Tuesday, 28 April 2020

ANC - 1

7th Part 

SELECTION OF FOOD ACCESSORIES 
Food accessories include those edible materials that are used to improve the flavor and appearance of our food. All spices and herbs, salt, vinegar, tamarind, lime, flavoring extracts like vanilla, orange essence, strawberry essence, chocolate essence, and all edible coloring agents comes under the category of food accessories.  

SELECTION OF BEVERAGES 
Q  Discuss the role of grades, brands, and labels while purchasing food items, giving suitable Examples                                         6
A   Labels - It gives us information about the product we are about to purchase. A good label should also give a description of the product. A good label should also have a grade on it and the stamp of the authority of the agency that has graded it, for example, 'AGMARK' and the stamp of the Indian Standards Institution (ISI) which specifies quality. The grading is, however voluntary for the domestic market.

Brands - A brand is a trading name under which a particular item is sold. Brand tells us about the manufacturer who has made the item. The effort of the producer is to establish his product as a standard benchmark. Forex Saffola

Grades: The grade is a classification of different units of a product having the same
qualities and value. Grade denotes a particular quality - superior or ordinary,"A" grade or "B" grade, and so on.

Fill in the blanks 
#  The two important constituents of tea are (tannins) and ( caffeine)
#  For making a strong cup of tea, one would use the (granular) ..type of tea leaves
#  (caffeol ) is responsible for the aroma -and flavor of coffee whereas ( caffeine ) provides the stimulating property of coffee
#  (Aerated soft drinks) are flavored water into which carbon dioxide is added under pressure.  

Q  Mention two functions of spices in food.
A    Preservation and flavor

Q  Name four herbs most commonly used in India.
A   Mint leaves, coriander leaves, curry leaves, soya leaves

Q  What are the four sources of salt in our country?
A   Rock, lake, underground springs, sea

True or False   

#  Powdered spices lose their aroma faster than whole spices. 
A    True
#  All vinegar in the market is made from sugar cane juice. (T/F)
A   False; in the markets mostly synthetic vinegar is available which is made from acetic acid
#  Ripe tamarind lasts longer if you remove the seeds(T/F)
A  True
#  Most food flavors in use today are synthetic. (True/False)
A  True
#  The carbohydrate present in a ripe banana is in the form of starch. (True/False)
A   False; the carbohydrate present in a ripe banana is in the form of sugar.
#  Full ripe oranges should be light, soft with no molded spots.
A   False; full-ripe oranges should be firm and heavy with no soft or moulded spots
#  While buying lime one should look for a yellow lime with thin and shiny skin.
A  True
#  One should buy custard apples which are 'light green in color with the crevices between the eyes just beginning to turn brown. (True/False)
A  False; while buying custard apples one should look for yellowish & green skin with the crevices between the eyes white in color.
#  Ripe papaya is a rich source of an enzyme, which digests protein.
A  False; unripe papaya is a rich source of papain (an enzyme) which digests protein. 
Q  Green leafy vegetables make a wry significant contribution in terms of which four
protective nutrients
A  Iron, calcium, vitamin C, and carotene.
5.  Briefly explain the three main causes of food spoilage. What measures would you adopt to minimize or avoid food spoilage?
Q  (a) Discuss any three major causes of food spoilage.  6
Q  (a) Elaborate on the common causes of food spoilage.      5
Q  Discuss the various causes of food spoilage. How can these be prevented ? 6
Q  Discuss the principles & methods used to prevent the microbial spoilage of food.  10
A.  The major causes of food spoilage are micro-organisms, natural enzymes, Insects, and rodents.                       
1.  Micro-organisms: Foods are normally contaminated with microorganisms like bacteria, yeast, moulds, algae, protozoans and others. Among these, bacteria, mould, and yeast is the major cause of food spoilage.
a. Bacteria - They play a major role in spoilage of meat, poultry, dairy, and fish products. Bacteria do not thrive on foods that are acidic or alkaline in nature. They develop rapidly on foods that are neutral or near-neutral in the reaction such as vegetables, milk, eggs, meat, and fish.
b. Yeast : Yeast represents another category of micro-organisms. Yeast causes food to ferment. The extent to which fermentation can harm the food is dependent upon the amount of alcohol produced in the food. The more the alcohol produced, the more is the extent of spoilage. Fruits especially, the cooked fruit juices which have only a small amount of sugar, ferment easily, leading to spoilage.
c. Moulds: Moulds are the minute plants. They grow on all kinds of foods and prefer warm, damp, and dark places. For example, the black hairy growth of moulds on bread or the grey fuzzy growth on cheese. If the growth of the mould is heavy, it leads to the complete change of food flavor and texture.

