With the objective of shipping squash fruit during the winter season, which constitutes the off-season for domestically grown squash fruit, we aimed to develop storage techniques that mitigate the softening of squash fruit mesocarp that typically occurs during prolonged storage. Utilizing near-infrared spectroscopic analysis to sort squash fruit based on dry matter immediately after harvest proved to be efficacious in limiting mesocarp softening. Through this approach, fruits with a dry matter ratio of 30 % (w/w) or higher, when stored at 10 °C, demonstrated the ability to maintain their mealy texture even after a 2-month storage period. Furthermore, employing a highly mealy cultivar and storing it at a temperature of approximately 10 °C enabled the preservation of the mealy texture for over 2 months, eliminating the necessity for screening based on dry matter.

This study investigated the effect of preheating on egg white gel (EWG) properties. EWG was prepared by a two-step heating process consisting of preheating at 60–80 °C followed by heating to 90 °C for 30 min. EWG preheated at 66 °C had a fibrous structure, with a higher breaking strength and strain than the other EWGs tested. EWG preheated at 74 °C had a coarse structure, with a lower breaking strength and strain than the other EWGs tested. Both incubation at 80 °C for 24 h and pickling in acidic seasoning solution for 21 d did not increase the breaking strength of strain for EWG preheated at 74 °C as much as that for EWG prepared by one-step heating. After preheating at 66 °C, ovotransferrin and lysozyme formed aggregates, while ovalbumin remained monomeric. After being preheated at 74 °C, ovotransferrin, lysozyme, and most of the ovalbumin aggregated. Therefore, the findings showed that the interaction between ovalbumin resulted in a fibrous network with high breaking strength when EWG was preheated at 66 °C, while the lack of monomeric ovalbumin and the network that formed during preheating resulted in a coarse network for EWG preheated at 74 °C. Thus, this method appears to be a useful for controlling the texture of EWG.

In this study, we investigated the effects of high-ash stream flour sourdough on the taste and flavor of bread. In the LC/MS and GC/MS analyses, bread samples with 2.5 % and 5 % high-ash flour sourdough, as well as bread samples with 10 % and 20 % wheat flour sourdough, exhibited similar results. When using high-ash flour sourdough, there was an increase in lactic acid and amino acid contents. Additionally, the GC/MS results indicated an increase in the target-ion area values of organic acids and aldehydes, while the area value of pyrazines decreased. In the sensory evaluation, terms such as "sweetness" and "saltiness" were selected for the sample without any addition of the sourdough, while "sourness," "harshness," and "burnt smell" were selected for the sample with 20 % high-ash flour sourdough. In sensory evaluations, the sample with 10 % wheat flour sourdough was comparable to the 2.5 % and 5 % high-ash flour sourdough samples. Meanwhile, the sample with 20 % wheat flour sourdough was between the 5 % and 10 % high-ash flour sourdough samples. These findings suggest that even in small quantities, high-ash flour sourdough was more effective in enhancing the taste and flavor components of bread compared to wheat flour sourdough.

The first type of confectionery is “patisserie”, which is a baked confectionery. In Japan, that alone means a cake shop. The second is “confiserie”. This is a confectionery that combines sugar with various things such as fruits. For example, if you combine sugar and cacao, you get chocolate. French confectionery shops make both “patisserie” and “confiserie”. The third type is “glaciere”, which is a frozen dessert represented by ice cream and sorbet. And finally, there is a “Viennoiserie” that overlaps with a bakery, where you can find croissants. We summarized the raw materials used in confectionery. One of the raw materials is fruit juice, most of which is manufactured by French companies. Fruit specialists hand-select the fruits and make purees, concentrates, coulis, and wholes. All are frozen. Japan has many delicious fruits. Considering the income of fruit producers in Japan, one idea is to produce and manufacture fruits and fruit juice for confectionery like in France.

The historical relationships among fruits, fruit juice, and the production of confectionery items is examined from Japanese and global perspectives. Specifically, the global perspective considers the history of Western confectionery while adding a professional perspective. First, the origin of sweetness – historically obtained from honey and fruits – was examined as this is considered the foundation of confectionery. Next, for a Japanese historical perspective, the origins of sweets in Japan was traced from the mythological period to the writings in the Kiki, under the titles Kasojin and “The ancestors of sweets”. For a global historical perspective, the field of Western confectionery was examined and categorized into confiserie, which can be translated as sugar confectionery, glacerie confections. Among these categories, fruit juice was most widely used in confiserie: for example, in Pate de Fruit (a jelly confectionery made with 100% fruit juice) and Guimauve (French-style marshmallow). Similarly, for glacerie (frozen confectionery) items, fruit juice is often used directly to produce a variety of rich-tasting frozen confections. In addition, in the field of patisserie, a new trend referred to as nouvelle patisserie has emerged in which fruit juice plays an important role and is used extensively to produce mousses with a light texture. To supplement these descriptions, sections titled “History of Sugar” and “Footprints of Frozen Sweets” have also been included.