Comprehensive Research Institute for Food and Agriculture was opened as the university’s auxiliary organization in April 2015, at the same time when the faculty of Agriculture was established, with the aim of promoting multidisciplinary, academic and international researches centering around the agricultural studies on food and agriculture. The Center for Research on Food Palatability was founded as this institute’s auxiliary center in order to study food taste preferences and commenced its research activities in full swing.
Toru Fushiki (Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Ryukoku University)
Hanae Yamazaki (Associate Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Ryukoku University)
Kengo Ishihara (Associate Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Ryukoku University)
Masayuki Yamasaki (Associate Professor, Faculty of Agriculture, Ryukoku University)
Yuya Asami (Instructor, Faculty of Agriculture, Ryukoku University)
The studies on food taste preferences are conducted under the concept of “It must taste good!” At the center, the researchers conduct studies in two groups; the Japanese cuisine research group and the food taste preference research group for the development of food products.
Experiments in the kitchen and educational activities to promote development of Japanese cuisine
Yoshihiro Murata (Kikunoi), Masahiro Kurisu (Tankuma Kitamise),
Motokazu Nakamura (Isshi Souden Nakamura),
Takuji Takahashi (Kinobu), Yoshihiro Takahashi (Hyotei),
Mitsuru Saiki (Jikishinbou Saiki), Nobuhisa Yoshida (Shuhaku),
Hideki Shimoguchi (Chikurin at the Byodoin Omotesando),
Yoji Satake (Takeshigero),
Hiroshi Sokawa (Japanese Cuisine Department Chair, Taiwa Gakuen)
Collaborative researches on the preferences of food taste conducted with outside organizations and researchers
Takahiko Amitsuka (T. Hasegawa Co., Ltd.)
Kumiko Nakano (Food Art Co., Ltd.)
Hiroya Kawasaki (Ajinomoto Co., Inc.)
Ryo Nakamura (Asahi-Shuzo Sake Brewing Co., Ltd.)
Mari (Tamaki ) Nagatomi (House Foods Corporation)
Takahiro Kamoi (House Foods Group Inc.)
Shintaro Shimizu (House Foods Corporation)
Morihiro Aoyagi (House Foods Group Inc.)
Shohei Koyama (Kansou Co., Ltd.)
The Japanese cuisine research group conducts studies and educational activities for the purpose of promoting development of Japanese cuisine.
In the Japanese cuisine research group of the Center for Research on Food Palatability, Ryukoku University’s researchers and the culinarians in Kyoto play a central role in conducting studies on the deliciousness and taste preferences of Japanese cuisine. Using the kitchen of the center (at Tomoiki-so) and the laboratory of the university, culinarians and researchers carry out experiments and have discussions to scientifically examine various subjects that constitute the culinary arts, with a main purpose of establishing a foundation for the creation of delicious Japanese cuisine.
This endeavor with the university researchers and culinarians was originally started in 2009 in Kyoto, and most of the researchers and culinarians who participate in this research group are members of the Japan Society for Innovative cuisine Project (based at Kyoto University until 2014). The culinarians with a scientific background which they obtained through participating in the project are expected to be able to make suggestions for creating Japanese cuisine of the next generation from the standpoints of deliciousness and taste preferences while conducting researches as visiting researchers of the Japanese cuisine research group.
The Japan Society for Innovative cuisine (Chair, Dr. Yamazaki), Japanese Culinary Academy (Director, Dr. Fushiki), restaurants of Kyoto-style cuisine, The Japan Society for Spice and Herb Research Head Office (Chair, Dr. Fushiki, registered head office) are expected to be the collaborators.
Although the objective methods to evaluate deliciousness have been sought after in the various fields of food industry, no concrete method has been established. At this center, objective evaluations of some food products and cooking ingredients will be made by creating a coordinate axis for the deliciousness.
The food products to be studied are;
The goal of the center is to become a research institution that can contribute to creating deliciousness of food, the biggest added-value to the culinary arts, and respond to the society’s call, as a center where for the first time ever in the world deliciousness of food is objectively and visibly evaluated through the expected development of a deliciousness-evaluation system for many cooking ingredients, foods and agricultural products, using the techniques mentioned above.