NUTR 210 Midterm Practice

USASK/UOFS

MODULE 1.1 Food Literacy and Food Selection

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Food literacy

The knowledge, skills, and attitudes needed to make informed food choices

Components of food literacy

Knowledge about food, practical food skills, and decision-making

Why food literacy is important

Supports health, community wellbeing, and sustainability

Food literacy and health

Helps individuals make healthier food choices

Food literacy and sustainability

Encourages awareness of environmental impacts of food

Food selection

The process of choosing foods to eat

Main factors influencing food selection

Sensory, nutritional, cultural, social, psychological, budget, and environmental factors

Most important food selection factor

Sensory factors

Sight

Visual cues like color, shape, texture, and portion size affect appeal

Color and food perception

Color strongly influences how appetizing food looks

Odor

Smell influences perceived quality and desirability of food

Olfactory adaptation

Smell fades with repeated exposure

How smell works

Volatile molecules activate olfactory cells in the nose

Taste

The most influential sensory factor in food choice

Taste buds

Detect taste when food dissolves in saliva

Taste signaling

Signals travel from gustatory cells to the brain

Six taste stimuli

Sweet, sour, bitter, salty, umami, and oleogustus

Oleogustus

Taste associated with fat

Why taste differs between people

Biological, environmental, and psychological differences

Touch

Texture, consistency, and temperature affect food acceptance

Texture descriptors

Crisp, smooth, greasy, or lumpy

Sound

Crunching or sizzling signals freshness and texture

Nutritional factors

Nutrition influences food choice after taste and price

Cultural factors

Culture defines acceptable foods and eating customs

Religious factors

Religion determines permitted foods and preparation rules

Psychological factors

Emotions, marketing, and personal associations influence choices

Social factors

Social settings and peer pressure affect eating behavior

Organic food in Canada

Food produced under national organic standards

Budget and environment

Money, time, and food availability influence food choices

MODULE 1.2 Sensory Evaluation

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Sensory evaluation

The process of using the senses to evaluate food quality

Purpose of sensory evaluation

To describe, compare, and evaluate food beyond personal opinion

Two types of food evaluation

Sensory (subjective) and objective

Sensory evaluation type

Subjective evaluation based on human senses

Objective tests

Tests that measure physical or chemical properties of food

Analytical tests

Used to detect differences between food samples

Analytical test panels

Usually conducted by trained panelists

Objectivity of analytical tests

More objective than affective tests

Discriminative tests

Determine whether samples are different

Descriptive tests

Measure how much samples differ

Affective tests

Measure acceptance or preference of food

Purpose of affective tests

Determine liking or preference by consumers

Why sensory evaluation is used in labs

To move beyond gut reactions and use descriptive analysis

Role of the evaluator

Act as a food detective using sensory language

Goal of lab sensory evaluation

Improve observation and description of food qualities

Appearance

Evaluation of shape, size, color, and surface or interior

Flavor

Overall impression combining taste, aroma, and mouthfeel

Taste

Sensation detected by taste buds through chemical reactions

Aroma

Smell of food that strongly influences preference

Texture

Tactile feel based on structure and resistance

Mouthfeel

Sensations experienced inside the mouth

Taste qualities

Sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and astringent

Appearance descriptors

Terms like shiny, pale, burnt, smooth, or golden brown

Flavor descriptors

Terms like sweet, bitter, rancid, nutty, or metallic

Texture descriptors

Terms like crisp, chewy, gritty, or creamy

Mouthfeel descriptors

Terms like sticky, slimy, crunchy, or smooth

Importance of sensory evaluation at home

Helps improve food quality and cooking confidence

Sensory evaluation benefit

Allows food to be tailored to different tastes

Overall value of sensory evaluation

Enhances how food looks, feels, and tastes

MODULE 2.1 Food Preparation Eqpt. and Skills

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Food preparation basics

Foundational skills that support confident and consistent cooking

Why food prep skills matter

Help understand how tools, ingredients, and techniques affect results

Goal of learning basics

Move beyond recipes and cook thoughtfully

Importance of correct kitchen tools

Improves efficiency, safety, quality, consistency, and cost-effectiveness

Food preparation principles

Same at home and in foodservice, different scale of equipment

Basic kitchen equipment categories

Utensils, pots and pans, and small equipment

Utensils

Hand tools used for preparing and handling food

Pots and pans

Cookware used for stovetop and oven cooking

Small equipment

Appliances that assist with food preparation

Bakeware

Pans and dishes designed for oven use

Cake pans

Round, square, oblong, or springform pans

Cookie sheets

Flat pans with low sides for even baking

Sheet pans

Used for baking and roasting; heavy-duty resists warping

Aluminum cookware

Lightweight and conducts heat well

Stainless steel cookware

Durable and non-reactive

Nonstick cookware

Prevents food from sticking and uses less fat

Cast iron cookware

Retains heat well and provides even cooking

Glass cookware

Allows visibility and retains heat

Small kitchen appliances

Microwave, slow cooker, air fryer, rice cooker, blender, mixer

Basic food preparation skills

Knife skills, measuring, and mixing techniques

Knife skills

Proper cutting techniques for efficiency and safety

Purpose of uniform cutting

Ensures even cooking and better appearance

Common cutting styles

Slicing, chopping, dicing, mincing, julienne

Measuring

Critical for accuracy and consistent results

Types of measurement

Weight, volume, and count

Weight measurement

Measures how heavy an ingredient is

Metric weight units

Grams and kilograms

US weight units

Ounces and pounds

Volume measurement

Measures how much space an ingredient takes up

Metric volume units

Milliliters and liters

US volume units

Teaspoons, tablespoons, cups, pints, quarts

Most accurate weight tool

Scale

Most accurate volume tool

Measuring cup

Liquid measuring

Use transparent graduated cups and read at eye level

Meniscus

Curve at the surface of a liquid used for accurate reading

Dry ingredient measuring

Stir to remove lumps and use flat measuring cups

Small amounts

Measure with measuring spoons

Mixing techniques

Methods used to combine ingredients

Examples of mixing techniques

Stirring, beating, creaming, folding, whipping