Functional properties Flashcards
What can starch do?
Starch thickens a liquid by forming a suspension, such as a sauce. It forms a gel when the suspension is heated, like adding cornflour to custard powder and milk mix.
What can sugar do?
Sugar adds flavour by sweetening. It colours by caramelizing. It aerates when beaten with a fat like cake mix.
What can protein do?
Protein can coagulate, like when an egg is heated. It can aerate a mixture, like mixing egg whites into meringue mix.
What can fats do?
Fat can shorten pastry by making it less crumbly. It can act as an emulsifying agent to stop two liquids from separating.
What is aeration?
Aerating incorporated air by sieving, creaming, whisking, beating, folding, rolling and rubbing in. Raising agents can be used to make a mixture lighter, like baking powder in cakes.
What is coagulation?
Coagulation is when something thickens from a liquid to a solid. For example, raw eggs are clear and running but turn white and solid when cooked.
What is preservation?
Preservation helps food to last longer through freezing, canning, jam-making or pickling. Fats, sugar and oil are used in preservation.
What is tenderisation?
Tenderising tough meat makes it easier to eat. Lemon juice, vinegar or wine can be used as a marinade, or meat can be tenderised with mechanical action like a meat mullet or slow cooking.
What is thickening?
Thickening uses eggs, pulses, cereals and fruit to thicken liquid such as milk, and heat is usually applied. Egg custard is made like this.
What is binding?
Binding uses fats, eggs, cereals and flour to bind ingredients. For example, egg is used to bind biscuit mixture.
What is bulking?
Bulking forms the main structure of the food product, such as flour in biscuits or cakes.
What is enrobing?
Enrobing means coating a food with another ingredient. For example, dipping fish in beaten eggs the breadcrumbs.
What is enriching?
Enriching is the addition of an ingredient to improve the quality. Nutrients are sometimes added to increase nutritional value.
What is fermentation?
Fermentation uses yeast to convert carbohydrates into alcohol and carbon dioxide. In bread making, yeast is added to the flour and water causing the dough to rise.
What is flavouring?
Flavouring can be savoury, like herbs and spices, or sweet, like sugar or sweeteners. Sugar helps to soften the sharp taste of grapefruit.
