This study was conducted to develop food for the elderly, which is easier to chew and swallow, using gelification. Various foods for the elderly with chewing and swallowing difficulties were used for sensory assessment. The sensory panel consisted of 10 dieticians (10 women) working in nursing care facilities. The sensory optimal composite recipes were determined by the central composite design (CCD). The optimum formulation of hot pepper paste stir fried pork calculated by the numerical and graphical method was 1.48 g of sugar and 18.97 g of hot pepper paste. The optimum formulation of seasoned spinach was 8.0 g of sesame oil and 5.41 g of soy sauce. Moisture content, hardness, and adhesiveness of hot pepper paste stir fried pork was 76.49%, 2.50, and －1.20, respectively. Moisture content, hardness, and adhesiveness of seasoned spinach was 83.48%, 2.27, and －1.17, respectively. This study provides the basic materials for the development of easily chewable and swallowable foods for the elderly, which can reduce the risk of food going down the wrong pipe, and the preference can be improved by eating solid food instead of porridge or liquid food. The development of food for the elderly, which takes the difficulties in chewing and swallowing among the elderly into consideration and reflects their preference and has sufficient amount of nutrients, is important to enable the elderly to enjoy their meals and it is one of the biggest challenges in Korea, as Korean society is aging rapidly.

Failure of the functions involved in ingestion leads to, not only loss of enjoyment of eating, but also protein-energy malnutrition. Dysmasesis and difficulty of swallowing occurs in various diseases, but aging is a major cause. In the aging society, the proportion of elderly people with dysmasesis and difficulty of swallowing is expected to increase rapidly. Developing foods for the elderly that are easy to chew and swallow is thus required. This study was conducted to develop easily chewable and swallowable foods for the elderly who can crush foods and ingest with their own tongues, but occasionally have difficulty in drinking fluids such as water and tea. Various foods for the elderly with chewing and swallowing difficulties were used for sensory assessment. The sensory panel consisted of 10 dietitians (10 women) in nursing care facilities. The sensory optimal composite recipes were determined by central composite design (CCD). The sensory measurements were significantly different in saltiness (p<0.05), sweetness (p<0.05), and overall quality (p<0.05). The optimum formulation of stir fried anchovy calculated by numerical and graphical methods was 3.74 g of soy sauces and 30.17 g of oligo-saccharides. Stir fried anchovy had a moisture content, hardness and adhesiveness of 76.52%, 2.10, and －1.57, respectively.

This study was conducted to develop food for the elderly, which are well-shaped and easy to chew and swallow. The amounts of water and gelatin were adjusted to facilitate breaking down of the food with the tongue. In the aging society, it is necessary to support the development of a variety of products that can ease the intake functions of swallowing and chewing, while complementing with the essential nutrients supplements; such products can be actively commercialized in the elderly industry. Various types of food, for elderly with difficulties in chewing and swallowing, were used for sensory assessment. Sensory panel consisted of 10 dietitians (10 women) in nursing care facilities. The sensory optimal composite recipes were determined by central composite design (CCD). The sensory measurements were significantly different in the appearance (p<0.01), saltiness (p<0.01) and overall quality (p<0.01). The optimum formulation of pan fried flat fish, calculated by numerical and graphical method, was 8.54 g of salt and 6.34 g of olive oil. Moisture content, hardness, and adhesiveness of pan fried flat fish were 84.77%, 250, and －1.20, respectively. The result showed that easily chewable and swallowable pan fried flat fish for the elderly will have sufficient competitiveness, considering its safety, taste, and preference. This study may provide the basic materials for the development of easily chewable and swallowable foods for elderly.

This study was conducted to develop for the elderly food that is safe, well-shaped, and easy to chew and swallow, using gelification. Gelatin, which has low adhesiveness, thereby lowering the possibility of being swallowed wrongly into the respiratory track, was used as a viscosity agent for the gelification. Water and gelatin amounts were adjusted to facilitate breaking the food with the tongue. Various foods for the elderly with chewing and swallowing difficulties were used for sensory assessment. Sensory panel consisted of 10 dietitians (10 women) in nursing care facilities. The sensory optimal composite recipes were determined by central composite design (CCD). The sensory measurements were significantly different in appearance (p<0.05), saltiness (p<0.05), sweetness (p<0.01), and overall quality (p<0.05). The optimum formulation of the Korean barbecue beef calculated by numerical and graphical method was 3.71 g of sugar and 19.53 g of soy sauce. Moisture content, hardness and adhesiveness of the Korean barbecue beef were 78.85%, 2.40, -1.87, respectively. The result shows that food for the elderly, which is easy to chew and swallow, using gelification will have sufficient competitiveness in terms of safety, taste, and preference. The development of food for the elderly that take into account the difficulties in chewing and swallowing among the elderly, reflects their preference, and has sufficient nutrients, is important to enable the elderly to enjoy their meals. Also, as the Korean society is getting older, it remains one of the biggest social challenges.