Many crude drug products elicit a bitter taste, because there are a variety of bitter components in them. However, there are no good methods of masking their bitter taste. Therefore, new masking methods are widely required. As a general method to administer crude drug products to patients, they are dissolved in hot water or mixed in food or juice. However, there is a risk that patients may not want to eat the food if the crude drug products alter the taste of the food. In this study, we conducted a sensory evaluation including a questionnaire in order to examine the improvement effect on swallowing a crude drug product in food. The screening tests were carried out to reveal what kinds of foods could improve the taste and texture of the crude drug product by mixing them with 30 kinds of foods. In the screening test, a statistically significant effect was observed on masking bitter taste. Based on this screening test, the bitterness masking tests were carried out with 6 kinds of foods. As a result, a commercially available swallowing aid jelly, vanilla ice cream, chocolate ice cream, condensed milk, peanut cream, and seaweed tsukudani significantly reduced the bitterness of the crude drug product. The tastes of these foods are strong, so it is necessary for patients with sugar and salinity limitations to consider the usage of these foods. These foods are relatively inexpensive and easy to obtain. Therefore, they might be useful for patients to take medicines such as bitter crude drug products following the instructions of a physician. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]