Information provision method, information provision system, and program

Abstract

This information provision method is executed by a computer, and comprises: a step for acquiring standard ingredient information indicating standard ingredients and the quantities of standard ingredients; a step for deriving substitute ingredient information indicating, from a plurality of reference ingredients, at least one substitute ingredient to use instead of a standard ingredient and indicating the quantity of the at least one substitute ingredient, on the basis of the quantities of the standard ingredients, the contents of chemical components included in the standard ingredients, and contents of the chemical components included in each of the plurality of reference ingredients; and a step for outputting the substitute ingredient information.

Description

Information provision method, information provision system, and program

[0001] The present disclosure relates to an information providing method, an information providing system, and a program for providing information about ingredients.

[0002] Patent document 1 discloses an information processing device that allows a user to understand the degree of reproducibility of a recipe taking into account individual differences in the ingredients included in the recipe, or the degree of reproducibility of a recipe when cooking by substituting other ingredients for the ingredients included in the recipe.

[0003] Patent Literature 2 discloses a recipe providing device that can effectively support users in cooking. When receiving change request information for changing recipe information, this recipe providing device outputs changed recipe information that is alternative information to the recipe information.

[0004] Japanese Patent No. 7095267 Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2022-102185

[0005] However, with the techniques disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2, if some of the ingredients required to make a food item are missing, the food item may not be made.

[0006] The present disclosure provides an information providing method and the like that enables a user to make a food or a food equivalent to that food without using some of the ingredients among a plurality of ingredients required to make the food.

[0007] An information providing method according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a computer-executed information providing method, which includes the steps of: acquiring reference ingredient information indicating a reference ingredient and a quantity of the reference ingredient; deriving substitute ingredient information indicating at least one substitute ingredient to be used in place of the reference ingredient and a quantity of the at least one substitute ingredient from the plurality of reference ingredients based on the quantity of the reference ingredient, the content of chemical components contained in the reference ingredient, and the content of chemical components contained in each of the plurality of reference ingredients; and outputting the substitute ingredient information.

[0008] An information providing system according to one aspect of the present disclosure includes a server that derives substitute ingredients to be used in place of a reference ingredient. The server acquires information indicating the reference ingredient and its quantity, and derives at least one substitute ingredient from a plurality of reference ingredients based on the quantity of the reference ingredient, the amount of chemical components contained in the reference ingredient, and the amount of chemical components contained in each of a plurality of reference ingredients, and derives information indicating the amount of the at least one substitute ingredient.

[0009] A program according to one aspect of the present disclosure is a program that causes a computer to execute the information providing method described above.

[0010] In addition, the general or specific aspects of the present disclosure may be realized as a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, or may be realized as any combination of a system, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium.

[0011] According to the information provision method etc. disclosed herein, it is possible to provide information that enables a user to prepare a food or a food equivalent to that food without using some of the ingredients among a plurality of ingredients.

[0012] 8 is a diagram showing an example of making a food product using a plurality of ingredients. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of making a food product using ingredients that are partially different from the plurality of ingredients shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing an information providing system according to an embodiment. FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the information providing system according to an embodiment. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of recipe information corresponding to a food product stored in a recipe database. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing an example of reference ingredient information stored in an ingredient database. FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of reference recipe information related to a reference recipe of a food product that is the target of a recipe change. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of candidate information indicating change candidates for the reference recipe. FIG. 16 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on which change request information, which is information that reflects a user's requests, is displayed on the output unit of a terminal device for the candidate information of FIG. 10. FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of a list of chemical components of ingredients created based on the change request information. FIG. 18 is a diagram showing an example of substitute ingredient candidates that can be used in place of the reference ingredient. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of substitute recipe information including substitute ingredient information. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing the reproducibility of the chemical component contents of substitute ingredients relative to the reference ingredient. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displaying substitute ingredients and the reproducibility of the chemical component contents of substitute ingredients relative to the reference ingredient. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of ingredient information not stored in the database. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of other substitute ingredient candidates. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of substitute recipe information using other substitute ingredients. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing information related to other substitute ingredients. FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed when there are no substitute ingredients. Fig. 1 is a diagram showing an operation flow of an information providing system according to an embodiment. Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an information providing system according to a modified example of an embodiment. Fig. 3 is a diagram showing an operation flow of an information providing system according to a modified example of an embodiment. Fig. 4 is a diagram showing an example of a substitute ingredient list including a plurality of substitute ingredient candidates. Fig. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for selecting a substitute ingredient from the substitute ingredient list.

[0013] (Findings that Form the Basis of the Present Disclosure) Some foods are made using a plurality of ingredients.

[0014] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of making food using a plurality of ingredients.

[0015] 1 shows an example of making a food product called fresh pasta using multiple ingredients such as flour, salt, eggs, and olive oil. In the example shown in FIG. 1, the food cannot be made unless all of the multiple ingredients are available.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of making food using ingredients that are partially different from the ingredients shown in FIG. 1 .

[0017] Figure 2 shows an example of making a food product called fresh pasta using substitute ingredients, such as rice flour, salt, eggs, and rice oil, different from the multiple ingredients shown in Figure 1. By using substitute ingredients as shown in Figure 2, it is possible to make a food product or a food equivalent to that food product even if, for example, some of the ingredients necessary to make the food product are unavailable. Also, even if a person has an allergy (wheat allergy in the example shown in Figure 2) and cannot use certain ingredients, it is possible to make that food product or a food equivalent to that food product in an allergen-free manner. Also, even if a person has food preferences and intentionally does not want to use certain ingredients, or if a person intentionally wants to use other ingredients, such as a local specialty, it is possible to make that food product or a food equivalent to that food product.

[0018] While the above examples show that the food is processed ingredients before cooking, the food is not limited to this and may also be a cooked product (in other words, a dish) after cooking. For example, the ingredients may be fresh pasta, eggs, powdered cheese, and bacon, and the food made using the ingredients may be carbonara. In other words, the food may be any food made using multiple ingredients, and includes foods such as processed ingredients before cooking and foods that are cooked products.

[0019] However, the present inventors have found three main problems with using alternative ingredients.

[0020] First, the sensory evaluation of foods containing substitute ingredients is lower than that of foods without substitute ingredients, and foods containing substitute ingredients become so-called unpalatable foods.

[0021] Second, a food product that uses a substitute ingredient may have one or more nutrients that are different from a food product that does not use the substitute ingredient.

[0022] Thirdly, substitute ingredients do not necessarily have to be substituted in equal amounts; the amount must be adjusted depending on the ingredient being substituted or the food being made using the substitute ingredient.

[0023] The present inventors have solved the above three problems by focusing on the chemical components of ingredients, and have completed an information provision method etc. that makes it possible to make a food according to the present disclosure, or a food equivalent to that food, without using some of the ingredients necessary to make the food. An example of an information provision method etc. according to one aspect of the present disclosure is described below.

[0024] The information provision method of Example 1 is a computer-executed information provision method that includes the steps of: acquiring reference ingredient information indicating a reference ingredient and a quantity of the reference ingredient; deriving substitute ingredient information indicating at least one substitute ingredient to be used in place of the reference ingredient and the quantity of the at least one substitute ingredient from the plurality of reference ingredients based on the quantity of the reference ingredient, the content of chemical components contained in the reference ingredient, and the content of chemical components contained in each of a plurality of reference ingredients; and outputting the substitute ingredient information.

[0025] In this way, by deriving substitute ingredients and the amounts of the substitute ingredients based on the amount of the reference ingredient, the content of chemical components contained in the reference ingredient, and the content of chemical components contained in each of a plurality of reference ingredients, it is possible to provide information that enables a food or a food equivalent to that food to be made without using some of the ingredients required to make the food.

