CULINOLOGY-WHAT IS IT?

Food is a multidimensional subject involving the interplay of chemistry, physics, biochemistry, microbiology, nutrition, sensory science, engineering sciences and agricultural sciences. All foods originate from living sources, be it animal, plant or microorganisms and in nature these sources exist in diverse forms and quality. The food technologists have the onus of safeguarding the quality and safety of foods, besides creating consumer friendly products with extended life through application of science and engineering. If one examines the development of food industry during the last hundred years, it can easily been seen that aspects concerning human health have been ignored with the result that modern society is afflicted with several life threatening disorders like CVD, Diabetes, Hyper tension, Cancer and many others and the temptation is always there to blame the industry for these ills because of wrong products being made and promoted.

What is the upper most consideration for any consumer when given a choice to choose a food? Obviously the consumer is carried away by the color, shape, aroma and eating pleasure provided by the product. It is said that a consumer eats a food first with his "eyes" followed by smell, touch sense and finally through the oral cavity. Ultimate acceptability is determined by the taste sensation caused by chewing, macerating and swallowing of the food. Tastes like sweetness, saltiness, sourness, pungency and bitterness, either singly or in combination provide the final taste perception which "persuades" the consumer to like or to reject. It is this "weakness" on the part of the consumer to go for organoleptically superior foods that is driving the processing industry to pamper to this factor through marketing such products. Does the industry care about the adverse consequences of such an approach? Rarely! In a fiercely competitive market probably the manufacturers of processed foods will have to be one step ahead for survival and they have no option but to cater to the demands from the consumers.

While developing a product food technologists invariably focus more on consumer acceptability rather than the healthiness of the product. Such a distortion of the development perspectives has taken place because of the consumer attitude under which nutrition of a product is relegated to the background. Can this situation continue like this for long without the adverse consequences manifesting in different ways in the coming years? If no restraint is exercised, future of mankind will be in jeopardy and in less than 5 decades the world will be full of giant looking obese people with high morbidity and diverse diseases. There are many initiatives at the national and international level to counteract such a change but with little impact. Foods containing high sugars, high fat and high salt continue to be developed and promoted and it is time food technologists world over change their stance to devote more time for evolving "healthy" foods with greater emphasis on nutrition in preference to sensory quality. A new paradigm will have to emerge to guide these efforts.

According to a recent report a new discipline appears to be emerging in the West to combine nutrition with culinary aspects of foods that will have more emphasis on health but giving equal importance to inter linked subjects like science, technology and preparation skills. Culinology as it is being called is still a new concept and no university is imparting training in this area so far. Probably the health foods, specialty foods, functional foods all may be based Culinology as such foods can emerge only by fusing the culinary skills with food science and technology that will ensure shelf stability and manufacturing wherewithal. Who will be the candidates for training in culinology? Chefs, food technologists or nutritionists? Obviously it has to be the Chefs because they have the necessary skill to create mouth watering recipes and of the basics of nutrition are imbibed they are likely to be in the fore front in developing exciting new foods with excellent health credentials.

Presently in India there are different types of training courses leading to a multitude of degree certificates and about 1000 graduates coming out of these institutions are misfits when it comes to developing healthy foods with high culinary quality. On the other hand there are many catering training centers turning out personnel for the hotel industry with major emphasis on the organoleptically sound products. These trainees are not imparted adequate knowledge about human nutrition and health. If the training course is modified to develop adequate skills for making nutritionally sound products with high culinary quality, trained personnel from such courses will bring out revolutionary changes in the health of the population over the years.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

"SATIETY" DEVELOPMENT-THE EMERGING AREA IN FOOD RESEARCH

Food industry is continuously under attack for allegedly making wrong basket of foods, most of them considered unhealthy. It is not disputable that catering to the taste buds of the consumer can only generate profit for the industry and unfortunately the three food ingredients viz salt, sugar and fat can make foods with maximum organoleptic qualities. Of course if at all the industry is to be blamed it can be for not innovating enough to create foods with lower levels of the above ingredients without compromising too much on the sensory quality. There are many suggestions and guidelines for individuals to follow to cut down intake of foods so that their intake of calories is brought down significantly. There are also commercial out fits that offer a variety of diets claiming they have the ability to bring down body weight significantly within a reasonably short time.

Satiety is the feeling of satisfaction or not feeling the pangs of hunger and can be the key to future development of designer foods targeting those vulnerable to over eating or indisciplined consumption of all types of foods. Though it was known that there are some foods that can lessen the desire to eat more and others that promote further eating, most consumers have very little interest in such facts, focus being best foods agreeing to their palate. But countries all over the world are concerned about the health of their population and inappropriate and nutritionally unbalanced foods, offered mostly by the food industry, are considered the main culprits for almost all health afflictions experienced. Over weight and obesity are conditions that can lead to many health disorders which affect the quality of life besides the life span.

