Dietary fibers and sodium hyaluronate were evaluated for their optical response to a near-infrared beam, P value, which is defined as 1-r, where r is the ratio of the reflection at the measuring wavelength against that at the reference wavelength. The P value rises with increasing water activity (aw) and water content, giving a high correlation coefficient (0.9<) for linear regression with aw or water content when measuring at 1927 nm. The P value per water content in the Guggenheim Anderson and DeBoer (GAB) monolayer water content region appeared to be greater than the value in the multilayer region. This indicates that the water molecule of the monolayer differed from that of multilayers in its response to near-infrared radiation.
Over the whole water content region around and below the multilayer, the logarithm of water content was a potent partner for linear regression with the P value for evaluating the water content of a new dietary fiber or sodium hyaluronate.

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Ume fruit was salted with calcium hydroxide (0, 0.15, 0.3, 0.45 and 0.6 % of the fruit weight), this being the most commonly used hardener. After salting for a month, the concentration of calcium hydroxide at which bitterness occurred was investigated by a sensory evaluation.
The bitterness of the salted ume was evaluated according to a 5-level numerical scale by three groups comprising salted-ume makers, researchers on food and students, and was then investigated by analyses of variance. The discrimination ability for the bitterness of salted ume was the same among these three groups, and ume fruit salted with 0.6 % calcium hydroxide was evaluated as being significantly bitter at a level of 5% in comparison with no calcium hydroxide. Using Scheffé's paired test performed with the students' group, ume fruit salted with 0-0.45 %, 0-0.6 %, 0.15-0.45 % and 0.15-0.6 % calcium hydroxide were evaluated as being significantly bitter at a level of 5 % for the higher concentration of calcium hydroxide.
The points of subjective equality for seasoning (corresponding to the perceived concentration) during mastication of all salted ume fruit samples was about 20 % of the undiluted seasoning concentration, and a high correlation (r=-0.9995) between this concentration for subjective equality and the hardness of the ume fruit samples was recognized. The most effective concentration of calcium hydroxide in ume flesh salted with 0.6% calcium hydroxide was higher than detection threshold for calcium hydroxide in the seasoning solution.
From these results, in order to prevent bitterness from occurring in salted ume fruit, it is proposed that the most desirable concentration of calcium hydroxide added during salting must be less than 0.6%.

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Bread was made by a straight-dough baking process from wheat flour partially substituted with cooked soybean flour (AS-K). The addition of soybean flour for making white bread reduced the bread quality in such respects as loaf volume. The adverse effects were overcome by optimizing the water content of the dough and the length of the 2nd fermentation period. The crumbing properties such as the hardness and cohesiveness of bread containing 5 % soybean flour were similar to those of white bread (control), although the hardness of bread crumbs containing 10 % soybean flour was higher than that of the control bread.
The sensory evaluation resulted in the bread containing 5% soybean flour being more liked than the white bread. The development of staleness during storage in a refrigerator of bread containing 5 or 10 % soybean flour was suppressed slightly in comparison with the white bread, when staleness was evaluated by the hardness, cohesiveness and rupture strength of the bread.

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We studied for rice gruel mixtures containing several different ratios of rice (3 bu kayu, 5 bu kayu, 7 bu kayu, Zenkayu) ^* with regard to their physical properties and digestibility, and we also conducted sensory tests. We compared two brands, i.e. Thai rice and Japanese “Koshihikari.” The following is a summary of the results :
1) After cooking, Thai rice grains gained more weight than “Koshihikari” and had a higher degree of swelling.
Rice gruel with a low ratio of rice had a bigger weight increase and a higher degree of swelling.
All of the rice gruels absorbed some degree of water and swelled when left for some period of time after cooking.
2) The hardness and adhesiveness of cooked rice were higher in the rice gruel with a high ratio of rice.
A remarkable difference between Thai rice and “Koshihikari” was seen in adhesiveness. In the case of “Zenkayu, ” Thai rice had a higher adhesiveness, and in the case of the other ratios of rice gruel, “Koshihikari” had a higher adhesiveness.
3) Changes in the degree of swelling, hardness, and adhesiveness were seen when the temperature fell to 60°C after cooking.
4) α-Amylase produced more reducing sugar in Thai rice and gruels with a high ratio of rice.
5) In sensory tests on appearance and ease of swallowing, “5 bu kayu” showed fewer difference with Thai rice and “Koshihikari” than “Zenkayu.”
Concerning the smoothness and adhesiveness, when both “Zenkayu” and “5 bu kayu” showed distinct difference between Thai rice and “Koshihikari.”
The panellists preferred “Koshihikari” on the whole.
6) Observing the surface of the cooked rice, it was noticed that Thai rice was rough, while “Koshihikari” was smooth, which corresponds with the result of the sensory tests.
(^* 3 bu kayu : rice gruel made of water and 5% rice; 5 bu kayu : rice gruel made of water and 10 % rice; 7 bu kayu : rice gruel made of water and 15 % rice; Zenkayu : rice gruel made of water and 20 % rice.)

