Kaoru Sakamoto

Purpose: According to the survey of recipes for Akashiyaki in the previous report, the proportions of flour, egg, and dashi soup in Akashiyaki varied depending on the recipe, and for flour, there were recipes using only wheat flour and recipes using wheat flour and wheat starch (Ukiko, Jinko). Since there are different kinds of wheat starches with different particle sizes, we prepared Akashiyaki using four kinds of wheat starches with different particle sizes from wheat flour and compared the effect of flour on the properties of Akashiyaki. Methods: Four kinds of wheat starches with different particle sizes were used as wheat flour. The ratio of powder: egg: dashi stock =0. 8:1:3 was used and baked in a takoyaki pan. At a measurement temperature of 20°C., the following were measured: height, mass, breaking load, breaking strain, stress at 10% and 20% strain, color difference, salinity, and sensory evaluation. Results: Wheat flour was slightly higher in Akashiyaki than wheat starch, lighter in mass, higher in breaking strain and breaking load, higher in a* and b* values of color difference, and was evaluated as having a darker yellow color, being the toughest, and being easier to chew. Among wheat starches, the higher the particle size, the higher the Akashiyaki, the lower the b* value, and the paler, firmer, and stickier yellow color in the sensory evaluation. These results suggest that the gluten content of wheat flour and the viscosity of wheat starch are higher than those of wheat starch. There was no difference in the salt content of Akashiyaki depending on the type of flour, but in the sensory evaluation, the taste of dashi soup was stronger in wheat starch than in wheat flour. This may be due to the fact that wheat starch contains less protein than wheat flour, and Akashiyaki made with wheat starch seems to be softer. The characteristics of the powder affected the taste of Akashiyaki.

Objective: We believe that germ-sprouted rice aims to combine the good taste of polished rice with the nutritional value of brown rice. Although embryo bud milled rice containing 80% or more embryo buds is distributed as rice whose nutritional value is guaranteed, its consumption does not account for a large percentage of the total rice consumption. Therefore, with the aim of expanding the use of germ rice, we examined the rice characteristics of easy-to-eat germ rice that are different from those of conventional germ-polished rice. Methods: Two types of germ rice with different germ retention rates and polished white rice were pounded at Touban Co. The water absorption rate, color difference, texture, reducing sugar content, and GABA content were measured and sensory evaluation was conducted for the germinated rice. Results and Discussion: The germ retention rates of the two types of germ rice were 52.8% and 43.5%, respectively. When the water absorption was measured at 5°C and 40°C, the germ rice had a higher water absorption rate at both temperatures. In addition, water absorption at 5°C was higher than at 40°C. The higher water absorption of the germ rice was thought to be due to the difference in the method of pounding. The color difference ΔE between germinated rice A and B was found to be 1.41, which was enough to visually recognize the difference, and there were significant differences in L* and a* values. In the texture measurement, no difference in hardness was observed in comparison with polished rice. The reducing sugar content indicated that the sweetness of the germinated rice increased after prolonged soaking, and the GABA content of the germinated rice was lower than that of the brown rice but higher than that of the polished rice, and the amount varied depending on the cooking method. In the sensory evaluation, significant differences in whiteness, gloss, aroma, and overall evaluation were observed between the two types of germ rice, indicating that even a 9.3% difference in germ retention rate significantly affected the evaluation.

In 418 third- through sixth-grade students at Elementary School N in Osaka City (218 boys and 200 girls) and all 567 students at Junior High School S in Osaka City (281 boys and 286 girls), a self-administered questionnaire was conducted to ascertain the consumption status of school lunch in one day in December 2017 (rice, milk, chicken teriyaki, miso soup, and daikon stew), lifestyle habits, mealtime dietary education at home, and early childhood experience with school lunches/daycare meals. With a focus on mealtime dietary education at home, its associations with lifestyle habits and early childhood experience with school lunches/daycare meals were analyzed and investigated. Dietary education, such as various mealtime manners the students received during meals at home, was shown to be associated with exercise habits, breakfast habits, and early childhood experiences with school lunches/daycare meals. Both elementary and junior high school students who possessed proactive exercise habits were indicated to have received various dietary education during meals at home. Giving guidance and providing educational activities on the association between exercise and physical/mental health were suggested to be linked to the awareness of health at home and improvement in eating behavior. In order to cultivate a healthy minds and bodies of the students, and establish desirable lifestyle habits by increasing the interest in dietary education at home, a reform of the dietary environment during early childhood with consideration for the family’s socioeconomic status is important.

Aim With an aim to make a better quality of dietary life for elderly people, we studied about the way to cook tasty and easy-to-eat rice for elderly people, and developed a new rice cooker. Rice cooked with our newly developed rice cooker was esteemed to be soft, unsticky, and easy to swallow because rice does not remain in mouth and throat. In this study, components of starchy solution removed during rice cooking was examined. Then, from the perspective of nutrition, the cooked rice was compared with rice cooked with an ordinary cooker.<br>Method A newly developed rice cooker produced by Tiger Corporation was used. Rice was cooked in "saratto gohan" mode, meaning "smooth rice" mode, which uses a tray having a function of removing starchy solution. Then the rice was compared with rice cooked in a usual mode without the tray. General nutritive ingredients and the amylose/amylopectin ratio of the starchy solution, retrieved during cooking in the rice cooker, was measured. The texture was measured by using creep meter (YAMADEN RE2-3305) with an improved method of sample preparation.<br>Result Through measuring texture, uniform preparation sample was obtained by adding fixed weight with a plate. The results showed that rice cooked in "saratto gohan" mode was esteemed to be softer and unsticky, compared with rice cooked in a usual mode without the tray. The result of component analysis showed that decrease rate of carbohydrate was about 0.35 %, meaning no significant loss of nutrition.