Diversity of Main Dishes of Menus at University Faculty Cafeterias

Abstract

This study investigated the main dishes of menus at university faculty cafeterias to understand current lunch menu trends. A sample of 1040 menus was collected from Internet homepages of 52 universities between March and May, 2014. The main dishes of menus were categorized into six groups based on main ingredients and cooking methods. The most frequently served main dish ingredient was pork followed by fish/seafood, and poultry. Pork dishes and chicken dishes were mainly roasted, pan fried, or deep fried with various carbohydrate ingredients to bulk them up. Large amounts of chili pepper, corn syrup, and oil were added to improve the bland flavor of these dishes, which contain starchy ingredients. In contrast to pork dishes or chicken dishes, 40.2% of beef dishes was served in a more traditional way as soup. Fewer kinds of fish or seafood were used, and the cooking methods also lacked diversity. In conclusion, main dish menus at university faculty cafeterias have undergone changes in terms of ingredients and cooking methods. Meat dishes cooked using traditional methods are becoming less common, especially for pork and chicken dishes, which are quite sweet, salty, and spicy. Extensive use of carbohydrate ingredients was found in some meat dishes and side dishes in one-dish meals.