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An attempt was made to compare the phenomenon of cracks which occurred on the surface of doughnuts in the process of steaming and baking with that in the frying system. The results obtained can be summarized as follows :
1) Heat exchange and transfer to the samples from the medium during heat treatment progressed rapidly in the steaming system more than baking one. This resulted in an increase of the coefficient of expansion for the samples prepared with the steaming system, while a reduction of this coefficient appeared in the samples provided with the baking system.
2) The two different systems of heating were effective to form the crusts, which on the surface of the samples in either system were featured by the thick and much pliant texture more than those formed in the frying procedure.
3) The occurrent mechanism of cracks could be characterized by the condition of p_k<p_i, where p_k is the pressure of crack and p_i is the internal pressure of the sample. The basic principle of this condition is identical with the other heat treatments including frying system with any type of the samples.
4) We estimated theoretically the place of cracks occurring top or inside surface of the ring-shaped samples in either heating system. This was also confirmed experimentally with a variety of samples to be tested in this study.

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A questionnaire was designed to inquire the actual conditions of dietary life on the first 3 days ofNew Years 1986-1992. The data on 1986, 1989 and 1992 were picked out and analyzed by time series analysis in a two-way layout. Four hundred and forty questionnaires of female college students returned 3 years in total.
The findings were summarized as follows :
1) The distribution of the numbers of taken dishes from time to time was shifted from 2 peaks to 3 peaks a day as shown by smoothing line.
2) There were no significant differences between yearly variances of staple diets, side dishes and “Shirumono” (a kind of soup) respectively, but significant differences between daily variances of these.Besides these, there were significant differences between yearly variances of drinks and others.
3) There were significant differences between daily variances of “Zoni, ” “Osechi, ” and “Toso” respectively. These typical traditional diets were obviously taken more on the first day than the secondor third day of New Year.
4) The ratio of dining out of staple diets shifted increasingly year by year and day by day, and the numbers dining out were significantly different between yearly variances and daily variances.
5) The Japanese style dishes of dining in was on the decrease, besides another style dishes was onthe increase from first day to third day.

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We collected 110 samples of udon dashi-jiru (the soup for Japanese wheat noodles) prepared by various restaurants in 12 cities along Tokaido to clarify the local difference of the preference of the taste. The samples were examined in the intensities of color, saltiness, sweetness and umami. As a whole, the results varied widely, indicating that the local character of the taste has been losing due to the development of commerce and traffic. The other factors except localization would effect on the preference of the taste. But samples in Kansai area, especially Osaka, exhibited lower level of the intensities of color, saltiness and sweetness than those in other cities. This suggests that Kansai area, especially Osaka, has the characteristic preference of the taste.

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The purpose of this study was to clarify the characteristics of the 33 items designated for household wastes and to classify them according to consumer's assessment. We asked 210 middle aged housewives in their 40s and 50s in the area of Tokyo to fill out the questionnaire. The results were as follows : It became clear that they were not so conscious of causing damage to environments by disposing clothing and papers as household wastes. It also became clear that those, who were required to classify wastes into three categories for disposal, often had some feelings of uneasiness and guilt towards their way of disposal while having less consideration for safety measure for waste disposal in comparison to those, who were required to separate wastes into five categories at the time of disposal. Three factors were extracted as the results of factor analysis. They were “a degree of burden for waste exsistence, ” “a possibility of cascade use and a degree of impression for enviromental damage” and “a degree of easiness of waste disposal.” The 33 items for household wastes were characterized by these factors. It became clear that the 33 items could be classified into six groups by cluster analysis.

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