[0026] An information provision method of Example 2 is the information provision method of Example 1, wherein in the step of deriving the substitute ingredient information, a reference ingredient containing a chemical component contained in the reference ingredient is selected as the at least one substitute ingredient from among the plurality of reference ingredients, and the amount of the at least one substitute ingredient is derived based on the amount of the reference ingredient, the amount of the chemical component contained in the reference ingredient, and the amount of the chemical component contained in the at least one substitute ingredient.

[0027] By selecting a reference ingredient containing the chemical components contained in the reference ingredient as a substitute ingredient in this way, it is possible to appropriately select a substitute ingredient, thereby providing information that enables a user to prepare a food or a food equivalent to that food without using some of the ingredients required to prepare the food.

[0028] The information provision method of Example 3 is the information provision method of Example 1 or 2, wherein the chemical components contained in the reference ingredient include one or more predetermined chemical components contained in the reference ingredient, and in the step of deriving the substitute ingredient information, the at least one substitute ingredient may be derived from the plurality of reference ingredients so as to contain all of the one or more predetermined chemical components contained in the reference ingredient, and the amount of the at least one substitute ingredient may be derived based on the amount of the reference ingredient, the total amount of the one or more predetermined chemical components contained in the reference ingredient, and the total amount of the one or more predetermined chemical components contained in the at least one substitute ingredient.

[0029] In this way, by deriving substitute ingredients that contain all of one or more predetermined chemical components contained in a reference ingredient, it is possible to appropriately derive substitute ingredients, thereby providing information that enables the user to make a food or a food equivalent to that food without using all of the ingredients required to make the food.

[0030] An information providing method of Example 4 is the information providing method of Example 3, wherein the at least one substitute ingredient may contain a chemical component that is different from the one or more predetermined chemical components contained in the reference ingredient.

[0031] This allows information about substitute ingredients that contain chemical components different from those of the reference ingredient to be provided, thereby providing information that enables the user to make a food or a food equivalent to that food without using all of the ingredients required to make the food.

[0032] An information provision method of Example 5 is the information provision method of any of Examples 1 to 4, wherein the reference ingredient information is included in reference recipe information that indicates a reference recipe for a food product made using the reference ingredients; information indicating the amount of chemical components contained in each of the plurality of reference ingredients is included in the reference ingredient information; and the substitute ingredient information is included in substitute recipe information that indicates a substitute recipe for the food product made using the at least one substitute ingredient; and in the step of deriving the substitute ingredient information, the substitute recipe information may be derived based on the reference recipe information and the reference ingredient information.

[0033] In this way, by deriving alternative recipe information based on reference recipe information and reference ingredient information, an alternative recipe equivalent to the reference recipe can be provided even if some of the reference ingredients in the reference recipe are not used.

[0034] An information providing method of Example 6 is the information providing method of Example 5, wherein the reference ingredient information further includes information indicating a sensory evaluation associated with the reference ingredient, the reference ingredient information further includes information indicating a sensory evaluation associated with each of the plurality of reference ingredients, and the substitute ingredient information further includes information indicating a sensory evaluation associated with the substitute ingredients; and in the step of deriving the substitute ingredient information, a reference ingredient from the plurality of reference ingredients that includes a sensory evaluation associated with the reference ingredient may be derived as the at least one substitute ingredient, and the substitute ingredient information may be derived.

[0035] This allows for the determination of substitute ingredients that have sensory ratings relative to a reference ingredient, and for the provision of information on substitute ingredients that have sensory ratings, thereby providing information that enables the preparation of a food or a food equivalent to that food without using some of the ingredients required to prepare the food.

[0036] An information providing method of Example 7 is the information providing method of Example 6, wherein the sensory evaluations related to the reference ingredients include one or more predetermined sensory evaluations related to the reference ingredients, and in the step of deriving the substitute ingredient information, the at least one substitute ingredient may be derived from the plurality of reference ingredients so as to include all of the one or more predetermined sensory evaluations related to the reference ingredients.

[0037] This allows for the determination of substitute ingredients that show one or more predetermined sensory evaluations related to a reference ingredient, and for the provision of information on substitute ingredients that show these sensory evaluations, thereby providing information that enables the preparation of a food or a food equivalent to that food without using some of the ingredients required to prepare the food.

[0038] The information provision method of Example 8 is the information provision method described in any of Examples 1 to 8, wherein in the step of deriving the substitute ingredient information, a reproducibility indicating the degree of reproducibility of the reference ingredient may be derived, and the at least one substitute ingredient may be derived based on the reproducibility.

[0039] By deriving substitute ingredients based on the above recall rate, it is possible to provide information on substitute ingredients that have a high recall rate for the reference ingredient.

[0040] The information provision method of Example 9 is the information provision method described in Example 8, wherein the reproducibility may be a ratio between a value obtained from the amount of the reference ingredient and the content of the chemical component contained in the reference ingredient and a value obtained from the amount of the substitute ingredient and the content of the chemical component contained in the substitute ingredient.

[0041] By deriving substitute ingredients based on the above recall rate, it is possible to provide information on substitute ingredients that have a high recall rate for the reference ingredient.

[0042] The information provision method of Example 10 is the information provision method of Example 8, wherein the substitute ingredients include a plurality of substitute ingredients, and the reproducibility may be a ratio between a value obtained from the amount of the reference ingredient and the content of chemical components contained in the reference ingredient and a value obtained by summing up values ​​obtained for each of the plurality of substitute ingredients from the amount of the substitute ingredient and the content of the chemical components contained in the substitute ingredients.

[0043] By deriving substitute ingredients based on the above recall rates, it is possible to provide information on substitute ingredients that have a high total recall rate for the reference ingredients.

[0044] An information providing method of Example 11 is the information providing method of any of Examples 1 to 10, wherein in the step of deriving substitute ingredient information, a plurality of candidate substitute ingredients to be used in place of the reference ingredient are extracted from the plurality of reference ingredients, a selection of at least one candidate substitute ingredient to be used in place of the reference ingredient is accepted from the plurality of candidate substitute ingredients, and the substitute ingredient information indicating the selected at least one substitute ingredient and a portion size of the substitute ingredient is derived based on the accepted selection of the at least one substitute ingredient.

[0045] This allows the user to prepare food using alternative ingredients of their choice, for example.

[0046] The information provision system of Example 12 includes a server that derives substitute ingredients to be used in place of a reference ingredient. The server acquires information indicating the reference ingredient and the amount of the reference ingredient, and derives at least one substitute ingredient from the plurality of reference ingredients based on the amount of the reference ingredient, the amount of chemical components contained in the reference ingredient, and the amount of chemical components contained in each of a plurality of reference ingredients, and derives information indicating the amount of the at least one substitute ingredient.

[0047] In this way, by deriving substitute ingredients and the amounts of the substitute ingredients based on the amount of the reference ingredient, the content of chemical components contained in the reference ingredient, and the content of chemical components contained in each of a plurality of reference ingredients, it is possible to provide information that enables a food or a food equivalent to that food to be made without using some of the ingredients required to make the food.

[0048] The program of Example 13 is a program that causes a computer to execute the information providing method according to any one of Examples 1 to 12.

[0049] This program makes it possible to execute the above-mentioned information providing method.

[0050] Hereinafter, an information providing method, an information providing system, and the like according to one embodiment of the present disclosure will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

[0051] Note that the embodiments described below each illustrate a specific example of the present disclosure. The numerical values, shapes, materials, components, component placement and connection configurations, steps, and step order shown in the following embodiments are merely examples and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. Furthermore, among the components in the following embodiments, components that are not recited in the independent claims that represent the highest concept are described as optional components. In Figures 6 to 11, 13 to 16, and 18 to 19, "fatty aroma and sweetness" may also mean "fatty aroma and sweetness."

[0052] (Embodiment) [Overall Configuration of Information Providing System] The overall configuration of an information providing system according to an embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG.

[0053] Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the information providing system 1 according to the embodiment. Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the functional configuration of the information providing system 1 according to the embodiment.

[0054] The information providing system 1 includes a terminal device 10, a server 50, and a database 90. 3 and 4 also show users who use the information providing system 1. The terminal device 10 accepts various inputs from the users and provides various information to the users.

