Food Technology Glossary

A protein that speeds up a chemical reaction in food or in the body, without being used up itself.

A food additive that makes an existing taste stronger without adding a taste of its own, most often used to boost savoury (umami) flavour.

A number from 0 to 20 describing an emulsifier's relative affinity for water and oil.

Addition of hydrogen across double bonds of unsaturated fatty acids using a nickel catalyst, raising melting point and oxidative stability.

The equimolar mixture of glucose and fructose produced by hydrolysing sucrose, so called because the optical rotation inverts from positive to negative.

The pH at which a protein carries no net electrical charge, so electrostatic repulsion between molecules is minimal.

A non-enzymatic browning reaction between a reducing sugar's carbonyl group and a free amino group of an amino acid or protein, producing melanoidin pigments and a wide range of flavour compounds.

The total amount of water in a food, expressed on a wet basis (mass of water per mass of wet sample) or dry basis (mass of water per mass of dry solids).

The natural movement of water from a less concentrated solution to a more concentrated one, through a membrane, without needing outside energy.

A structural polysaccharide of plant cell walls based on galacturonic acid. High-methoxyl pectin (DE > 50%) gels with sugar and acid; low-methoxyl pectin gels with calcium.

A number from 0 to 14 that tells us how acidic or basic (alkaline) something is. 7 is neutral, below 7 is acidic, above 7 is basic.

A copper-containing enzyme responsible for enzymatic browning in cut fruit and vegetables. Optimum pH is around 6–7 and it is largely inactivated above about 80 °C.