2. Natural food enzymes - Natural food enzymes are responsible for the self decomposition of food. Enzymes continue to remain active even after the plant has been harvested or the animal slaughtered. The processes of ripening of food due to enzyme action will continue. Some of the processes are desirable to a certain degree, for example, the ripening of papaya, custard apple (shareefa), mangoes and, tomatoes after harvesting. Ripening beyond a certain point leads to deterioration or lowering of quality. The over-ripe bananas and papayas, the over matured tasteless corn, and peas in the market are examples of deterioration due to enzymes. Most of the deterioration (spoilage) of food that occurs in the field or in transport or in the markets is due to such enzyme action.

3.  Insects and rodents: They are particularly destructive to cereals grains and to fruits and vegetables. Worms, bugs, and moths damage the food items both in the field, as well as, during storage at home. In addition to eating away the food, they damage it and thereby expose it to bacterial, yeast, and mould infections. The problem with rodents is they not only consume the food but also they contaminate the food with filth. Rodent urine and droppings causes different kinds of diseases that infect human beings. Of the almost 10 percent losses in grains at the farm level in our country insects, rodents and birds are responsible for almost 6 percent.
          For food preservation we either destroy micro-organisms and natural enzymes or keep their activity and growth under control.

Prevention or Delay of Decomposition of food
a)High temperature - Most bacteria are killed in the range of 82*-93*C while we need higher temperatures under pressure to destroy bacterial spores.
b) Low temperature - Below 1O°C (5O*F) the growth of most micro-organisms is slow and becomes slower as the temperature gets colder and colder. This is the reason why most foods stay in the refrigerator for longer than they do at room temperatures without getting spoilt. This is also the reason why one can keep certain food items safe for months by freezing them.
c) Drying - Removing-water from certain food items will also draw out water from the bacterial cells, bringing bacterial growth to a stop. Drying, therefore, protects food from spoilage by micro-organisms.
d) Acids - The acid acts as a preservative as Micro-organisms are sensitive to acid. Acids like citric acid & phosphoric acid added directly to foods inhibit the growth of micro-organisms. Several foods such as tomatoes, citrus juices, and apples contain natural acids. All of them have varying degrees of preservative power.
e) Sugar and salt in high concentrations - High concentration of sugar or salt also act as a preservative. It interferes with the growth and multiplication of the microorganism by drawing out water from inside the cell. Dry salting is used in India for preserving many foods like tamarind, lime, amla, fish, and meat. Our pickles are also preserved by adding large amounts of salt. Large amounts of sugar have used that act as a preservative in making jams and jellies.
f) Smoke - Smoke contains a preservative chemical called formaldehyde which inhibits the growth of micro-organisms. It is also the heat associated with the smoke which kills the micro-organisms and at the time dries out the food, further contributing to the preservation.
g) Air - Certain micro-organisms require air for growth (aerobes). By wax coating of cheese or by wrapping the food in skin-tight plastic sheets inside which air (oxygen) cannot enter, it is another process to stop the growth of micro-organisms.
h) Chemicals - Chemicals like Sodium benzoate, potassium metabisulphite, sorbic acid, and calcium propionate inhibits the growth of moulds and is used in preserving jams and jellies.
i) Radiation - X-rays, microwaves, ultraviolet light radiations, and ionizing radiations are different kinds that have been used to preserve food.

Q  What factors affect food spoilage. 6
(c) Causes of food spoilage
A  Same factors like temperature, moisture affect the growth of microorganisms, action of enzymes, and hence affect food spoilage.
Temperature - Each microorganism has an optimum temperature i.e. the temp. at which the growth of microorganisms is maximum through multiplication. Similarly, enzymes are active at an optimum temperature. Microbial growth/enzyme action growth may be prevented by either decreasing or increasing the optimum temperature. Both the Freezing process and high temperature kills the microorganisms and slows down the enzyme action.

Moisture and dryness: Excessive moisture or excessive dryness leads to the spoilage of stored foods. Certain foods that are in the best condition when moist deteriorate rapidly on drying. Similarly, some foods should be kept dry if they get moist, they get spoilt.

Air and oxygen: Vitamins, particularly A and C as well as food colors and flavors gets destroyed when exposed to air and oxygen. Oxygen also helps the growth of moulds. In packaged foods effort is made to remove oxygen by vacuum or by flushing the food containers with nitrogen or carbon dioxide, in order to prevent such deterioration.

Light: Some vitamins, particularly riboflavin, vitamin A and vitamin C, and many food colors are destroyed by light. Sensitive foods are often protected from light by using containers that keep light out, for example, dark-colored bottles.

