機構住民軟食餐點的創新研發

Innovative Development of Texture-Softened Foods for Older Adults Living in Residential Care

進食乃人的日常活動之一，對機構住民而言，進食常見的問題是口咽吞嚥困難，其直接處理措施是改變食物質地，例如切碎、打成泥、添加增稠劑，或將食物打泥再重新塑形。食物質地改變會引發許多營養素的流失，導致機構住民失去進食的動機與樂趣。飲食是一種享受生活的體現，如何照護機構住民的營養狀況是高齡社會的重要議題。本文探討質地改變食物與營養素流失的議題，並試圖結合各種可增加肉類嫩度的烹調技巧，以進行機構住民軟食餐點的開發。研發過程利用新鮮水果醃漬肉品，並搭配真空低溫烹調技術，使肉品經過烹調製備後，達到保有原形，且能以舌頭壓碎的軟食效果，藉由真空低溫烹調可精準的掌握烹調時間與溫度，而此專業烹調技巧則有助於提升機構住民軟食的餐點品質，冀盼此研發經驗分享，能做為相關業者未來研發機構住民軟食餐點之參酌。

Oropharyngeal dysphagia, a swallowing disorder, is a common problem faced by older adults living in residential care. A direct management strategy for this disorder is to modify the texture of foods prior to serving using techniques such as chopping, mashing, liquid thickening, and reshaping. However, the process of texture modification causes foods to lose a significant amount of their nutritional value and reduces the motivation and fun of eating for diners. Eating is part of the enjoyment of life, and managing the nutrition status of older adults living in residential care is an important issue in aged societies. In this article, issues related to modified-texture foods, including their generally lower nutritional value, are discussed. In addition, combinations of cooking techniques that may increase tenderness in meat are explored to promote the future development of the soft-food meals for older adults living in residential care. One of the described techniques uses fresh fruits to pickle meat and vacuum low-temperature cooking technology that preserves the shape of meat after cooking and makes meat sufficiently soft to be broken up by the tongue. Vacuum low-temperature cooking allows for the precise control of cooking time and temperature, and professional cooking techniques may be used to improve the quality of the texture-softened foods. It is the hope of the authors that this article is used a reference for the future development of texture-softened foods for older adults living in residential care.