While governments can do very little to do to bring about any dramatic changes in the food consumption habits of people, industry is in a better position to help the society at large by changing their product portfolio to include products that are satiety oriented. Adequate scientific information is available regarding the factors that create satiety and based on these scientific findings many new products can be developed combining satiety inducing and low caloric dense food ingredients. Digestive track in humans produces several special proteins after the ingestion of a meal that provide the feeling of satiety and these appetite regulatory proteins, one of the important ones being cholecystokinin (CCK), serves the twin purpose of shutting the stomach valve that permits transfer of ingested food into the intestine and simultaneously sending message to the appetite center in the brain to generate a feeling of fullness.

Out of the three major constituents of food, certain fats and proteins are considered good for creating satiety while carbohydrates are least effective. Long chain fatty acids, mono unsaturated, contained in oils from corn, canola, peanut, olive, safflower, sunflower and soybean are good appetite suppressors while soy and whey proteins have also this property. Effectively combining food ingredients which are low in caloric density and high in dietary fiber like whole wheat, oats, barley, legumes and pulses, it should be possible to evolve foods which can reduce the appetite very significantly. As a strategy, consumption of almonds, peanuts, cheese etc before a meal has been claimed to be considerably effective to reduce the quantity of food consumed by an individual.

According to a recent scientific study eating wheat flour and almonds can significantly increase the feeling of fullness which can result in reduced tendency to take food and consequently prevent overeating. Through out the day hunger pangs can occur making people reach for the pantry and it is this urge that needs to be slowed down to maintain or reduce body weight. Whole grains, such as oats, barley, rye and corn are known to have the ability to prevent weight accumulation because of their high-volume, low-energy density and the relatively lower palatability. Resistant starch escapes digestion in the small intestine of healthy individuals and delivers the benefits of both soluble and insoluble fiber. It has been found that the quantity of resistant starch in foods correlates with blood glucose response and reduced food intake after two hours. Oligosaccharides which are complex carbohydrates, are found in beans and legumes, and they help maintain stable blood glucose levels when eaten as part of a meal. Like resistant starch, they are not digested by the small intestine and end up being metabolized and expelled from the large intestine. Proteins, considered good for creating satiety include soy, which have been shown to stimulate the release of cholecystokinin (CCK), a hormone that plays a role in appetite suppression. Similarly whey is also an effective satiety promoter by stimulating several gastrointestinal hormones that are thought to regulate appetite control in the brain. Same is true with egg and egg products.

As the area of satiety promotion is a relatively new one, considerable insight about various facets of this unique phenomenon needs to be understood more clearly. In one of the recent studies it was found that chewing a few Almonds forty times before swallowing increases excretion of appetite controlling hormones considerably while same Almonds chewed for less time had smaller impact. What is to be made of this finding is still not clear though the fine particles resulting from thorough chewing has been suggested as responsible for the effect. There are products like Badam Halwa, Badam Kheer etc derived from Almonds which find extensive use in Indian households and probably these finely ground products may have significant influence on satiety promotion. When late Morarjee Desai, former Prime Minister of India was known to have a diet containing Almonds, many wondered as to how he was living on a frugal diet without feeling the pangs of hunger. Similarly many Sadhus, Sanayasis , Ascetics and Godmen in India live on sparse diets containing small quantities of regular foods, apparently with no signs of any ill effect. It is time that Indian Food Scientists revisit the area of ancient food habits in the country to gain better insight into this important field of health and nutrition.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

"GOURME" COFFEE, CIVET CAT AND "HEAVENLY" PRICE

Connoisseurs of Tea are known to pay sky high prices for high quality natural products grown in high ranges like Darjeeling because the flavor obtained from such sources are unique. There are reports that such tea leaves cost 100-500 % more compared to their counterparts from the plains. The reason for such variation in prices is attributed to the cocktail of delicate aroma developed at high altitudes. But can one imagine such a situation with regard to coffee beans? Apparently there seems to be a limited trade in high value coffee beans "produced" in some Asian countries like Vietnam, the Philippines and Indonesia that can command prices as high as USD 2500 PER kg compared to less than $ 5 per kg for normal coffee, consumed world over! What is the "magic" involved in making such high priced coffee products from the very same varieties like Arabica, Robusta, Liberica, Excelsa etc?

As many of world's inventions are products of accidental events, the so called "civet coffee" known locally as Kopi Luwak, considered a gourmet product, also emerged from the jungles of Indonesia as an accidental discovery by the local population. To day this product is made in the islands of Sumatra, Java, Sulawezi in Indonesian Archipelago, in the Philippines, East Timur and Vietnam though it is known by different names in different countries. One wonders whether the so called connoisseurs of civet coffee would still enjoy the product if they really know the secrets involved in making this product with a halo around it.

Wild coffee plants that grow in certain regions where civet "cats" roam freely are the source from where civet coffee originates. Normal coffee berries are eaten by the animals when they are ripe and fleshy and after digesting the fruit pulp, the seeds are thrown out through the feces in about 36 hours' time which are collected by the locals for further processing. After gathering the beans from the feces, they are washed, sun-dried, lightly roasted, ground and brewed for obtaining an aromatic coffee with less bitterness and mild chocolaty after taste! The series of biological changes that take place in the digestive tract of the animal are due to action of several enzymes on the coffee berries and it is even reported that slight germination and mild Maillard reaction make the final coffee more aromatic and less bitter. Unlike normal coffee which requires admixture with Chicory to impart strength and body to the brewed beverage, civet coffee is reported to give a syrupy product with clean after taste. Why the western tourists who flock the tourist spots in South East Asia and enjoy the treat with civet coffee, with high sensitivity to food borne pathogens, is not concerned of E.coli or any other pathogens than can taint the final product remains a mystery!