[0055] The terminal device 10 and the server 50 are communicatively connected via a communication network. The server 50 and the database 90 are communicatively connected via a communication network. The database 90 may be provided within the server 50, rather than external to the server 50.

[0056] The terminal device 10 is a device that exchanges various information with the server 50 and users who use the information provision system 1. The users are, for example, chefs who cook, culinary researchers who develop recipes, and researchers who develop cooking equipment. The chefs may be people who cook in restaurants, culinary schools, or homes.

[0057] The terminal device 10 is, for example, a tablet computer, a desktop computer, a notebook computer, a smartphone, etc. The terminal device 10 includes an input unit 11, an output unit 12, and a control unit 15.

[0058] The control unit 15 has a function of controlling the input unit 11 and the output unit 12. The control unit 15 also has a communication function of communicating with the server 50.

[0059] The input unit 11 is a device having a function for a user to input necessary information to the terminal device 10. The input unit 11 may be one of a touch panel, a mouse, a keyboard, and a microphone (voice input), or any combination thereof. The terminal device 10 receives various types of information from the user via the input unit 11.

[0060] The output unit 12 is a device that presents necessary information to the user and notifies the user that a judgment and the result of the judgment are required. The output unit 12 may be one of a display, a printer, and a speaker, or any combination thereof. Examples of the display include an LCD display and a CRT monitor. The control unit 15 causes the output unit 12 to output various information transmitted from the server 50. In other words, the terminal device 10 provides various information to the user using the output unit 12. The input unit 11 and the output unit 12 may be configured as a touch panel. The terminal device 10 may not include the input unit 11, and the terminal device 10 and the input unit 11 may be connected by wire or wirelessly. The terminal device 10 may not include the output unit 12, and the terminal device 10 and the output unit 12 may be connected by wire or wirelessly.

[0061] When a user starts using the information providing system 1, the user inputs food information into the terminal device 10. The food information is information about the food desired by the user. In other words, the food information is information about the food the user is trying to make. In other words, the food information is information about the food whose recipe is to be changed. The terminal device 10 transmits the received food information to the server 50. The terminal device 10 also receives reference recipe information I1, alternative recipe information I2, etc. from the server 50. The reference recipe information I1 and alternative recipe information I2 will be described later.

[0062] Server 50 is a device that exchanges information with terminal device 10 and database 90. In this embodiment, server 50 derives substitute ingredients that can be used to replace ingredients used to make food. Server 50 is configured, for example, with a computer, and may be installed in the building of a management company that operates server 50.

[0063] 4 , the server 50 includes a first information acquisition unit 51, a second information acquisition unit 52, and an information processing unit 55. The information processing unit 55 has a function of controlling the first information acquisition unit 51 and the second information acquisition unit 52. The information processing unit 55 also has a communication function for communicating with the terminal device 10 and the database 90. The server 50 stores a program that enables the information processing unit 55 to perform information processing (data processing). Each of the components included in the server 50 may be a software function that is realized by executing a program stored in the server 50.

[0064] The first information acquisition unit 51 acquires information transmitted from the terminal device 10. The second information acquisition unit 52 acquires information transmitted from the database 90. For example, the first information acquisition unit 51 acquires food information, recipe change request information, etc. transmitted from the terminal device 10. The second information acquisition unit 52 acquires reference recipe information I1 and information regarding candidate substitute ingredients transmitted from the database 90. Note that one information acquisition unit may include the first information acquisition unit 51 and the second information acquisition unit 52.

[0065] Database 90 is, for example, a computer such as a database server. Database 90 includes a recipe database 91 and an ingredient database 92. Recipe database 91 stores data related to multiple recipes. Ingredient database 92 stores data related to multiple reference ingredient information ir. Database 90 extracts information from the information stored in recipe database 91 and ingredient database 92 in response to a request from server 50 and transmits it to server 50.

[0066] The database 90 may be configured on a computer separate from the server 50, or may be configured on one or more computers using virtualization technology. The database 90 may also be configured on the same computer as the server 50. The database 90 may be general-purpose big data.

[0067] [Detailed Configuration of Information Providing System] The detailed configuration of the information providing system 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.

[0068] The terminal device 10 shown in FIG. 4 receives food information from a user. In this embodiment, an example will be described in which the food to be changed is "fresh pasta." In this example, the food information may indicate that the food is "fresh pasta." The terminal device 10 transmits the food information received from the user to the server 50.

[0069] The server 50 acquires the food information transmitted from the terminal device 10 and transmits the acquired food information to the database 90 .

[0070] FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of recipe information corresponding to food items stored in the recipe database 91. As shown in FIG.

[0071] FIG. 5 shows multiple pieces of recipe information stored in the recipe database 91. Of the multiple pieces of recipe information, recipe information (a) shows recipe information corresponding to "fresh pasta," and recipe information (b) shows recipe information corresponding to "carbonara." The recipe information includes information about a food product, multiple ingredients needed to make the food product, and the amount of each ingredient. The recipe information of this embodiment also includes information indicating, for each of the multiple ingredients, whether the ingredient may be substituted with another ingredient. Information indicating whether an ingredient may be substituted with another ingredient may be referred to as changeable ingredient information.

[0072] Ingredients are materials necessary to make food. Ingredients may be the raw materials themselves, processed ingredients that have been processed to some extent, or seasonings. Food is something made using multiple ingredients. As mentioned above, food may be processed ingredients before cooking, or the cooked product (in other words, a dish) after cooking.

[0073] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of the reference ingredient information ir stored in the ingredient database 92.

[0074] The reference ingredient information ir is ingredient information used as a reference for generating the reference recipe information I1 and the alternative recipe information I2. The reference ingredient information ir includes information on the ingredient's ID (identification number), information on the ingredient (ingredient name), information on the ingredient's form, information on the chemical components contained in the ingredient (chemical component names), information on the amount of chemical components contained in the ingredient, and information on the sensory evaluation of the ingredient. Note that the reference ingredient information ir does not necessarily have to be stored in a database; it is also possible to obtain information on related ingredients in advance and extract information on chemical components and quantities from that ingredient information.

[0075] Information about the form of the food ingredient is information that indicates the physical state of the food ingredient, such as powder, liquid, or solid.

[0076] The information about the chemical components of the ingredient is one or more predetermined chemical components contained in the ingredient. For example, the one or more predetermined chemical components may be important chemical components that characterize the ingredient among the multiple chemical components contained in the ingredient, or chemical components that are present in large amounts among the multiple chemical components. The predetermined chemical components indicated in the reference ingredient information ir may be one or more.

[0077] The information on sensory evaluation is information indicating a sensory evaluation corresponding to a chemical component. The sensory evaluation may be any one of taste, smell, and touch. The sense of taste may be the sense related to any one of sweetness, bitterness, sourness, umami, and saltiness. The sense of smell may be any one of the sense of smell for a sweet scent, the sense of smell for a bitter scent, the sense of smell for a fatty scent, and the sense of smell for a sour scent. The sense of touch may be what is called texture. The texture may be any one of the texture related to viscosity, the texture related to elasticity (hardness), the texture related to springiness, the texture related to stickiness, and the texture related to water absorbency. Human senses are closely related to the chemical components contained in food materials.

[0078] FIG. 6 shows that the food ingredient "wheat flour (strong flour in this example)" with food ingredient ID (identification number) "10292" is in the form of flour and contains specific chemical components, "glutenin, gliadin, and starch." FIG. 6 also shows that the contents of "glutenin, gliadin, and starch" are 6%, 7%, and 72%, respectively. The content of each chemical component is the content of each chemical component when the total content of all chemical components contained in the food ingredient is taken as 100, and the contents are expressed as percentages (%) in FIG. 6. FIG. 6 also shows that the food ingredient "wheat flour" is strongly associated with "elastic texture, sticky texture, and sweetness sensation."

