The aim of the present study is to develop an evaluation method for the texture of gel-like foods by analyzing their mechanical properties. Various commercial gel-like foods were prepared, and compression measurements of elasticity, rupture, and penetration of 10 mm cubic gel-like food samples were performed with three kinds of plungers. The Blatz, Sharda and Tschoegl (BST) equation for rubber elasticity was applied to the relationship between stress and strain curves obtained from the elastic measurement of the gel-like foods, and elastic parameter E and nonlinear index n were calculated. Elastic parameter E, nonlinear index n, rupture stress σr, rupture depth Dr, penetration rupture stress σ p, and penetration rupture depth Dp were obtained, and the respective characteristics were evaluated separately. The gel-like foods had an E between 6.1×102 and 1.9×104. The value of n was distributed in the range of about 1 to 8. The results suggested that n is a valuable new parameter to explain the texture of gel-like foods. As a result, n and E could be used to profile a variety of gel-like foods as two- or three-dimensional maps.
Sensory properties of commercial milk samples treated with different pasteurization conditions were investigated. The flavors of Low Temperature Long Time (LTLT) and High Temperature Short Time (HTST) milk samples were found to be closer to that of raw milk than Ultra High Temperature (UHT) milk. The characteristic volatile compounds of LTLT and UHT milk samples were investigated using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS), gas chromatography-olfactometry (GC-O) and aroma extract dilution analysis (AEDA). trans-4,5-Epoxy-(E)-2-decenal, which has a fruity and sweet aroma, and sotolon, which has a caramel-like aroma were found to contribute to the aroma attributes of LTLT and UHT milk, respectively. Notably, the addition of trans-4,5-epoxy-(E)-2-decenal to UHT milk resulted in its sensory properties becoming similar to those of LTLT milk by reducing the aroma attribute of cooked flavor.
For the purpose of improving rice functionality by effectively utilizing rice bran, brown rice (BR) koji and BR shio-koji were prepared using three species of koji molds and their antioxidant activities were investigated. The antioxidant activities of the three BR koji were higher than that of BR, and that of the BR koji of Aspergillus luchuensis (AL) was the highest. AL-BR koji contained about 250 times more ferulic acid, an antioxidant component, than BR, and the used AL showed high feruloyl esterase (FAE) activity. However, the ferulic acid content of AL-BR shio-koji was lower than that of AL-BR koji, and the FAE of AL was inhibited by NaCl.
Washoku, the traditional dietary cultures of the Japanese, was inscribed on the UNESCO’s Intangible Cultural Heritage List in 2013. While Washoku is popular worldwide, the rise of the nuclear family and the globalization of food in Japan has made Washoku less common in households and decreased the number of transmitters of regional dishes; thus, Washoku’s presence and viability in Japan has waned. In light of this, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries of Japan has taken various measures with a view to promote the protection and inheritance of Washoku, mainly targeting children and parents, whose awareness of improving eating habits has tended to increase. Since the momentum is rising for transmission of Washoku, the Ministry will continue to take such measures in cooperation with relevant organizations.