AG Food Science

Applied Science

Using science to solve real-life problems.

Aseptic Packaging

Packaging food in a sterile way to keep it safe.

Basic Science

The study of basic scientific knowledge.

Biotechnology

Using living things to make useful products.

Bulk Tank

A large cooled tank that stores milk on a farm.

Buttermilk

A thick, sour dairy drink made by fermenting milk.

Chromosome

A part of a cell that carries DNA.

Creaming

When milk fat rises to the top of milk.

Cross Contamination

When germs spread from one food or surface to another.

Cultured Milk Products

Dairy foods made using bacteria, like yogurt.

Curd

The solid part of milk used to make cheese.

Curing

Preserving meat with salt, smoke, or chemicals.

Denaturation

When proteins change shape from heat or chemicals.

Deterioration

Food slowly breaking down or going bad.

Domestication

Taming and breeding animals or plants for human use.

Dry Heat

Cooking with heat but no water (baking or roasting).

Drying

Removing water from food to preserve it.

Fermenting

Using bacteria or yeast to change food.

Food Biology

The study of living things in food.

Food-borne Illness

Getting sick from contaminated food.

Food Chemistry

The study of chemicals in food.

Food Poisoning

Illness from eating bad or contaminated food.

Food Physics

The study of physical changes in food.

Food Science

The study of how food is made and kept safe.

Food Spoilage

When food goes bad.

Gene Mapping

Finding where genes are located on DNA.

Grade A Milk

Milk safe to drink without further processing.

Grade B Milk

Milk used for making dairy products like cheese.

Heat Preservation

Using heat to kill bacteria in food.

Homogenization

Breaking fat in milk into tiny pieces so it stays mixed.

Inoculation

Adding helpful bacteria to food.

Irradiation

Using radiation to kill germs in food.

Mastitis

An infection in a cow’s udder.

Meat Thermometer

A tool used to check the temperature of meat.

Medium

Meat cooked with a warm pink center.

Medium-rare

Meat cooked lightly with a red center.

Milk Sterilization

Heating milk to kill all bacteria.

Moist Heat

Cooking with water or steam.

Nitrogen Fixation

Changing nitrogen in the air into a form plants can use.

Pasteurization

Heating food to kill harmful bacteria.

Perishable

Food that spoils quickly.

Preservation

Methods used to keep food from spoiling.

Rancidity

When fats or oils spoil and smell bad.

Scientific Principle

A basic rule explaining how something works in science.

Sterilization

Destroying all bacteria and germs.

Well Done

Meat cooked all the way through with no pink.

Whey

The liquid left after milk forms curds during cheese making.