[0079] Based on the food information transmitted from the server 50, the database 90 extracts information related to the recipe of the food to be changed from the recipe database 91 and the ingredient database 92, and generates reference recipe information I1.

[0080] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating an example of reference recipe information I1. In FIG. 7 , the multiple ingredients included in the reference recipe information I1 are used to create the food identified by the reference recipe information I1. Each of the multiple ingredients may be initially set as commonly used ingredients or may be selected by the user. Alternatively, the ingredients may be selected based on information from a commercially available cookbook and / or a chef. Some or all of the information included in the reference recipe information I1 may be considered as information to be used when a user changes ingredients. The reference recipe information I1 may include, for example, information about the food (food name), information about the multiple ingredients (ingredient names) used to create the food, information about the form of the ingredients, information about the amounts (used amounts) of the ingredients, information about the sensory evaluation of the ingredients, and information about the chemical components contained in the ingredients. The reference recipe information I1 may also include information indicating whether an ingredient may be substituted with another ingredient, i.e., changeable ingredient information. In this embodiment, the ingredients included in the reference recipe information I1 are defined as reference ingredients. Specifically, FIG. 7 illustrates reference recipe information I1 for "fresh pasta." The reference recipe information I1 for "fresh pasta" includes five reference ingredients: wheat flour (strong flour), olive oil, egg (egg white), egg (egg yolk), and salt.

[0081] The reference ingredient information, which is information about a reference ingredient, includes information about the ingredient (the name of the ingredient), the form of the ingredient, the amount of the ingredient (amount used), the sensory evaluation of the ingredient, and information about the chemical components contained in the ingredient. The reference ingredient information may also include information indicating whether the reference ingredient can be replaced with another ingredient, i.e., changeable ingredient information. Figure 7 shows the reference ingredient information "wheat flour (hard flour)," "olive oil," "hen's egg (egg white)," "hen's egg (egg yolk)," and "salt." In other words, the reference recipe information I1 includes multiple reference ingredient information.

[0082] The database 90 generates reference recipe information I1 based on the recipe information and reference ingredient information ir and sends it to the server 50. While this example shows an example in which the database 90 generates the reference recipe information I1, this is not limiting, and the server 50 may also generate the reference recipe information I1. In this case, the server 50 generates the reference recipe information I1 based on the recipe information and reference ingredient information ir corresponding to the food information stored in the database 90.

[0083] The server 50 transmits the reference recipe information I1 received from the database 90 or the reference recipe information I1 generated by the server 50 itself to the terminal device 10 .

[0084] The control unit 15 included in the terminal device 10 generates candidate information Cq based on the reference recipe information I1 transmitted from the server 50, and displays the generated candidate information Cq on a display included in the output unit 12. For example, the candidate information Cq includes a food item, a plurality of ingredients corresponding to the food item, and one or more sensory evaluations corresponding to the ingredients, all of which are included in the reference recipe information I1. The terminal device 10 receives a request from the user to change the displayed candidate information Cq.

[0085] 8 is a diagram showing an example of candidate information Cq indicating candidate changes to the reference recipe, in which the candidate information Cq is surrounded by a thick dashed line.

[0086] The control unit 15 references the changeable ingredient information included in each of the multiple reference ingredient information included in the reference recipe information I1 and generates candidate information Cq based on information corresponding to the reference ingredient information whose changeable ingredient information indicates "yes." In other words, the candidate information Cq does not include information corresponding to the reference ingredient information whose changeable ingredient information indicates "no." Specifically, among the multiple reference ingredient information shown in FIG. 7, the reference ingredient information "salt" has the changeable ingredient information indicating "no." Therefore, the candidate information Cq shown in FIG. 8 does not include information corresponding to the reference ingredient information "salt."

[0087] The candidate information Cq shown in Fig. 8 includes information about food, information about ingredients, and information about sensory evaluation. The information about ingredients shown in Fig. 8 is reference ingredient information whose changeable / unchangeable ingredient information indicates "yes." In Fig. 8, ingredients not selected as change ingredients are indicated by hatching. The terminal device 10 receives from the user the ingredients to be changed and the sensory evaluation to be maintained from among the ingredients and sensory evaluations shown in the candidate information Cq.

[0088] FIG. 9 is a diagram showing an example of a screen on the output unit (display unit) of the terminal device 10, in which change request information Cr, which is information that reflects the user's request, is displayed in relation to the candidate information Cq of FIG.

[0089] In this example, "wheat flour" and "olive oil" are input as change ingredients from among multiple reference ingredients for fresh pasta. Also, in this example, "elasticity and stickiness" from the sensory evaluation of "elasticity, stickiness, and sweetness" indicated by "wheat flour" are selected as the sensory evaluation to be maintained. The user's intention is indicated that "sweetness" may or may not be maintained. Furthermore, "fatty aroma and sweetness" from the sensory evaluation of the reference ingredient "olive oil" are selected as the sensory evaluation to be maintained. The terminal device 10 transmits change request information Cr to the server 50. While FIG. 9 shows specific examples of change ingredients and sensory evaluations to be maintained, the user may also input ingredients that cannot be changed or sensory evaluations that can be changed.

[0090] The server 50 acquires the change request information Cr transmitted from the terminal device 10, and creates a chemical component list Lc based on the change request information Cr.

[0091] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an example of a chemical component list Lc of ingredients created based on the change request information Cr.

[0092] The chemical component list Lc includes information on the sensory evaluation indicated in the change request information Cr, information on the ingredients to be changed, and information on the morphology of the ingredients. The chemical component list Lc also includes information on one or more of the predetermined chemical components described above.

[0093] The server 50 creates a chemical component list Lc based on the ingredients to be changed and the sensory evaluation to be maintained, which are indicated in the change request information Cr, and the reference recipe information I1. For example, the server 50 lists the chemical components so that the chemical components contained in the ingredients to be changed match the chemical components related to the sensory evaluation to be maintained.

[0094] In this example, the chemical component "glutenin" that is contained in "wheat flour" and is related to "elasticity" is listed. Also, the chemical component "gliadin" that is contained in "wheat flour" and is related to "stickiness" is listed. Also, the chemical component "oleic acid" that is contained in "olive oil" and is related to "fatty aroma and sweetness" is listed. The reason for focusing on chemical components is to find a replacement ingredient that has the characteristics of the ingredient to be changed.

[0095] The server 50 sends the created chemical component list Lc to the database 90. The database 90 generates information on substitute ingredients that can replace the ingredient to be changed from the ingredient database 92. Specifically, the database 90 extracts ingredients that contain chemical components in the chemical component list Lc from the reference ingredient information ir in the ingredient database 92 as candidates for substitute ingredients.

[0096] FIG. 11 is a diagram showing examples of candidates for substitute ingredients that can be substituted for the reference ingredient.

[0097] In Figure 11, ingredients with the same chemical components and sensory evaluation as the ingredient to be changed are extracted as candidate substitute ingredients. In this example, the candidate substitute ingredients for "wheat flour" are shown to be "barley flour" and "rye flour." "Barley flour" has the same chemical component, "glutenin," and the same sensory evaluation, "elasticity," as "wheat flour," and is therefore listed as one of the candidate substitute ingredients for "wheat flour." Furthermore, "rye flour" has the same chemical component, "gliadin," and the same sensory evaluation, "stickiness," as "wheat flour," and is therefore listed as one of the candidate substitute ingredients for "wheat flour."

[0098] This example also shows that rice oil is a candidate substitute for olive oil. Rice oil has the same chemical component as olive oil, oleic acid, and has a sensory evaluation of having a "fatty aroma and sweetness," so it is listed as a candidate substitute for olive oil.

[0099] Although the above example illustrates extracting substitute ingredients that match specific chemical components, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the database 90 may extract candidate substitute ingredients that match the form of the ingredient to be changed and the form of the substitute ingredient. Furthermore, the database 90 may extract, as candidate substitute ingredients, reference ingredients that include a sensory evaluation related to the reference ingredient from among multiple reference ingredients.

