrated to nine female students at the authors' affiliated university. The students were then asked twice to attempt the demonstrated techniques on their own. Furthermore, the students were not provided with any prior instructions during their initial attempt. A total of eighteen values for each indicator of the nine rice samples (9×2=18) were analysed by employing a depth sensor and image analysis software. In addition, a group comprising a total of forty to forty-nine students and instructors was assessed with respect to five rice serving criteria (mid-to-high rice mound height, rice mound texture, shape, appearance, and mouthfeel), wherein the initial attempt (with no prior instructions) was selected as the baseline.

Regarding the criteria of mid-to-high rice mound height and smoothness of rice mound texture, the results for seven out of nine rice sample pairs and six out of nine rice sample pairs, respectively indicate that the receipt of instructions can produce superior results, as compared to not receiving instructions. Furthermore, the outcome of manual evaluation for eight out of nine rice sample pairs indicates that receiving instructions can aid in achieving superior results.

The aforementioned results thus corroborate that the proposed instructional method can be effectively employed to demonstrate the ideal presentation technique for serving rice.