Korean sliced rice cakes, or tteokguk, are conventionally dried and rehydrated during their preparation. In this study, the effects of the perforation process and various drying methods (e.g., hot-air drying, vacuum drying, low temperature drying, and freeze drying) on the quality characteristics of tteokguk (rice cake soup) were evaluated. In the experiment, the rehydration capacity and lightness increased as the pore number increased. The hardness, redness, and yellowness of tteokguk, in contrast, tended to decrease as perforations increased. The texture, taste, and overall acceptability scores of tteokguk increased as perforations increased. With respect to drying methods, the rehydration capacity was greatest for vacuum drying. The hardness of tteokguk was lowest for vacuum drying. The redness, yellowness, pH, and sensory characteristics did not differ significantly among tteokguk samples treated through various drying methods. These results suggest that high-quality ready-to-eat Korean sliced rice cakes could be created by perforation and vacuum drying.

Abstract
 Introduction
 Materials and Methods
 Results and Discussion
 Summary
 References

• Yun-Sang Choi(Food Processing Research Center, Korean Food Research Institute)
• Jong-Dae Park(Food Processing Research Center, Korean Food Research Institute)
• Jung-Min Sung(Food Processing Research Center, Korean Food Research Institute)
• Hae-Won Jang(Food Processing Research Center, Korean Food Research Institute)
• Tae-Kyung Kim(Food Processing Research Center, Korean Food Research Institute)
• Hyun-Wook Choi(Food Processing Research Center, Korean Food Research Institute) Corresponding author