[0100] In the above example, the database 90 generates substitute ingredient candidates, but this is not limiting. The substitute ingredient candidates may be generated by the server 50. In this case, the server 50 obtains reference ingredient information ir corresponding to the chemical ingredients in the chemical ingredient list Lc from the database 90, and generates and obtains information related to the substitute ingredient candidates based on this reference ingredient information ir. The server 50 generates substitute recipe information I2, which includes substitute ingredient information i2, based on the substitute ingredient candidates.

[0101] FIG. 12 is a diagram showing an example of alternative recipe information I2 including alternative ingredient information i2.

[0102] The alternative recipe information I2 is information that indicates an alternative recipe for a food item that is the subject of a recipe change. The alternative recipe information I2 includes information about the food item that is the subject of a recipe change and the alternative ingredients needed to make that food item. Figure 12 shows the alternative recipe information I2 for "fresh pasta."

[0103] The substitute ingredient information i2, which is information about substitute ingredients, includes information about the substitute ingredient, the form of the substitute ingredient, the amount of the substitute ingredient, the sensory evaluation of the substitute ingredient, and the chemical components contained in the substitute ingredient.

[0104] 12 shows the alternative recipe for "fresh pasta" as "wheat flour, olive oil, chicken egg (egg white), chicken egg (egg yolk), salt," and alternative ingredient information i2 for these ingredients. Note that the food product subject to the recipe change is made using at least one alternative ingredient, so the alternative recipe includes ingredients that are the same as and different from the ingredients in the reference recipe information I1.

[0105] In this way, the server 50 derives at least one substitute ingredient from the multiple reference ingredients in the ingredient database 92 that contains chemical components contained in the reference ingredient. For example, the server 50 derives at least one substitute ingredient from the multiple reference ingredients so that the substitute ingredient contains all of one or more specified chemical components contained in the reference ingredient. In this example, the specified chemical components contained in the reference ingredient "wheat flour" are "glutenin" and "gliadin," and the chemical components contained in the substitute ingredients "barley flour" and "rye flour" are "glutenin" and "gliadin," respectively.

[0106] The server 50 may derive at least one substitute ingredient from multiple reference ingredients so as to include all of the one or more predetermined sensory evaluations associated with the reference ingredients, not limited to chemical components. In this example, the predetermined sensory evaluations associated with the reference ingredient "wheat flour" are "elastic" and "sticky," and the predetermined sensory evaluations associated with the substitute ingredients "barley flour" and "rye flour" are "elastic" and "sticky," respectively.

[0107] Furthermore, the server 50 also derives the quantities of the substitute ingredients.

[0108] For example, the amount of the substitute ingredient is calculated so that the ratio of chemical components is as close as possible to that of the reference ingredient. In this case, the glutenin content of "wheat flour" is 6% and the gliadin content is 7% (see FIG. 6). Meanwhile, the glutenin content of "barley flour" is 3%, and the gliadin content of "rye flour" is 6% (see FIG. 11). Therefore, if the ratio of "glutenin" and "gliadin" contained in the substitute ingredients is to be 6:7 like "wheat flour," the ratio of "barley flour" and "rye flour" must be 63:37. For example, if the amount of "wheat flour" to be changed is 100g, the substitute ingredients "barley flour" and "rye flour" are prepared so that they total 100g. As shown in FIG. 12, the amount of "barley flour" is 63g and the amount of "rye flour" is 37g.

[0109] In this way, the server 50 derives the amount of a substitute ingredient based on the amount of a reference ingredient, the content of chemical components contained in the reference ingredient, and the content of chemical components contained in the substitute ingredient. For example, the server 50 derives the amount of a substitute ingredient based on the amount of a reference ingredient, the total content of one or more specified chemical components contained in the reference ingredient, and the total content of one or more specified chemical components contained in the substitute ingredient. This makes it possible to make a food or a food equivalent to that food without using some of the ingredients required to make the food.

[0110] Although FIG. 11 shows one or a set of candidate substitute ingredients, the present invention is not limited to this. The server 50 may extract multiple or multiple sets of candidate substitute ingredients as candidate substitute ingredients and select an appropriate one or a set of candidate substitute ingredients from among them.

[0111] The relationship between the type of reference ingredient and the type of substitute ingredient does not have to be a one-to-one relationship like olive oil, but may be a one-to-many relationship like wheat flour.Furthermore, the relationship between the type of reference ingredient and the type of substitute ingredient does not have to be a one-to-one relationship, but may be a many-to-one relationship.

[0112] For example, the server 50 may derive a reproducibility R, which indicates the degree of reproducibility of a reference ingredient, from among multiple candidate substitute ingredients, and generate substitute recipes using substitute ingredients with a high reproducibility R. The reproducibility R is the ratio between the value obtained from the amount of the reference ingredient and the content of chemical components contained in the reference ingredient and the value obtained from the amount of the substitute ingredient and the content of chemical components contained in the substitute ingredient. The reproducibility R is expressed as a number between 0 and 1, and the closer to 1, the higher the reproducibility.

[0113] 13 is a diagram showing the reproducibility R of the contents of chemical components of substitute ingredients relative to the reference ingredient. Note that FIG. 13 also shows the sensory evaluation.

[0114] The reproducibility R of the "glutenin" content is calculated by multiplying the amount of "wheat flour" in the reference ingredient (100g) by the amount of "glutenin" in the wheat flour (6%) as the denominator and multiplying the amount of "barley flour" in the substitute ingredient (63g) by the amount of "glutenin" in the barley flour (3%) as the numerator. The reproducibility R of the "glutenin" content is R = (63 x 0.03) / (100 x 0.06) = 0.315.

[0115] The reproducibility R of the gliadin content is calculated by multiplying the amount of wheat flour (100g) in the reference ingredient by the amount of gliadin in wheat flour (7%) as the denominator and the amount of rye flour (37g) in the substitute ingredient by the amount of gliadin in rye flour (6%) as the numerator. The reproducibility R of the gliadin content is R = (37 x 0.06) / (100 x 0.07) = 0.317.

[0116] The reproducibility R of the "starch" content is calculated by multiplying the amount of "wheat flour" in the reference ingredient (100g) by the amount of "starch" in the wheat flour (72%) as the denominator, and the sum of the amount of "barley flour" in the substitute ingredient (63g) by the amount of "starch" in the barley flour (71%) and the amount of "rye flour" in the substitute ingredient (37g) by the amount of "starch" in the rye flour (60%) as the numerator. The reproducibility R of the "starch" content is R = ((63 x 0.71) + (37 x 0.60)) / (100 x 0.72) = 0.929. In the "starch" example, there are two substitute ingredients with the same chemical composition, so the reproducibility R is the sum of the two reproducibility Rs calculated for each of the two substitute ingredients.

[0117] The server 50 calculates the reproducibility R as described above, extracts substitute ingredients with high reproducibility R from among multiple candidate substitute ingredients, and generates substitute recipe information I2 including the extracted substitute ingredients. The server 50 transmits the generated substitute recipe information I2 to the terminal device 10.

[0118] FIG. 14 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displaying the reproducibility R of the contents of alternative ingredients and chemical components relative to a reference ingredient.

[0119] In (a) of Fig. 14, ingredients of the reference recipe and ingredients of the alternative recipe are shown, along with the form and amount of each ingredient.

[0120] 14B shows the chemical components contained in the ingredients, the sensory evaluations corresponding to the chemical components, and the reproducibility R of the chemical component contents. According to FIG. 14B, the degree of reproducibility of the chemical component contents of the alternative recipe relative to the reference recipe can be quantified. The reproducibility R may be included in the alternative recipe information I2.

[0121] As described above, the information providing system 1 of this embodiment includes a server 50 that derives substitute ingredients to be used in place of a reference ingredient. The server 50 acquires information indicating the reference ingredient and its quantity, and derives at least one substitute ingredient from multiple reference ingredients based on the quantity of the reference ingredient, the amount of chemical components contained in the reference ingredient, and the amount of chemical components contained in each of multiple reference ingredients, and derives information indicating the amount of the at least one substitute ingredient.

