Food Provenance - Food Processing And Production Flashcards
What is primary processing?
This is changing a basic food to preserve it or prepare it for sale or cooking
What are some examples of primary food processing?
Milling wheat into flour
Heat treating milk
Peeling, stoning and slicing fruit for canning
What is secondary processing?
This is when the primary processed foods are made into other products
What are examples of secondary processing?
Making flour into pasta, bread, biscuits
Making milk into cheese, butter, yoghurt
How are grains of wheat made into flour?
Through the process of milling
How is wheat milled?
First the wheat is cleaned:
Magnets, metal detectors and other machines extract metal objects, stones and other grains such as barley, oats and small seeds from the wheat grain
Then the wheat is conditioned:
Water softens the outer bran layer of the wheat and makes it easier to remove the floury endosperm during milling
Then gristing occurs:
The cleaned and conditioned wheat is blended with other types of wheat to make different kinds of flour. Wheat gluten is sometimes added to increase the protein content of milled flours
Stage 1 of milling:
The grist is passed through a series of fluted break rolls rotating at different speeds. These rolls are set so that they do not crush the wheat but shear it open, separating the white, inner portion from the outer skins.
Stage 2 of milling:
The fragments of wheat grain are separated by a complex arrangement of sieves. White endosperm particles are channeled to a series of sieves of smooth reduction rolls for final milling into white flour
Finally it is separated:
Coarser pieces of bran with endosperm still attached go to a second break roll, and stages 1 and 2 are repeated until the flour bran and wheat germ are completely separated. The result is a number of flour streams containing white flour bran and wheat germ.
Describe whole meal flour:
Extraction rate of 100%, meaning nothing has been removed
It is light brown in colour
Describe brown flour:
Extraction rate of 85-90% (10-15% of the bran is removed)
It is light brown in colour
Describe white flour:
Extraction rate of 75% (the bran, germ, fat and some minerals have been removed)
By law, it must be fortified with iron, calcium, thiamine and niacin
It is white in appearance
What are the different types of flour?
Strong flour
Soft flour
Self raising flour
Gluten free flour
How is strong flour used?
Since it has a higher gluten content, it used for bread making, and in flaky/choux pastry.
The gluten is able to stretch after it is mixed with water and developed
How is soft flour used?
This is used for cake and pastry making and has a lower gluten content
How is self raising flour used?
Similar to other flours but it has a chemical raising agent added to it
How is gluten free flour made?
Made from flours which do not contain gluten e.g. rice, potato flour
It is made for people with coeliac disease
What is homogenisation?
This involves forcing the milk at high pressure through small holes. This breaks up the fat globules in order to spread them evenly throughout the milk
What are the different heat treatments available for milk?
Pasteurised milk
Sterilised milk
UHT milk (ultra heat-treated)
How is milk pasteurised?
It is heated to a temperature of at least 72oC for a minimum of 15 seconds and a maximum of 25 seconds
The milk is then cooled quickly to below 6oC
How is milk sterilised?
It is heated to a temperature of 112-130oC for approximately 10-30 minutes then cooled quickly
How is milk ultra heat-treated?
Heated to a temperature of at least 135oC for 1 second.
It is then put into sterile, sealed containers
What is the effect of pasteurisation?
Kills harmful bacteria
Has little effect on the nutritional value of milk
Extends the shelf life of the milk
What is the effect of sterilisation?
Destroys nearly all the bacteria
Changes the taste and colour
Destroys some vitamins
Unopened bottles can be kept for several months without being in a fridge