Food Technology

  WATER Water is a polar inorganic compound that is at room temperature a tasteless and odorless liquid, nearly colorless with a hint of blue. WATER AS UNIVERSAL SOLVENT The simplest hydrogen element, it is by far the most studied chemical compound and is described as universal solvent for its ability to dissolve many substances. This allows it to be the only common substance to exist as a “solid, liquid and gases” in nature. HYDROGEN BONDING Water molecules from hydrogen bonds with each other and are strongly polar. This polarity allows it to separate ions in salt and strongly bond to other polar substances such as having a solid from less dense than its liquid form, a relatively high boiling point of 100 ° C for its molar mass, and a high heat capacity. Water is atmospheric, means it’s both an acid and a base. It produces H ⁺ and OH ˉ ions by self-ionization. This regulates the concentration H⁺ and OHˉ ions in water. HEALTH BENEFITS OF WATER Water is our body’s pri...

  MINERALS The mineral elements are those chemical elements other than carbon, hydrogen, oxygen and nitrogen, which are required by the body. They are present in food, mostly in form of inorganic salts, e.g. sodium chloride, but some are present in organic compounds, e.g. sulphur and phosphorus are constituents of many proteins. Mineral elements account for approximately 4% of body weight. Some, such as calcium and phosphorus, are present in the body in relatively large amount and are known as major minerals or macro minerals, where as other occur in very small quantities and are known as trace minerals. FUNCTIONS OF MINERALS Minerals have three main functions in the body. Calcium, phosphorous and magnesium are constituents of bones and teeth. Some elements are present as soluble salts which help to control the composition of body fluids. These include potassium and magnesium present inside body cells and sodium and chlorine in the fluid outside the cells. Many of the trace element...

  VITAMINS Vitamins are organic substances present in minute amount in natural food stuff. This nutrient is required by the body to work properly. TYPES OF VITAMINS There are two types of vitamins: Fat Soluble Vitamins Water Soluble Vitamins FAT SOLUBLE VITAMINS Vitamin A , D , E and K are fat soluble. The body stores fat-soluble vitamins in fatty tissues and liver. VITAMIN A Vitamin A is also known as “retinol”. It is essential for eye health. Deficiency is leading to “eye blindness” . Good sources are liver, carrots, broccoli, sweet potatoes, spinach, some cheese and apricots. VITAMIN D Vitamin D is also known as “cholecalciferol”. Necessary for the mineralization of bone. Deficiency causes “rickets or softening of bone”. Good sources are sunlight, beef liver, fatty fish, eggs and mushrooms. VITAMIN E Vitamin E is also known as “tocopherol” It is anti-oxidant, helps prevent oxidative stress . Good sources are wheat germ, almonds, eggs, nuts, leafy green and vegeta...

FATS AND OIL Fats and oil also known as lipids. It is a mixture of triglyceride which consists of one molecule of glycerol combined with three fatty acids molecules. They are esters of glycerol and fatty acids. Glycerol is a trihydric alcohol, i.e. it has three –OH groups. The general formula of a fatty acid (alkanoic acid) is RCOOH where R represents a hydrocarbon chain. Each –OH group of the glycerol reacts with the –COOH of a fatty acid to form a molecule of fat or oil. This is an example of a condensation reaction.  the  simplest type of type of triglyceride is one in which all three fatty acids are the same. However, triglycerides usually contain two or three different fatty acids and are known as mixed triglycerides. Naturally occurring fats and oils are mixtures of different mixed triglyceride and therefore may contain a number of different fatty acids. There are about 40 different fatty acids found in foods. TYPES OF FATTY ACID There are basically two types: 1....

PROTEIN Protein are a very important group of macronutrients. They are found in the cytoplasm of all cells, both animals and plants. Protein are organic substances and they resemble like carbohydrates contain elements  carbon, hydrogen and oxygen . However, all proteins contain  nitrogen  and most contain  sulfur  and some contain  phosphorous . STRUCTURE OF PROTEINS Protein molecules are extremely large and consists of long chain of  amino-acids  chemically combined together. Each amino acid molecule contains at least one  amino group   (NH ₂ )  and at least one  acidic group   (-COOH). A typical protein molecule contains about  500 amino acids  joined together by  peptide links.  A  peptide link  is formed when the  amino (NH ₂)  group of one amino acid interacts with the  acidic (-COOH)  group of an adjacent amino acid. A molecule of  water (H₂O)  is  elim...