[0122] In this way, by deriving substitute ingredients and the amounts of the substitute ingredients based on the amount of the reference ingredient, the content of chemical components contained in the reference ingredient, and the content of chemical components contained in each of a plurality of reference ingredients, it is possible to make the food or a food equivalent to the food without using some of the ingredients required to make the food.

[0123] Although the above describes an example in which data corresponding to the change request information Cr is stored in database 90, there are cases in which data corresponding to the change request information Cr is not stored in database 90. Therefore, in relation to the above, an example in which information regarding "rice oil" and information regarding "oleic acid" are not stored in ingredient database 92 will be described.

[0124] FIG. 15 is a diagram showing an example of ingredient information that is not stored in the database 90.

[0125] In this example, it is shown that information regarding the sensory evaluation of "oleic acid," a chemical component contained in "rice oil," and the "fatty aroma and sweetness" corresponding to "oleic acid" is not present in database 90.

[0126] If there are no candidate substitute ingredients with matching chemical components, the information providing system 1 extracts other substitute ingredients based on the sensory evaluation corresponding to the chemical components and the form of the ingredient.

[0127] FIG. 16 is a diagram showing examples of other substitute ingredient candidates.

[0128] First, the server 50 determines the chemical components that correspond to the sensory evaluation of "fatty aroma and sweetness" that is the same as "oleic acid," and transmits these chemical components to the database 90. The database 90 extracts, from the reference ingredient information ir, ingredients that have these chemical components and that have the same form as "rice oil," as candidates for substitute ingredients. In this example, the form of the ingredient is "liquid," the chemical component that has the sensory evaluation of "fatty aroma and sweetness" is "linoleic acid," and the ingredient that satisfies these criteria is "corn oil." The database 90 transmits the extracted candidates for substitute ingredients to the server 50.

[0129] In this way, the information providing system 1 may derive the substitute ingredient information i2 by deriving at least one reference ingredient from among the multiple reference ingredients that includes a sensory evaluation related to the reference ingredient. Furthermore, the information providing system 1 may derive at least one substitute ingredient from among the multiple reference ingredients so that the substitute ingredient includes all of one or more predetermined sensory evaluations related to the reference ingredient.

[0130] FIG. 17 is a diagram showing an example of alternative recipe information I2 using other alternative ingredients.

[0131] Figure 17 shows an example in which some of the substitute ingredients for "fresh pasta" are "corn oil" instead of "rice oil." The server 50 determines the amount of the substituted ingredients so that the chemical component contents of the ingredients before and after substitution are as similar as possible. In this example, the server 50 determines the amount of "corn oil" so that the chemical component contents of "oleic acid" contained in the "rice oil" before substitution and "linoleic acid" contained in the "corn oil" after substitution are the same.

[0132] FIG. 18 is a diagram showing information on other substitute ingredients.

[0133] 18 shows information about other substitute ingredients, including the chemical components, sensory evaluation, and chemical component content reproduction rate R of the ingredient before substitution, as well as the chemical components and chemical component content reproduction rate R of the ingredient after substitution. In this example, the chemical component of the ingredient before substitution is "oleic acid," the sensory evaluation is "fatty aroma and sweetness," and the reproduction rate R for the above is 0%, while the chemical component after substitution is "linoleic acid," and the reproduction rate R for the above is 0.982. This makes it possible to clearly indicate the degree of reproduction of the chemical components and chemical component content of the substitute ingredients.

[0134] Although the above example shows a case where a substitute ingredient is found, it is possible that a substitute ingredient cannot be found. Therefore, regarding the above, an example will be given in which the ingredient database 92 does not store information about the ingredient "rice oil," the chemical component "oleic acid," the sensory evaluation "fatty aroma and sweetness," and the ingredient form "liquid."

[0135] FIG. 19 is a diagram showing an example of a screen displayed when there are no substitute ingredients.

[0136] If the information providing system 1 is unable to extract any other substitute ingredient candidates, it outputs information indicating that no substitute ingredients were found. Figure 19 shows that information regarding "rice oil" or "corn oil" is not stored in the ingredient database 92, and that no ingredients with a sensory evaluation of "fatty aroma and sweetness" and a liquid form were found. If no substitute ingredients were found, the recall rate R of the chemical component content is displayed as 0. This makes it clear that no substitute ingredients were found.

[0137] [Operation of Information Providing System] The operation of the information providing system 1 according to the embodiment will be described.

[0138] FIG. 20 is a diagram showing the operation flow of the information providing system 1.

[0139] 20 , the terminal device 10 acquires food information from the user (step S10). The food information is information about the food whose recipe is to be changed. The terminal device 10 outputs the acquired food information to the server 50.

[0140] The server 50 acquires the food information output from the terminal device 10 and outputs this food information to the database 90 .

[0141] The database 90 generates reference recipe information I1 based on the food information (step S20).

[0142] Reference recipe information I1 is information about the original recipe of the food product whose recipe is to be changed. Reference recipe information I1 includes information about the food product whose recipe is to be changed and the reference ingredients that are the original ingredients needed to make that food product. Reference ingredient information i1 about the reference ingredients includes information about the ingredients that will be the reference ingredients, the form of the reference ingredients, the amount of the reference ingredients, the sensory evaluation of the reference ingredients, and the chemical components contained in the reference ingredients. Reference ingredient information i1 also includes information about whether each ingredient can be changed when changing ingredients.

[0143] The database 90 outputs the reference recipe information I1 to the server 50. The server 50 acquires the reference recipe information I1 output from the database 90 and outputs the reference recipe information I1 to the terminal device 10.

[0144] The terminal device 10 displays the reference recipe information I1 output from the server 50 (step S30). For example, the terminal device 10 displays information about the ingredients indicated as the reference recipe, whether or not the ingredients can be changed to other ingredients, and sensory evaluations associated with the ingredients.

[0145] The terminal device 10, which has displayed the reference recipe information I1, acquires a change request for the reference recipe from the user (step S40). For example, the terminal device 10 acquires information from the user regarding ingredients to be changed and sensory evaluations to be maintained unchanged among the ingredients and sensory evaluations indicated in the reference recipe. The terminal device 10 outputs the change request information Cr entered by the user to the server 50.

[0146] The server 50 acquires the change request information Cr output from the terminal device 10, and creates a chemical component list Lc based on the change request information Cr (step S50).

[0147] The chemical component list Lc includes information on the sensory evaluation indicated in the change request information Cr, the ingredients to be changed, and the form of the ingredients. The chemical component list Lc also includes information on one or more specified chemical components. The server 50 creates the chemical component list Lc based on the ingredients to be changed and the sensory evaluation to be maintained indicated in the change request information Cr, as well as the reference recipe information I1. For example, the server 50 lists the chemical components so that the chemical components contained in the ingredients to be changed match the chemical components related to the sensory evaluation to be maintained. The server 50 outputs the created chemical component list Lc to the database 90.

[0148] The database 90 generates first substitute ingredient candidates to replace the ingredient to be changed from the ingredient database 92 (step S60). Specifically, the database 90 extracts ingredients containing chemical components in the chemical component list Lc from the reference ingredient information ir in the ingredient database 92 as first substitute ingredient candidates. The substitute ingredient candidates shown in FIG. 11 are an example of first substitute ingredient candidates. There may be one or more first substitute ingredient candidates. The database 90 outputs the extracted first substitute ingredient candidates to the server 50.

[0149] The server 50 determines whether all of the predetermined chemical components contained in the reference ingredient are included in the first substitute ingredient candidates (step S70).

[0150] If all of the chemical components are included in the first substitute ingredient candidates (Yes in S70), the server 50 extracts substitute ingredients that contain all of the chemical components and generates substitute recipe information I2 that includes the selected substitute ingredients (Step S80).