Time: Any food is at its peak quality for a particular time period after it is harvested, slaughtered, or manufactured. This period is very short from just a few hours after harvest as in the.case of fresh peas to maybe a day or two for fresh corn. The longer the time the greater is the spoilage of food.

Q  Define Perishable food  6
Q  Classification of food based on perishability   5
A. Perishable foods: These are foods which spoil easily unless special methods are used to
prevent such spoilage. All animal foods like meat, fish, poultry, eggs, milk, and milk products, and most vegetables and fruits come in this category. The speed with which some of these foods spoil depends upon various factors like temperature, moisture and/or dryness of the environment; for example, while in the cold season milk can remain at room temperature for a whole day without spoiling, in the hot season it would not last more than 3 to 4 hours. Fresh eggs, meats, and fish spoil very fast in the hot weather unless refrigerated. As for vegetables and fruits. they spoil faster as the day progresses.

Semi-perishable foods: These are foods that can survive without any signs of spoilage for a couple of weeks or for a few months. Here again, the temperature and Moisture of the environment plays a big role in the spoilage of food. Examples of this category is all cereal and pulse products like wheat flour, refined wheat flour, semolina, broken wheat, Bengal gram flour, onions, potatoes, garlic, apples, citrus fruits, fats, and oils. if properly handled and stored these will remain unspoiled for a fairly long time.

Non-perishable foods: Cereals, pulses, sugar come in this category. They do not spoil unless handled and stored carelessly.  

Q  What are the methods of food storage.
A  Storage of non-perishable foods: Cereals, pulses, sugar, salt, and also tamarind, and some spices are often stored for a year by people in rural areas, generally from one harvest to another. In town and cities, this is not possible due to the paucity of space, funds, etc. Precautions while storing non-perishable foods like cereals and pulses:
#  You should carefully clean them to remove gravel, husk, and other foreign matter (if possible wash), and dry thoroughly in the sun.
#  Store them in clean containers that have tight-fitting lids. These containers can be of tin, aluminum, plastic, or glass. Clay pots or gunny bags also used in case of large quantities.
#  These containers should be put either in the storeroom or in the storage cupboard in your house.
#  It is better to have a storage space away from the kitchen because the temperatures in the kitchen are higher than what is ideal for storage.

Storage of semi-perishables: Some of the cereal products, roots, and tubers, nuts and oilseeds, and fruits come in this category. Let us discuss the storage of each one of these.
Cereal products:  Cereal products like different flours, semolina, broken wheat develop an off-flavor or are infested by insects very easily. They should be sieved and cleaned of all such contamination, exposed to the sun for a few hours, allowed to cool, and then stored in containers with tight-fitting lids.
Roots and Tubers: Especially onions and potatoes should be stored in a cool, dry, and airy place to prevent them from developing moulds or growing shoots. They are best hung up from the ceiling with the help of wires or plastic baskets, keeping them exposed to air circulation. Do not keep them in the kitchen as they need a cool place.
Nuts:  Nuts become rancid and infested with insects very easily. To protect them we should keep them in plastic bags inside a refrigerator. You can also freeze them to make them last for a year or even more.
Fruits:  Like apples, oranges and semi-ripe mangoes do last for a few weeks and should be put in a basket covered with paper to prevent them from drying up. Ready-to-eat oranges and mangoes are best kept in a plastic bag in the refrigerator. They need a cool environment to last long.  

Storage of perishables: Low temperatures slow down spoilage in perishable foods - both due to enzyme action as well as, that caused by microorganisms. Normally, a domestic refrigerator is used at home for the storage of perishable foods. The level of temperatures maintained inside a refrigerator which varies between 6" C and 10" C helps to protect the food only for a short time period. Foods can be kept for a longer time in the freezing unit than on the shelves.    
Meat, fish, poultry: For longer period storage, foods like meat, chicken, and fish need to be kept in a deep freeze at -6* temperature. These foods should not be kept at room temperature for more than an hour or two. They should be cooked immediately if you do not have refrigeration facilities.
Eggs: should not be kept at room temperature for more than two days or so even in cool weather. They are best kept in a refrigerator.
Milk: The practice of boiling milk destroys the microorganisms as well as the enzymes
present in it, and therefore boiled milk can be kept at room temperature for 6 to 12 hours. Giving it a second boil after 6 hours or so during hot weather makes it last longer.  
Vegetables:  Leafy vegetables deteriorate very quickly. They should be kept wrapped in a damp cloth or inside a plastic bag in the refrigerator. Even here they do not last for more than a day or two. All other vegetables keep well in a cool place with relatively high humidity - in a basket covered with a damp cloth. They last longer in a refrigerator but must be kept in plastic bags to prevent drying by evaporation.  

