Jiyoon Kim

Hybrid protein systems produced by simple blending often lack the hierarchical structural organization required to reproduce the physicochemical coherence of native muscle tissues. In this study, transglutaminase-mediated ε-(γ-glutamyl)lysine cross-linking was introduced to promote structural integration in hybrid chicken–plant protein systems. Covalent reinforcement, together with plant-derived non-covalent interactions, stabilized an intermediate protein network and facilitated extrusion-guided alignment, resulting in anisotropically aligned fibrous structures with improved fascicle-like structural coherence. The reinforced systems exhibited reduced shrinkage, enhanced processing stability, and anisotropic mechanical resistance following extrusion and thermal treatment. Importantly, these structural modifications were achieved without reducing essential amino acid availability or simulated protein digestibility. Multivariate analysis further revealed coordinated multiscale relationships linking molecular interactions, hierarchical structural organization, and mechanical performance. These findings demonstrate that covalent reinforcement can simultaneously enable structural optimization and nutritional preservation in hybrid protein systems designed for extrusion-based 3D food structuring.

Food Science of Animal Resources (Food Sci. Anim. Resour.) is an international, peer-reviewed bimonthly journal publishing original research and reviews on basic and applied aspects of the use of animal resources including the meat, egg, dairy, and edible insect/worm products. Food Sci. Anim. Resour. is published and distributed by the Korean Society for Food Science of Animal Resources.

Applemango (Mangifera indica L. var. Irwin) has limited shelf life and distribution potential due to its high moisture content and rapid respiration rate. To improve storability and add value, hot-air dried fruit leathers were prepared from applemango juice in three formulations: a control with no additives (CON), 1% tapioca starch (TSG), and 1% gelatin (GLG). These were compared with commercial dried applemango slices (CAG). This study aimed to evaluate the physicochemical and sensory properties of the formulations. Moisture content was similar among the experimental leathers but significantly lower in CAG. No significant differences were observed in pH, soluble solids, or color among the groups. Texture analysis revealed a hardness trend of GLG > TSG > CON. Sensory evaluation indicated that CAG scored lowest in appearance and color but highest in chewiness, reflecting its firmer texture. CON leathers received higher scores for flavor and overall acceptability than TSG and CAG. These findings suggest that additive-free applemango leathers may be an effective formulation, offering advantages in processing simplicity, cost efficiency, and consumer preference.

Applemango (Mangifera indica L. var. Irwin) has limited shelf life and distribution potential due to its high moisture content and rapid respiration rate. To improve storability and add value, hot-air dried fruit leathers were prepared from applemango juice in three formulations: a control with no additives (CON), 1% tapioca starch (TSG), and 1% gelatin (GLG). These were compared with commercial dried applemango slices (CAG). This study aimed to evaluate the physicochemical and sensory properties of the formulations. Moisture content was similar among the experimental leathers but significantly lower in CAG. No significant differences were observed in pH, soluble solids, or color among the groups. Texture analysis revealed a hardness trend of GLG > TSG > CON. Sensory evaluation indicated that CAG scored lowest in appearance and color but highest in chewiness, reflecting its firmer texture. CON leathers received higher scores for flavor and overall acceptability than TSG and CAG. These findings suggest that additive-free applemango leathers may be an effective formulation, offering advantages in processing simplicity, cost efficiency, and consumer preference.

Increasing consumer demand for healthy food leads to the pursuit of mayonnaise with fewer egg yolks. This study investigated the possibility of red ginseng extract (RGE) as an egg yolk alternative in mayonnaise. Mayonnaises were prepared by replacing different ratios (0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, and 100%) of RGE to egg yolks, and quality characteristics were analyzed. RGE was confirmed to have 17.51 mg/g of crude saponin, a water holding capacity of 0.21 g/g, and an oil holding capacity of 1.82 g/g. Antioxidant activities of mayonnaise were significantly increased by RGE content. In texture profile analysis, the cohesiveness, gumminess, and adhesiveness of mayonnaise decreased with the addition of RGE. Mayonnaise with 0% and 25% RGE substitution for egg yolk showed smaller oil droplets and higher viscosity and, therefore, the highest emulsion stability (p75%), larger oil droplets increased, and emulsion properties were rapidly weakened. RGE also affected the sensory evaluation of mayonnaise; mayonnaises incorporated with 0% and 25% RGE showed high preference. RGE can be expected to play a positive role as a supplemental emulsifier and may expand the utility of red ginseng.

Edible insects, such as the two-spotted cricket (Gryllus bimaculatus, GB), have high nutritional value but are not widely consumed because of their appearance and smell. Consequently, the development of foods containing these insects in less recognizable forms, e.g., flour-like powders, has drawn considerable attention. Herein, we investigated the quality characteristics of muffins prepared from wheat flower supplemented with fresh ginseng (5%) and GB (0, 10, 20, and 40%) powders. GB loading was negatively correlated with muffin volume, height, moisture content, and textural properties (hardness, springiness, cohesiveness, and chewiness) and positively correlated with crude protein content and antioxidant properties. Significant (p10% GB≈20% GB>40% GB. Based on these results, a GB loading of 20% offered the best trade-off between attractiveness and nutritional value. Thus, this study promotes the widespread use of GB in the food industry and the development of various edible-insect-based food products.

Red ginseng is a steamed and dried ginseng that has more functional properties and a longer shelf-life. Red ginseng is graded by appearance and inner quality. However, this conventional process has a high cost in terms of time and human resources, and has the disadvantage of subjective assessment results. Therefore, the convolutional neural network (CNN) method was proposed to automate the grading process of red ginseng and optimize the preprocessing method, select an accurate and efficient deep learning model, and to explore the feasibility of rating discrimination solely based on external quality information, without considering internal quality characteristics. In this study, the effect of five distinct preprocessing methods, including RGB, binary, gray, contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization (CLAHE), and Gaussian blur, on the rating accuracy of red ginseng images was investigated. Furthermore, a comparative analysis was conducted on the performance of four different models, consisting of one CNN model and three transfer learning models, which were VGG19, MobileNet, and DenseNet121. Among them, DenseNet121 with CLAHE preprocessing reported the best performance; its accuracy in the Dataset 2 test set was 95.11%. This finding suggests that deep learning techniques can provide an objective and efficient solution for the grading process of red ginseng without an inner quality inspection.

한국식품저장유통학회지(Korean Journal of Food Preservation)

Ice cream consumption has increased over the years. In this study, we investigated the potential of using rice varieties with varying amylose contents for ice cream production. We analyzed the physical and chemical properties and sensory quality characteristics (appearance, taste, texture, chewiness, aroma, and rice flavor) of rice-based ice cream made from five varieties with low and high amylose levels. To make the ice cream, we ground rice into a fine powder and combined it with skim milk powder, butter, sugar, glycerin esters of fatty acids, locust bean gum, and water to form a gelatinized mixture. This mixture was then aged, frozen, and hardened. The ice cream’s key quality characteristics, such as viscosity (2170–25,030 cP), hardness (4.27–49.55 N cm⁻²), and overrun (17.95–46.99%), showed a wide range. Ice cream made from Saemimyeon (high amylose content rice variety) exhibited the highest hardness value (49.55 N cm⁻²) among the varieties tested, but had relatively low viscosity (4030 cP), overrun (17.95%), and drip-through (0.75 g/min) values. These findings suggest that rice varieties with different amylose contents are suitable for making ice cream and have the potential to expand the rice processing market and increase its value.