[0151] The substitute recipe information I2 is information that indicates a substitute recipe for a food item that is the target of a recipe change. The substitute recipe information I2 includes information about the food item that is the target of a recipe change and the substitute ingredients needed to make that food item. The substitute ingredient information i2, which is information about substitute ingredients, includes information about the substitute ingredients, the form of the substitute ingredients, the amount of the substitute ingredients, a sensory evaluation of the substitute ingredients, and the chemical components contained in the substitute ingredients.

[0152] The alternative recipe information I2 may also include a reproducibility R of the chemical component contents that indicates the degree of reproducibility of the alternative ingredient relative to the reference ingredient. The server 50 outputs the alternative recipe information I2 to the terminal device 10.

[0153] The terminal device 10 displays the alternative recipe information I2 output from the server 50 (step S90). As a result, the terminal device 10 presents the user with information about alternative ingredients that can be used in place of the reference ingredients.

[0154] On the other hand, if not all chemical components are included in the first substitute ingredient candidates (No in S70), the server 50 generates re-extracted items to re-extract substitute ingredient candidates (Step S100). The re-extracted items include information on the sensory evaluation and morphology of ingredients related to the chemical components not included in the first substitute ingredient candidates. The server 50 outputs the re-extracted items to the database 90.

[0155] The database 90 generates second substitute ingredient candidates based on the re-extracted items output from the server 50. Specifically, the database 90 extracts reference ingredients that satisfy the sensory evaluation and ingredient morphology included in the re-extracted items as substitute ingredients, and generates second substitute ingredient candidates (Step S110). The other substitute ingredient candidates shown in FIG. 16 are examples of second substitute ingredient candidates. The database 90 outputs the second substitute ingredient candidates to the server 50.

[0156] The server 50 determines whether all of the predetermined chemical components contained in the reference ingredient are included in the second substitute ingredient candidates (step S120).

[0157] If all of the chemical components are included in the second substitute ingredient candidates (Yes in S120), the server 50 extracts substitute ingredients that contain all of the chemical components and generates substitute recipe information I2 that includes the selected substitute ingredients (Step S130). This substitute recipe information I2 includes information about the chemical components of the substitute ingredients and the reproducibility R of the chemical component contents.

[0158] The terminal device 10 displays the alternative recipe information I2 output from the server 50 (step S140). As a result, the terminal device 10 presents the user with information about alternative ingredients that can be used in place of the reference ingredients.

[0159] On the other hand, if all chemical components are not included in the second substitute ingredient candidates (No in S120), the server 50 generates non-substitutable information indicating that no substitute ingredients were found (S150). The non-substitutable information includes information on the non-substitutable chemical components and sensory evaluation. The server 50 outputs the non-substitutable information to the terminal device 10.

[0160] The terminal device 10 displays the non-substitutable information output from the server 50 (step S160). As a result, the terminal device 10 presents the user with information that no substitute ingredient has been found to replace the reference ingredient.

[0161] As described above, the information providing method according to this embodiment includes the steps of: acquiring reference ingredient information i1 indicating a reference ingredient and the amount of the reference ingredient; deriving substitute ingredient information i2 indicating at least one substitute ingredient to be used in place of the reference ingredient and the amount of the at least one substitute ingredient from multiple reference ingredients based on the amount of the reference ingredient, the amount of chemical components contained in the reference ingredient, and the amount of chemical components contained in each of multiple reference ingredients; and outputting the substitute ingredient information i2.

[0162] In this way, by deriving substitute ingredients and the amounts of the substitute ingredients based on the amount of the reference ingredient, the content of chemical components contained in the reference ingredient, and the content of chemical components contained in each of a plurality of reference ingredients, it is possible to make the food or a food equivalent to the food without using some of the ingredients required to make the food.

[0163] [Modification of the Embodiment] An information provision system according to a modification of the embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 21 to 24. In this modification, an example will be described in which the user selects a substitute ingredient from a list of substitute ingredients.

[0164] FIG. 21 is a block diagram showing a functional configuration of an information providing system 1 according to a modified example of the embodiment.

[0165] The information provision system 1 of the modified example also includes a terminal device 10, a server 50, and a database 90. In this modified example, the database 90 sends multiple substitute ingredient candidates to the server 50 based on the chemical component list Lc, and the server 50 sends a substitute ingredient list containing the multiple substitute ingredient candidates to the terminal device 10. The terminal device 10 accepts input to select a substitute ingredient from the substitute ingredient list and sends it to the server 50. The server 50 generates substitute recipe information I2 based on information about the selected substitute ingredients and sends it to the terminal device 10.

[0166] The configuration of the information providing system 1 will be described in detail below while explaining the operation flow of the information providing system 1 according to the modified example.

[0167] FIG. 22 is a diagram showing an operation flow of an information providing system according to a modified example of the embodiment.

[0168] Steps S10 to S50 shown in Fig. 22 are the same as those in Fig. 20 of the embodiment. As shown in Fig. 22, the database 90 generates multiple substitute ingredient candidates based on the chemical component list Lc (step S60A) and outputs them to the server 50.

[0169] The server 50 generates a list of substitute ingredients including multiple candidate substitute ingredients (step S210).

[0170] FIG. 23 is a diagram showing an example of a substitute ingredient list including multiple candidate substitute ingredients.

[0171] The substitute ingredient list includes multiple ingredients that can be substituted. Examples of multiple substitute ingredients include ingredients that have the same chemical components as the ingredient before substitution, and ingredients that have the same sensory evaluation and the same form as the ingredient before substitution. FIG. 23 shows ingredients related to "barley flour, rye flour, rice flour, rice oil, and corn oil" as multiple substitute ingredients. This example does not show one or more substitute ingredients derived by calculation as in the embodiment, but shows multiple ingredients before derivation in an overlapping state. For example, two ingredients, "rice oil" and "corn oil," are shown as substitute ingredients for "olive oil." The server 50 outputs a substitute ingredient list containing multiple candidate substitute ingredients to the terminal device 10.

[0172] The terminal device 10 acquires the plurality of substitute ingredient candidates output from the server 50 and displays a list of substitute ingredients including the plurality of substitute ingredients (step S220).

[0173] The terminal device 10 determines whether to change multiple substitute ingredients in the substitute ingredient list. Specifically, the terminal device 10 determines whether change input for multiple substitute ingredients has been received (step S230).

[0174] If the change input has not been accepted (No in S230), this flow ends. On the other hand, if the change input has been accepted (Yes in S230), the terminal device 10 displays a screen for selecting a substitute ingredient (Step S240).

[0175] FIG. 24 is a diagram showing an example of a screen for selecting a substitute ingredient from the substitute ingredient list.

[0176] The terminal device 10 shown in FIG. 24 allows the user to select a desired substitute ingredient from the list of substitute ingredients.

[0177] The terminal device 10 receives an input for selecting a substitute ingredient (step S250). In this example, the user's desired substitute ingredients are "barley flour, rye flour, and rice oil." The terminal device 10 outputs selection information for substitute ingredients, including information on the selected substitute ingredients, to the server 50.

[0178] The server 50 generates alternative recipe information I2 that includes the selected alternative ingredients (step S260) and outputs this alternative recipe information I2 to the terminal device 10. The terminal device 10 displays the alternative recipe information I2 output from the server 50 (step S270). This allows the user to select alternative ingredients that meet their needs.

[0179] (Summary) In the information providing method disclosed herein, reference recipe information I1 is generated based on information about ingredients to be changed. The reference recipe information I1 is generated based on recipe information and reference ingredient information about ingredients to be changed from the recipe information and reference ingredient information ir stored in the database 90. Next, information about ingredients to be changed in the reference recipe or sensory evaluation is received from the user, and chemical components common to the ingredients to be changed and the sensory evaluation are listed. Next, multiple substitute ingredient candidates containing the above chemical components are extracted from the reference ingredient information ir. One or more substitute ingredients are then selected from the multiple substitute ingredients to generate substitute recipe information. For example, when selecting substitute ingredients, substitute ingredients with a high reproducibility R for the chemical component content may be selected. This makes it possible to provide information that enables users to prepare a food or a food equivalent to that food without using some of the ingredients required to make the food.

