The rate of salt and sugar into pickled cabbages was determined, and physicochemical characteristics, such as sensory, texture, and pH, of vinegar pickled cabbages during storage were examined at different storage temperatures and vinegar concentrations. The rate of salt and sugar penetration was faster in smaller size and on leaves rather than the stem of cabbage. Also, higher salt and sugar concentration and higher storage temperatures led to increase in salt and sugar permeation rate. As a result of sensory test, lower storage temperature is the most suitable, and 6% vinegar concentration was the mostly appropriate. Hardness and cohesiveness were decreased significantly at the initial 1st week storage time, but storage temperature did not show any significant effect. Addition of vinegar contents enhanced the hardness, but decreased cohesiveness. The pH was lowered with increasing vinegar content, indicated most significant factor on pickled cabbage. In general, salt and sugar contents rather than storage temperature have greater influence on permeation rate, and especially, addition of vinegar affects the texture of pickled cabbage.

Recently, amorphous granular starch (AGS) or non-crystalline granular starch (NGS) is of great interest because it has specific physicochemical properties compared to native starches. Various approaches have been taken to prepare gelatinized starch while still maintaining its granular shape. The granular cold-water soluble starch (GCWS) can be prepared by alcoholic-alkaline treatment or by using liquid ammonia and ethanol. However, these starches exhibit significant deformation and shrinking, and chemical treatments may raise safety issues for their potential food applications. Therefore, in this study, the optimization of preparation method for amorphous granular potato starch (AGPS) was investigated using ethanol and heat treatments. Response surface methodology (RSM) and central composite design (CCD) were used to find the optimum conditions for AGPS preparation based on granule integrity and birefringence. Optimum conditions were 53.3% ethanol and 93.87 o C heat treatment for 15 min. Prepared AGPS maintained its granular structure and lost birefringence, crystallinity, and DSC amylopectin melting peak, suggesting that proper AGPS could be made using optimized conditions.