We conducted a survey on the forms of food served in nursing homes for the elderly and evaluated their physical properties by measuring the texture. The forms of food were mostly determined according to the observations of such experts as dietitians and registered dietitians. The suitability of the forms of the food was mostly assessed by care providers. We observed that the nursing homes provided 4.0 ± 2.5 forms of major staples and 4.4 ± 2.3 forms of side dishes as averages. The meat dishes served at the nursing homes had been cooked to be sufficiently soft according to the requirements specified by the universal design food table. The hardness of rice gruel and mixed rice gruel met the requirements applied to foods for people with difficulty in swallowing as specified by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, although the adhesiveness was too high to meet the requirements. The texture of chawan-mushi satisfied the Level III allowance, but the adhesiveness of steamed egg custard exceeded the Level III allowance. The hardness and adhesiveness of the rehydrating jelly drink met the Level II or III allowance, and its degree of cohesiveness was between0.2 and 0.6. These results indicate that the forms of food served in nursing homes are suitable and safe for consumption by the elderly.