Basic Evaluation of Gelatinous Fat to Improve Properties of Nursing Care Food

Nursing care food, made smooth and soft by adding a substantial amount of water, has been provided to elderly people who exhibit a decline in chewing and swallowing function. However, this is associated with problems such as an increase in the volume of meals and a decrease in the nutritional value per unit weight, causing malnutrition. To resolve these issues, we aimed to develop gelatinous fat suitable for processing nursing care food. We compared several types of oil and fat including this gelatinous fat using rheology measurement and sensory evaluation. In the measurement of fat alone using a dynamic viscoelastometer, the gelatinous fat had the highest values of storage elastic modulus (G') and loss elastic modulus (G") at the predetermined ranges of temperature and frequency. In the measurement of fat mixed with food using a creep meter, the gelatinous fat showed a significantly lower level of firmness and a higher level of cohesiveness than other types of fat. In the sensory evaluation, food processed with gelatinous fat was evaluated to be better than food processed with no addition or the addition of another type of fat in terms of softness, smoothness, low feeling of residual food, and palatability. These results suggest that the newly developed gelatinous fat is most suitable for nursing care food processing among the types of fat examined. It is expected that nursing care food processed with gelatinous fat can facilitate the consumption of food with high energy and reduce the risk of malnutrition in the elderly.