Food Preparation and Nutrition key terms

A mixture of two normally immiscible liquids, with droplets of one dispersed through the other.

The relationship between energy taken in through food and drink and energy used by the body.

The amount of energy a person needs to support basic life processes and their daily activities.

The replacement of nutrients lost during food processing.

A code identifying an approved food additive. It does not mean that the additive is necessarily artificial.

A biological catalyst, usually a protein, that speeds up a chemical reaction without being used up.

A change in colour caused when enzymes in damaged or cut fruit and vegetable tissue promote reactions involving oxygen, producing brown substances.

An amino acid that the body cannot make in sufficient amounts and must obtain from food.

A fatty acid that the body cannot make and therefore must obtain from food.

The change of a liquid into a gas. When sweat evaporates from the skin, it removes heat and helps cool the body.

A certification system with standards intended to improve trading terms and working conditions for producers and workers.

A vitamin that dissolves in fat and can be stored in the body's liver or fatty tissues. Vitamins A, D, E and K are fat-soluble.

The breakdown of sugars by yeast without oxygen, producing alcohol and carbon dioxide.

Removing flesh from the bones of a fish to produce a fillet.

The weight of a completed dish after preparation and cooking, used to calculate portion weight and nutritional content per 100 g.

Rearing fish in controlled environments, such as tanks or enclosures, for food rather than catching them from wild populations.

An open-bottomed ring used to support the sides of a pastry case on a baking sheet.

The combined experience of a food’s taste, aroma and sensations such as texture and temperature.

An ingredient used to give food a particular taste or aroma.

A concentrated mixture of finely ground or blended ingredients used to add flavour, such as curry paste.

Dusting a greased cooking surface with flour, distributing it evenly and removing the excess to help prevent sticking.

The balance between water entering the body and water leaving it.

A mineral that helps strengthen tooth enamel and protect teeth against decay.

A mixture in which bubbles of gas are dispersed and held within a liquid, such as air in whisked egg.

An ingredient added to food to perform a particular function, such as improving colour, texture, flavour or keeping quality.

An immune-system reaction to a food that can cause symptoms ranging from itching and swelling to a life-threatening reaction.

A reference table giving the energy and nutrient content of foods, usually per 100 g of food or per 100 ml of drink.