Household methods of pest control -  
Keeping the house clean, particularly the storeroom and the kitchen is the first step towards controlling pests. Keeping all containers tightly shut, and not allowing food items to spill and remain spilled in the storeroom or in the kitchen. Keeping a closed container for collecting kitchen garbage is essential. This garbage container should be lined with a plastic bag that can be thrown with the garbage thus keeping the container relatively clean. It should be emptied, if possible twice a day.
To prevent the entry of these pests into our house and into our food. Some of the following steps would be helpful:
i)  At the time of buying make sure the food item is not infested with any of the pests. The soft drink bottle cases generally have cockroaches in their crevices. Gunny bags from the shops often have insects in them.
ii)  Clean all the grain, pulses, and spices, expose them to the sun and cool them before storing them (note that rice should be put in the sun).
iii)  Clean the storage containers regularly, dry them in the sun, and cool them before filling up with food items. Containers should have tight-fitting lids.
iv)  Make sure all crevices and cracks in the walls and in the windows and doors are sealed. These are favorite places for the insects to breed and multiply.

Q  Discuss principles and methods of food preservation           8
 Give the principle of common methods of food preservation.   5
A  The basic principles of food preservation are to either kill or to inactivate or control
the growth of microorganisms and activation of natural enzymes. Some of the methods used for preservation are -
Answer is given above -  Preventition or Delay of Decomposition of food 
a)High temperature - Most bacteria are killed in the range of 82*-93*C while we need higher temperatures under pressure to destroy bacterial spores.
b) Low temperature - Below 1O°C (5O*F) the growth of most micro-organisms is slow and becomes slower as the temp……………

Monday, 27 April 2020

ANC - 1

6th Part

Selection of Sugar, Jaggery and other Sweetening Agents -
 Smaller crystal sugars are easy to adulterate particularly the powdery ones with semolina (suji). The bigger crystal sugars are purer although they take longer to dissolve. It is better to buy large crystal sugars. Jaggery should be clean, dust-free and kept at a hygienic place. It is a traditional product made from cane juice, coconut palm, date palm, toddy palm as well as sago palm. All these are very similar in calorie content. The main contribution of jaggery, however, is energy. 
SELECTION OF BODY-BUILDING FOODS
Pulses, milk and milk products and flesh foods belong to the body-building food group, which are the main contributors of proteins in our diet. Plant sources of protein include dals, grams, nuts and oilseeds. Animal sources of protein include milk, egg, fish, poultry and meat.
Selection of Pulses
Pulses are the chief source of proteins for the vast majority of our vegetarian population. All pulse proteins are rich in amino acids lysine but poor in methionine and cereals like rice, wheat, bajra, jowar and ragi are rich in methionine plus cystine, although lacking in lysine. Therefore, when we consume pulses along with cereals we get adequate quantity of these two essential amino acids and the quality of the total protein improves. Pulses also provide us with B-complex vitamins, iron and calcium. 
       ( It is important to mention at this point that there is a little problem with the use of pulses as food and it concerns the carbohydrates present in the pulses. Carbohydrates consisting of starch, or Sugars (like sucrose, fructose, maltose or galactose) can be easily broken down to glucose by the digestive enzymes. Pulses contain three sugars which are not easily digested. These sugars find their way into the large intestine, where the microorganisms present ferment them to give rise to gases which can cause discomfort and even pain. Green gram dal produces the least gas. That is why it is preferred for feeding children. Bengal gram dal produces the most gas. Next, come red gram and black gram dals. Sprouting for 48 to 72 hours reduces these sugars and so does fermentation, as in idli and dosa making.)
Selection of Milk and Milk Products
 Standardizing and the other is Pasteurization.
Standardizing:  In the standardization of milk, the cream is either added to the milk or a bit of it is removed to ensure that the milk supplied would be of identical composition every day.

Pasteurisation: Pasteurization is a process in which milk is firstly heated to a certain temperature for a definite time period to ensure the destruction of pathogenic bacteria, which are likely to be present. It is a very important step in processing milk. Immediately after heating, milk is quickly chilled at 5 degrees C or lower. This process not only makes the milk safe but gives it a longer lease of life. Thereafter it can be transported (in chilled condition) through rail or road in tankers to cities even 300 kilometres away for distribution. To make doubly sure it is again pasteurised after reaching such a distant city before distribution to the customers.

