Simulation is an effective technique for demonstrating the heating conditions necessary for ensuring both safety and quality during food manufacturing. This article describes a cooking simulation for predicting the quality of meat products based on heat and mass transfer analysis and reaction kinetics, such as for protein denaturation and enzymatic decomposition. When this simulation was used for cooking roast beef using the sous-vide method of cooking vacuum-packed food in a water bath, the following results were obtained: (1) the meat product had a soft texture since the actin in the meat was not completely denatured during cooking; (2) the distributions differed between the glutaminic acid and inosinic acid formed in the sample during the heat processing; (3) it was the sous vide cooking method that controlled the outflow of the umami components; and (4) since there was little sterilizing effect due to the relatively low cooking temperature at the meat core, it is important that fresh food material be used and strict sanitary control be maintained during cooking.

Water sorption isotherms give information on the interaction between water and solid components in foods. Using solution thermodynamics, the thermodynamic parameters of both water and solutes can be estimated. The integral Gibbs free energy, ΔG^s, is considered to be a suitable parameter for evaluating the interaction between solid and water from the thermodynamic point of view. The thermodynamic parameters obtained from water sorption isotherms relate to the degree of reduction in the glass transition temperature (T_g), accompanied by water sorption. The difference between the chemical potential of solid (adsorbent) between a solution and a pure solid, ΔG^s_a, which is obtained from water sorption isotherms by solution thermodynamics, is correlated well with ΔT_g (≡T_g − T_g0; where T_g0 is T_g of dry material). This indicates that plasticizing effect of water on foods can be evaluated through the parameter ΔG^s_a.

Progressive freeze-concentration (PFC) of ‘Kyoho’ grape (Vitis Labruscana Bailey) juice was carried out by a tubular ice system with circulation pump and the original juice at 19.5 Brix was concentrated up to 29.9 Brix. The PFC-concentration was proved to give a high quality concentrate with no substantial change both in organic acid distribution and flavor profile. The PFC-concentrated ‘Kyoho’ grape juice was fermented to produce a ‘Kyoho’ grape wine with 17.1 vol-% alcohol content, showing that a high alcohol content can be obtained without chaptalization in the present method. After the fermentation, some changes were observed both in the organic acid distribution and the flavor profile. As a whole, however, the ‘Kyoho’ grape wine retained enough amount of original ‘Kyoho’ grape flavors. The present results suggest a possibility to produce a new-type ‘Kyoho’ grape wine with rich ingredients and flavors.