Comparison of three cooking methods on qualities of low-fat kung-wans formulated with gum-hydrate fat substitutes Original Research Article

In a previous study, we used edible gum-hydrates to replace pork fat in developing low-fat kung-wans. In this study, we compared cooking qualities of the kung-wans. A one-way randomized complete block design was adopted for comparing three cooking methods and 16 kung-wan formulae with three replicates on each treatment combination. Results indicated that all kung-wans became larger, greener and softer when heated. Simmering for 15 min was the best cooking method. It improved taste and increased brittleness of most of the kung-wans. All low-fat products but konjac premixed with Ca(OH)2 (KonOH) were lower in hardness than the fat control (ConFa). All low-fat products were inferior to ConFa in most of their sensory qualities, though the differences in overall acceptance of four low-fat products and ConFa were statistically insignificant. Overall, carrageenan, sodium alginate with CaCO3, agar and KonOH resulted in better low-fat products.