Chapter 1 - Food Selection

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Understanding Food Principles and Preparation • Fifth Edition
AMY BROWN
© Cengage Learning 2015
Food Selection
1

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Food Choices
• Food scientists study:
– Why people eat
– What people eat
– Which food characteristics entice customers

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Food Choices (cont’d.)
• Factors that influence food selection
– Sensory
– Nutritional
– Cultural
– Religious
– Psychological and sociological
– Budgetary

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Sensory Criteria

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Sensory Criteria (cont’d.)
• Often the most important criteria for food
selection
• Senses can be deceiving
– Enriching the color of milk may result in
perceiving it as:
• Higher in fat
• Smoother in texture
• More flavorful

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Sensory Criteria (cont’d.)
• Odors classified into groups
– Six groups: spicy, flowery, fruity, resinous,
burnt, foul
– Four groups: fragrant, acid, burnt, caprylic
– Two groups: inedible vs. edible
– Groups can overlap

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Sensory Criteria (cont’d.)
• Five types of taste
– Sweet (chemical configuration of molecule)
– Sour (acids in foods)
– Bitterness (certain compounds in foods)
– Salty (ionized salts)
– Savory/umami (glutamate)

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Sensory Criteria (cont’d.)
• Factors affecting taste
– Genetics
– Age and sex
– Degree of hunger
– Temperature of food
– Color of food
– Time of day food is eaten
• Flavor = taste + aroma

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Sensory Criteria (cont’d.)
• Factors affecting touch
– Texture
– Consistency
– Astringency
– Chemesthesis

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Nutritional Criteria
• Obesity epidemic has led to new food
choices for many people
• Calories/kilocalories
– Calories (cal): a measure of energy
(correlated to heat)
– Kilocalories (kcal): a measure of food energy
– Calories are a unit of measure, NOT a
component of food

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Nutritional Criteria (cont’d.)

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Nutritional Criteria (cont’d.)
• Dietary Guidelines for Americans
– Published by the USDA & DHHA every five
years
• Most recent version: 2011
– Offers healthy guidelines for food intake
– Illustrated at www.choosemyplate.gov
• Newer version of food pyramid
• Pictorial representation of a plate
• SuperTracker

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Nutritional Criteria (cont’d.)

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Nutritional Criteria (cont’d.)
• Vegetarianism
– Followed by 3-4% of adult population; 15% of
college students
– Can reduce risk of:
• Heart disease
• Some cancers
• Diabetes mellitus
• Obesity
• High blood pressure

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Nutritional Criteria (cont’d.)

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Nutritional Criteria (cont’d.)
• Nutraceuticals
– Herbs, multivitamins, etc.
• Functional foods
– Foods eaten for health benefits
• Nutrigenomics
– Diet plans tailored to a person’s genes

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Nutritional Criteria (cont’d.)

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Calorie Control: Calorie Balance
• Estimated goal for maintenance
– Women: 1600 kcalories per day
– Men: 2400 kcalories per day
• Estimated guidelines per meal
– Women: three meals of 400 kcal + two snacks
of 200 kcal
– Men: three meals of 600 kcal + two snacks of
300 kcal

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Calorie Control: Calorie Balance
(cont’d.)
• Starvation:
– Women should not consume fewer than 1200
kcal per day
– Men should not consume fewer than 1600
kcal per day
• 1lb = 3500 calories
– Daily deficit of 500 kcal = 1lb lost per week

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Cultural Criteria
• Ethnic influences
• Place of birth
• Geography and climate
• Cultural influences on manners

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Religious Criteria
• Religions that promote vegetarianism
– Buddhism
– Hinduism
– Seventh Day Adventist
• Church of Latter Day Saints (Mormonism):
– Discourages alcohol, coffee, and tea
• Judaism: kosher practices
• Islam: halal practices

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Religious Criteria (cont’d.)

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Psychological & Sociological Criteria
• Food advertisements and social pressures
• Bioengineering
– Attitudes about genetically modified
organisms (GMOs) are largely societal
• Include allergies, gene contamination, and
religious/cultural concerns
• Food preferences
– Organic food
– Natural food
– Processed foods

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Psychological & Sociological Criteria
(cont’d.)

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Budgetary Criteria
• Budgets affect what is bought and how
often
• Time is also a consideration (i.e.,
convenience foods)

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Chapter Summary
• Criteria for choosing food
– Sensory (sight, odor, taste, and texture)
– Nutritional (choosemyplate.gov)
– Cultural and religious practices
– Psychological factors
– Budgetary concerns