Kohyama Kaoru, Kato-Nagata Ai, Shimada Hiromi, Kazami Yukari, Hayakawa Fumiyo
National Food Research Institute, National Agriculture and Food Research Organization, 2-1-12 Kannondai, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, 305-8642, Japan.
Tottori Institute of Industrial Technology, Sakaiminato, Tottori, 684-0041, Japan.
J Texture Stud. 2013 Feb;44(1):1-11. doi: 10.1111/j.1745-4603.2012.00360.x. Epub 2012 Jul 5.
To determine an effective method to evaluate the texture of cucumbers, human-bite measurement using a multiple-point sheet sensor and instrumental tests using wedge probes with various angles and a cylindrical probe were conducted. To detect small differences in texture, cross-sectional slices taken from the middle part of a cucumber fruit were served at 4 or 22C. The 60°-wedge probe that could completely divide samples like human incisors performed best compared with sharper wedges or cylindrical probe that partly broke the tissue. The human-bite force for cucumber slices of 4C was significantly lower than that of 22C. Breaking force and energy with the wedges of 60 and 30° in the compression test and those for flesh puncture test demonstrated a similar temperature effect. A faster compression speed close to the human-bite speed (20 mm/s) was necessary to detect the significant temperature effects. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS: The texture of cucumber was analyzed more precisely using a wedge probe with an angle of 60° inserted into sectional slices of the samples similar to the action of human front teeth that completely cut off the section. A cylindrical probe could insert only part of the cucumber tissues and a blade or a sharper wedge probe partially broke the slices to the depth which the probe reached. Faster test speed (>10 mm/s) close to the average speed of human bite is preferred to detect temperature effects on fracture force. If there are some differences in breaking properties of cucumbers, the proposed conditions of compression test with a 60° wedge at 20 mm/s will detect delicate differences as those due to serving temperature were small.
为确定评估黄瓜质地的有效方法，使用多点片状传感器进行了人工咬测，并使用不同角度的楔形探头和圆柱形探头进行了仪器测试。为检测质地的细微差异，取黄瓜果实中部的横截面切片，分别在4℃或22℃下进行测试。与更尖锐的楔形探头或部分破坏组织的圆柱形探头相比，60°楔形探头能像人类门牙一样完全分割样品，效果最佳。4℃黄瓜切片的人工咬合力明显低于22℃时的咬合力。在压缩试验中，60°和30°楔形探头的断裂力和能量以及果肉穿刺试验的结果显示出类似的温度效应。为检测显著的温度效应，需要接近人工咬速（20毫米/秒）的更快压缩速度。实际应用：使用60°角的楔形探头插入样品的横截面切片，类似于人类门牙完全切断切片的动作，能更精确地分析黄瓜的质地。圆柱形探头只能插入部分黄瓜组织，而刀片或更尖锐的楔形探头会将切片部分破坏至探头到达的深度。为检测温度对断裂力的影响，优选接近人类平均咬速（>10毫米/秒）的更快测试速度。如果黄瓜的断裂特性存在一些差异，建议的以20毫米/秒的速度使用60°楔形探头进行压缩试验的条件，将能检测出由于食用温度导致的细微差异，因为这些差异很小。