[0180] While the information providing method and the like according to the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above, the present disclosure is not limited to the individual embodiments. As long as they do not deviate from the spirit of the present disclosure, various modifications conceivable by a person skilled in the art to the present embodiments and embodiments constructed by combining components of different embodiments may also be included within the scope of one or more aspects of the present disclosure.

[0181] In the above embodiment, the server 50 and the database 90 are separate components, but the server 50 and the database 90 may be the same component, and the server 50 may have the same functions as the database 90.

[0182] In the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which the information providing system 1 is configured by the terminal device 10, the server 50, and the database 90, but this is not limiting. For example, if the terminal device 10 has the same functions as the server 50, the information providing system 1 may be configured by the terminal device 10 and the database 90. In this case, the functions of the first information acquisition unit 51, the second information acquisition unit 52, and the information processing unit 55 may be provided in the terminal device 10.

[0183] In the above embodiment, the sensory evaluation of ingredients is displayed on the screen for receiving the change request information Cr shown in FIG. 9 , but this is not limiting. For example, the terminal device 10 may display a screen that displays the chemical components of the ingredient to be changed and allows the user to select the chemical components to be maintained. In this case, the chemical components and the sensory evaluation may be displayed in association with each other.

[0184] In the above-described embodiments, each component may be realized by executing a software program suitable for that component, or by a program execution unit such as a CPU or processor reading and executing a software program recorded on a recording medium such as a hard disk or semiconductor memory.

[0185] Furthermore, each component may be realized by hardware. Each component may be a circuit (or integrated circuit). These circuits may form a single circuit as a whole, or each may be a separate circuit. Furthermore, each of these circuits may be a general-purpose circuit or a dedicated circuit.

[0186] Furthermore, the general or specific aspects of the present disclosure may be realized as a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, or a computer-readable recording medium such as a CD-ROM, or as any combination of a system, an apparatus, a method, an integrated circuit, a computer program, and a recording medium.

[0187] For example, the present disclosure may be realized as a data processing unit of the above-described embodiments, or as an information processing system of the above-described embodiments. Furthermore, the present disclosure may be realized as an information processing method executed by a computer such as the information processing system of the above-described embodiments. The present disclosure may be realized as a program for causing a computer to execute such an information processing method, or as a computer-readable non-transitory recording medium on which such a program is recorded.

[0188] The information providing method of the present disclosure can be widely used for services that provide cooking information.

[0189] 1 Information providing system 10 Terminal device 11 Input unit 12 Output unit 15 Control unit 50 Server 51 First information acquisition unit 52 Second information acquisition unit 55 Information processing unit 90 Database 91 Recipe database 92 Ingredient database Cr Change request information Cq Candidate information I1 Reference recipe information I2 Alternative recipe information i1 Reference ingredient information i2 Alternative ingredient information ir Reference ingredient information Lc Chemical component list R Content reproducibility

Claims

1. An information provision method executed by a computer, comprising: a step of acquiring reference ingredient information indicating a reference ingredient and an amount of the reference ingredient; a step of deriving at least one substitute ingredient to be used in place of the reference ingredient from a plurality of reference ingredients and substitute ingredient information indicating the amount of the at least one substitute ingredient based on the amount of the reference ingredient, the amount of chemical components contained in the reference ingredient, and the amount of chemical components contained in each of a plurality of reference ingredients; and a step of outputting the substitute ingredient information.

2. The information providing method according to claim 1, wherein in the step of deriving the substitute ingredient information, a reference ingredient containing a chemical component contained in the reference ingredient is selected as the at least one substitute ingredient from among the plurality of reference ingredients, and the amount of the at least one substitute ingredient is derived based on the amount of the reference ingredient, the amount of the chemical component contained in the reference ingredient, and the amount of the chemical component contained in the at least one substitute ingredient.

3. The information providing method according to claim 1, wherein the chemical components contained in the reference ingredient include one or more specified chemical components contained in the reference ingredient, and in the step of deriving the substitute ingredient information, the at least one substitute ingredient is derived from the plurality of reference ingredients so as to contain all of the one or more specified chemical components contained in the reference ingredient, and the amount of the at least one substitute ingredient is derived based on the amount of the reference ingredient and the total amount of the one or more specified chemical components contained in the reference ingredient, and the total amount of the one or more specified chemical components contained in the at least one substitute ingredient.

4. The information providing method according to claim 3, wherein the at least one substitute ingredient contains a chemical component different from the one or more predetermined chemical components contained in the reference ingredient.

5. The information providing method of claim 1, wherein the reference ingredient information is included in reference recipe information that indicates a reference recipe for a food product made using the reference ingredient; information indicating the amount of chemical components contained in each of the plurality of reference ingredients is included in reference ingredient information; and the substitute ingredient information is included in substitute recipe information that indicates an substitute recipe for the food product made using the at least one substitute ingredient; and in the step of deriving the substitute ingredient information, the substitute recipe information is derived based on the reference recipe information and the reference ingredient information.

6. The information providing method according to claim 5, wherein the reference ingredient information further comprises information indicating a sensory evaluation associated with the reference ingredient, the reference ingredient information further comprises information indicating a sensory evaluation associated with each of the plurality of reference ingredients, and the substitute ingredient information further comprises information indicating a sensory evaluation associated with the substitute ingredient, and in the step of deriving the substitute ingredient information, a reference ingredient among the plurality of reference ingredients that includes a sensory evaluation associated with the reference ingredient is derived as the at least one substitute ingredient, and the substitute ingredient information is derived.

7. The information providing method according to claim 6, wherein the sensory evaluation related to the reference ingredient has one or more predetermined sensory evaluations related to the reference ingredient, and in the step of deriving the substitute ingredient information, the at least one substitute ingredient is derived from the plurality of reference ingredients so as to include all of the one or more predetermined sensory evaluations related to the reference ingredient.

8. The information providing method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein in the step of deriving the substitute ingredient information, a reproducibility ratio indicating a degree of reproducibility of the reference ingredient is derived, and the at least one substitute ingredient is derived based on the reproducibility ratio.

9. The information providing method according to claim 8, wherein the reproducibility is a ratio between a value obtained from the amount of the reference ingredient and the content of the chemical components contained in the reference ingredient, and a value obtained from the amount of the substitute ingredient and the content of the chemical components contained in the substitute ingredient.

10. The information providing method according to claim 8, wherein the substitute ingredients include a plurality of substitute ingredients, and the reproducibility is a ratio between a value obtained from the amount of the reference ingredient and the content of the chemical components contained in the reference ingredient and a total value obtained from the amount of the substitute ingredient and the content of the chemical components contained in the substitute ingredients for each of the plurality of substitute ingredients.

11. The information providing method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein in the step of deriving substitute ingredient information, a plurality of substitute ingredient candidates to be used in place of the reference ingredient are extracted from the plurality of reference ingredients, a selection of at least one substitute ingredient to be used in place of the reference ingredient is accepted from the plurality of substitute ingredient candidates, and the substitute ingredient information indicating the substitute ingredient and a portion size of the substitute ingredient is derived based on the at least one substitute ingredient selected and accepted.

12. An information provision system comprising: a server that derives substitute ingredients to be used in place of a reference ingredient, the server acquiring information indicating the reference ingredient and the amount of the reference ingredient, and deriving at least one substitute ingredient from a plurality of reference ingredients based on the amount of the reference ingredient, the amount of chemical components contained in the reference ingredient, and the amount of chemical components contained in each of a plurality of reference ingredients, and deriving information indicating the amount of the at least one substitute ingredient.

13. A program for causing a computer to execute the information providing method according to any one of claims 1 to 7.

14. A cooking appliance using the program according to claim 13.

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