GCSE Food Preparation And Nutrition

• 5 a day 


  The Government recommends that everyone should eat at least five portions of different fruits or vegetables every day to promote good health.
• Additive 


  Something that's added to a food product to improve its properties.
• Aeration 


  When air is added to a mxiture to help make it lighter, e.g. when making cakes.
• Allergy 


  An immune system response to a certain substance (an allergen), e.g. in fish, nuts and eggs.
• Alternative Protein 


  A form of protein other than protein from meat which is suitable for vegetarians (e.g. tofu, TVP).
• Ambient food 


  A food that can be safely stored at room temperature.
• Amino acids 


  'Building blocks' of the body that make up proteins. Our bodies can make non-essential amino acids, but we have to get essential amino acids from foods.
• Anaemia 


  A condition where you have a reduced number of red blood cells, e.g. iron deficiency.
• Antioxidant 


  A substance that protects our bodies from free radicals (chemicals that can cause cancer). Vitamins A, C and E are examples of antioxidants.
• Basal metabolic rate (BMR) 


  The minimum amount of energy needed to keep you alive each day.
• Basting 


  Putting the fat that has melted out of food back on top of the food while it's cooking.
• 'Best before' date 


  A date mark on the packaging of lower-risk food (e.g. dried pasta) that tells you when the food is expected to deteriorate in quality.
• Biological value 


  A measure of the amount of essential amino acids a protein-based food contains.
• Blanching 


  A cooking process that involves plunging a food, e.g. fruit or vegetables, into boiling water before cooling them in cold/iced water (often used before freezing).
• Blended sauce 


  A sauce made from liquid and a paste of cornflour and water/milk.
• Braising 


  Slow-cooking food in a covered pot that also contains liquid, herbs and vegetables.
• Calorie 


  A measure of the amount of energy in food.
• Caramelisation 


  The browing of sugar and the change in its flavour when it's heated above a certain temperature.
• Carbon footprint 


  A measure of the impact something has on the environment, based on the harmful greenhouse gases produced.
• Climate change 


  A gradual change in climate patterns, e.g. due to global warming.
• Coagulation 


  When denatured proteins join together, changing the appearance and texture of food, e.g. when egg white turns solid.
• Coeliac disease 


  Where the digestive system is sensitive to gluten and can't digest it.
• Conduction 


  The transfer of heat energy through solids by the vibration of particles.
• Convection 


  The transfer of heat energy through gases or liquids by circulating currents.
• Coronary heart disease (CHD) 


  A disease caused by a build-up of fatty deposits in coronary arteries.
• Cross-contamination 


  Transferring potentially harmful bacteria (or other microorganisms) from one thing to another, e.g. from raw food to ready-to-eat food via work surfaces, equipment or your hands.
• Cuisine 


  A style of cooking representative of a certain country or region.
• Danger zone 


  The range of temperatures (5 degrees - 63 degrees) in which bacteria multiply very quickly.
• Denaturation 


  When the chemical bonds holding proteins together break down, causing the protein to unravel.
• Dextrinisation 


  When starch molecules break down into dextrins after being exposed to dry heat.
• Diabetes 


  A disorder where blood glucose levels stay too high because the pancreas either can't produce enough insulin or the body resists it.
• Dietary reference values 


  Estimates of the amounts of nutrients people need in their diet.
• Dry frying 


  Cooking food in a pan without added fat or oil, sometimes called dry roasting.
• Eatwell Guide 


  Government healthy eating guidelines in the form or a pie chart that shows how much or how little of each food group your diet should contain.
• Emulsifier 


  Something that's added to food to hold together ingredients that don't usually stay mixed, e.g. oil and water.
• Emulsion 


  A mixture of oily and watery liquids, e.g. mayonaise.
• Enzymes 


  Biological catalysts that speed up chemical reactions.
• Factory-farmed 


  Produced by an intensive farming technique where reared animals have little room to move.
• Fairtrade 


  A charity that partners with food suppliers to try to improve their working conditions and income.
• Fat-soluble vitamins 


  Vitamins A, D, E and K found in fatty foods, that the body can store in fat tissue for future use.