연구논문 : 경도가 동일한 한천 및 젤라틴 젤의 이화학적 특성 비교

In this study, the physicochemical properties of gelatin and agar gels with similar hardness were compared in order to determine the potential of agar-based gelatin substitute. Gel was prepared by adding 60 g sugar to 150 mL distilled water and subsequently gelatin or agar was added. Gelatin and agar concentrations used were 12 and 2 g/mL, respectively, for uniform hardness. Gelatin and agar gels showed no significant hardness values which were 22.36 and 22.80, respectively. The pH values of gelatin and agar gels formed were 8.17 and 7.05, respectively. Agar gel (14.13oBx) was slightly higher in sugar content than gelatin gel (12.97oBx). The brightness of gelatin gel surface was brighter than that of agar gel surface. The adhesiveness, cohesiveness and chewiness of gelatin gel were higher than those of agar gel. Gelatin showed 100% water holding capacity while agar gel possessed relatively low water holding capacity (98.57%) which was likely due to the low concentration of agar for gel preparation compared to the gelatin gel. The stress relaxation time of agar gel was 2.54 s whereas that of gelatin gel was not measurable due to long time constraint. In conclusion, this study is useful in the development of agar-based gelatin substitutes which are preferred for low-calorie and vegetarian food products.