Eighth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

The demand for easy food to eat is increasing to improve nutritional qulaity of diet for elderly with decreased ability to chew. The aim of this study is to evaluate suitable cooking methods for the elderly who have difficulty chewing. Considering various nutrients, Korean traditional food Bibimbap was selected. Rice, eggs, beef, carrot and zucchini were used as ingredients for Bibimbap. The suitability of the cooking method was evaluated based on the hardness(N/㎡)-step 1:5.0×10⁴~6.5×105, step 2:2.0×10⁴~5.0×10⁴, step 3:below 2.0×10⁴, and the appearance and cooking time were also considered. Step 1 and 2 were kept in the original form used for Bibimbap, step 3 was made in puree form. The amount of water added to rice was a major factor affecting the texture of cooked rice. For eggs, garnished and scrambled eggs were suitable for the step 1 and step 2. Vegetables were cooked by stir-frying, simmering and steaming. The stir-frying was suitable for the hardness of level 1. The steaming was cooking method corresponding to the hardness of the step 2 and made it possible to maintain the shape of the material and shorten the cooking time compared to the simmering. The stir-frying and steaming also were suitable as cooking conditions of the beef with tendering process. In conclusion, these results have shown that the cooking method must be different depending on the chewing ability and the cooking using water such as the steaming is a useful technique for elderly who need soft foods.