The course of Physical Chemistry Properties and Quality of Food Products is intended to give account of the thermodynamic properties of the amorphous state, which characterizes most food products. The state diagrams and the second order phase transitions of the main food components are presented.
Roos – Phase Transitions in Foods (Academic Press, New York, 1995)
Professor notes on the arguments of the course located in MOODLE platform.
Learning Objectives
Knowledge of the physical factors (temperature, water content) influencing to a large degree the quality of foods in the amorphous state.
Prerequisites
No mandatory course is required.
Teaching Methods
Lectures and laboratory experiment.
Type of Assessment
Oral examination and written relation on the laboratory experiment.
Course program
Thermodynamics of phase transitions. First- and second-order phase transitions. Crystallization, overheating and oversaturation. Kelvin equation. Amorphous state. Glass-rubber transitions. Mechanical and viscoelastic parameters of amorphous polymers. Regions of viscoelastic behaviour as a function of temperature.
Water solutions and colligative properties. Freezing-point depression. State diagrams of water solution under equilibrium and non-equilibrium conditions.
Foods and their main components. Amorphous and crystalline carbohydrates. Proteins: denaturation and “glassy” transitions.