E. Dickinson - Böcker

Key Features: Study methods Introduction to the text Summaries with critical notes Themes and techniques Textual analysis of key passages Author biography Historical and literary background Modern and historical critical approaches Chronology Glossary of literary terms

The field of food colloids is concerned with the physical chemistry of food systems viewed as assemblies of particles and macromolecules in various states of supramolecular and microscopic organization. The objective is to relate the equilbrium and dynamic properties fo the system to the interactions amongst the constituent molecular and particulate entities. The emphasis is on structure and kinetics at the colloidal scale, and with the distribution of molecular food components (proteins, lipids, polysaccharides, etc) between dispersed and continuous bulk phases (water, fat, air, etc) and various kinds of interfaces (oil-water, air-water, etc.) Food products such as butter, cheese, ice-cream, margarine, mayonnaise and yoghurt are all examples of food colloids. This book describes experimental and theoretical developments in the field of food colloids. To some extent it is meant as a companion volume to "Colloids in Food", written by E. Dickinson and G. Stainsby. The basic principles of colloid science were covered in the earlier book, while the present book concentrates on recent information from research carried out.The authors have tried to strike a reasonable balance between theory and experiment, between principles and applications, and between molecular and physical approaches to the subject.

'There is no higher or lower knowledge, but only one, flowing out of experimen­ tation. ' (Leonardo da Vinci, 1452-1519) Food materials are complex in terms of composition, structure and mechanical properties. In order to understand the relationship between these different kinds of complexity, the experimental food scientist has a wide range of physico-chemical techniques at his or her disposal. But, in practice, of course, there are often severe limitations on the techniques which are available for any particular investigation. Apart from obvious constraints associated with instrument cost and accessibility, one com­ mon problem is a lack of knowledge by the non-expert about the capabilities and limitations of every new advance in instrumentation. No individual worker in the field of food science can become expert in more than a very small number of experimental techniques. On the other hand, most of us wish to know enough about the major emerging experimental technologies to enable us to make a realistic assessment of what they may have to contribute towards any new problems that we may meet. This book collects together in a single volume an up-to-date set of introductory articles describing a range of new physico-chemical tech­ niques which can be used to probe food structure at the molecular, colloidal and microscopic levels. Each individual chapter is written by an acknowledged expert in his field.

The field of food colloids is concerned with the physical chemistry of food systems viewed as assemblies of particles and macromolecules in various states of supramolecular and microscopic organization. The objective is to relate the equilibrium and dynamic properties of the system to the inter­ actions amongst the constituent molecular and particulate entities. The emphasis is on structure and kinetics at the colloidal scale, and with the distribution of molecular food components (proteins, lipids, poly­ saccharides, etc.) between dispersed and continuous bulk phases (water, fat, air, etc.) and various kinds of interfaces (oil-water, air-water, etc.). Food products such as butter, cheese, ice-cream, margarine, mayonnaise of food colloids. and yoghurt are all examples This book describes some recent experimental and theoretical develop­ ments in the field of food colloids. By way of background, we start with a brief survey of the current consumer trends which may point the way towards future research opportunities in the field. Chapter 1 also attempts to illustrate the way in which advances in instrumental methods and experimental investigations of well-defined mixed protein-surfactant systems are offering new insights into the structure of protein adsorbed layers and the competitive adsorption of proteins in oil-in-water emulsion systems.