Whether animal protectionists would like it or not there are captive civet farms being maintained in some coffee estates with closed boundaries to let the animals allowed to roam free during the nights to eat and defaecate for getting civet coffee of uniform quality. Asian Palm Civet is a small creature weighing hardly about 3 kg with the over all size of about 60 cm and a tail measuring about 45 cm. The anal scent glands secrete a fluid with a musky odor and whether this secretion plays any role in the characteristic traits of Civet coffee is not clear. Commercial considerations, with such high prices being fetched for this coffee, have led to artificial Civet coffee like products made by treating the harvested beans with a cocktail of enzymes that simulate the action in the digestive system in the animal, first pioneered by Vietnam. Civet coffee also goes by names such as Weasel coffee, Fox coffee, Cut chong, Squirrel coffee, Caphe chin etc. Kopi muncak is made from the dung of barking deer similar to civet coffee in some parts of Southeast Asia.

Considering that this highly priced coffee version is produced and consumed in limited quantities it is doubtful whether there is sufficient space for more players in the already crowded field. But for some limited studies by Vietnam on the biochemical aspects of converting fresh coffee berries into Civet coffee, no worth while scientific data exists on this unique bio-processed coffee. The need of the hour is to by-pass the animal and produce similar product with same characteristics and promote the product world wide. A cooperative effort amongst India, Indonesia, Philippines and Vietnam can put civet coffee on a better scientific and commercial footing in the coming years.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com

GOOD OLD "ATTA"-FACING THE MIGHT OF MODERN TECHNOLOGY

Atta is the ground product from whole wheat used extensively in preparing many food articles in India. By far the single largest use is in making Roti or Chapati or other products which are staple items in the diet of a majority of Indians. If multinational giants are in the Atta business, it is due to the extreme popularity of this milled product amongst the Indian consumers. It is another matter that entry of these large companies has pushed up the price to unimaginable levels during the past 2-3 years. Branded Atta to day costs more than double the price of the raw wheat and urban consumers have no alternate choice but to buy these products for their daily subsistence.

In western countries the concept of Atta was practically non-existent as most of the wheat products like pasta, bread, biscuits and many others are based on milled, refined flour containing no bran or germ, the most nutritious part of the grain. The sophisticated milling technology developed in the West based on automated roller flour milling concept has spawned large capacity plants with through put as high as 2000-3000 tons per day. The by-products like bran and germ go for compounded animal feeds. In contrast, Indian families had perfected manual process of grinding wheat grains into whole grain flour which preserved the characteristic aroma and taste of wheat. The historic "Atta Chakki" which once was an integral part of Indian family traditions, are disappearing fast from the landscape of the country for want of clientele which has switched over to branded Atta during the last one decade.

Atta Chakki or the stone mill or the plate mill as it is known amongst food technologists was originally based on revolving granite discs with a gap for feeding wheat grain and flours of any fineness can be obtained by adjusting the gap. Cast iron discs replaced the granite ones with more efficient grinding and through put capacities. Attempts by the organized flour mill industry to by-pass the Chakki ground Atta by mixing the bran fraction from the roller flour mill with refined white flour were doomed to failure and Atta Chakki survived. Adopting the strategy that "join the adversary if you cannot beat hm" larger Chakkis were designed by the organized milling industry for use along with the standard pre-cleaning and post-grinding facilities of their flour mills to manufacture Atta similar to Chakki ground Atta. Traditional Chakki stood the test of time and it is unlikely that any alternative will ever be found for this ubiquitous contraption of yesteryear.

Why is that Atta from Chakki rules supreme in India, able to beat back the onslaught of the modern technological prowess as represented by the Roller Flour Mills of sleek and elegant design? There is scientific basis for this phenomenon. One of the basic factors that puts Chakki Atta above modern white flour is the temperature generated in plate mills which cause "desirable" changes in the starch granules in the grain contributing to better quality roti in terms of aroma and eating pleasure. Besides its nutritional superiority in terms of high dietary fiber, higher Vitamin E content and minerals, Chakki Atta has more appealing flavor and sweeter taste due to the roasting effect and carotenoid content in whole flour. Even to day many house holds in Northern parts of the country buy high quality raw wheat based on their experience from the market, wash it clean with water, dry under the sun and take to the nearest Chakki facility to grind into Atta of desired fineness. One of the problems associated with whole wheat flour is its limited shelf life due to presence of high lipase germ fraction causing rancidity but traditionally only limited quantity of wheat is milled, just sufficient for a few days without causing any spoilage.

V.H.POTTY
http://vhpotty.blogspot.com/
http://foodtechupdates.blogspot.com