Food products derived from milk - The most commonly used milk products are cream,
butter, ghee, curds, paneer and khoa.
1  When buying cream make sure it is fresh and free from a sour taste or smell.    
2   The commercial butter has a yellow colour and salt added to it. When you buy this butter  ensure that it is available in a hygienic package. It should be firm and have a fresh flavour.   
3  Total dependence on ghee as a medium of cooking is harmful to health as it doesn’t contain the essential fatty acids required by the body. These and present in vegetable oils.  
4  When buying paneer make sure it is moist and free from fungus or any unnatural smell. It should be almost white in colour.           
5   Purchase khoa from local dairies present in most big towns. This is safer than buying from the general markets where you often find flies sitting on the product. When buying khoa make sure it is firm and free from any unpleasant odour.            
6  Purchase pasteurised milk than other milk as it is safe and pure.
7. Ghee should have its naturally delicate flavour
8  Purchase curd which is fresh and contains delicate sour flavour. Make sure it is not very sour and pungent.
9  Preferably make curd at home it is more hygienic and cheaper than purchasing from the market.  

Selection of Flesh Foods (meat, poultry, eggs, fish and other seafoods)
Mutton - Meat from a young goat is pinkish in colour and has almost no fat unlike meat from an older goat which is dark red in colour and has deposits of fat. The former cooks faster than the latter although the latter has more flavour.
Beef - Meat from. a mature cow or buffalo is called beef and that from a young animal is called veal. Beef is darker in colour than veal which is more on the pinkish side. Veal cooks easily as compared to beef and is milder in flavour.

Poultry - When buying country chicken we need to refrain from buying larger birds because they are older-and the meat is tougher. A properly raised broiler, however, should be tender even if it is large in size. In fact, it is economical to buy large broilers because the wastage in terms of bones on a weight basis is less. In general, while buying chicken ensure that the skin of the chicken is soft and tear easily.

Fish - Fish is an excellent source of protein. It also provides good amounts of calcium, phosphorus and iron. Sea fishes are an excellent source of iodine as well. Fish also supply Vitamin A among the B Vitamins particularly niacin. On the whole, they are
nutritionally very rich and the flesh is easy to cook and digest.
         Most of the fish available in our market. are whole, uncleaned and uncut. You must carefully inspect for freshness before buying. In fish of good quality, the colour-and skin is bright and the scales adhere well to the body.  Unless you have facilities to freeze food, fish should be bought on the day you plan to use it. 

Eggs - Eggs should be purchased fresh and, if possible, kept in the refrigerator. If you do not have refrigerator facilities you should buy the eggs for only 2 or 3 days at a time during the winters, and a day at a time during the summer and the monsoon. Eggs should be washed well before storage and use. One of the ways to tell a stale and spoilt egg from a good one is to float them in a basin of water. The good ones will settle down firmly at the bottom while the spoilt or stale ones will either float to the surface or stand on end in the water. You will also notice that a very fresh egg, when broken in a plate, stands up in a rounded form. A stale egg has a tendency to spread on the plate and sometimes it is not possible to separate the egg white from the yolk.
12  Unless you have facilities to freeze food, fish should be bought on the day you plan to use it.
13  Eggs should be purchased fresh and, if possible, kept in the refrigerator. If you do not have refrigerator facilities you should buy the eggs for only 2 or 3 days at a time during the winters, and a day at a time during the summer and the monsoon.
Selection of Nuts - 
 Nuts are one of the few plant foods which contain proteins of high quality. Most nuts are not high in their carbohydrate content but all are high in fat content, and therefore also provide a lot of energy. All the nuts we use contain on average 50 per cent of fat. They are a concentrated source of energy as well as of good quality proteins.
        While buying nuts, it is important to see that they are not spoilt. Any change in smell or taste will mean that these are stale. The appearance of the nuts is also important. Shrivelled nuts are to be avoided. Being dried seeds, nuts have a fairly good shelf life but their high-fat content does give them certain drawbacks. They become rancid, particularly in warm climates. If you want to store for a long time, say six months or a year, you should store them in well-sealed packets in the refrigerator or even freeze them, if the facilities are there. 

True or False 
#  Nutritionally all varieties of wheat are equal. (True/False)
A  True

#  Rice contains a unique protein called gluten. (True/False)     
A  False; wheat contains gluten which is a unique protein

#  Ragi contains much more calories than other cereals do. (TrueIFalse)   
A  False; ragi provides the same amount of calories as other cereals but it is an excellent source of calcium.       

#  Rice is para boiled to prolong its life. (True/False)  
A   False; rice is parboiled to retain its nutritive value.

#  Cereal proteins are well utilized by the body. (True/False)
A   False; cereal proteins in combination with pulse protein are well utilized by the body.

Match the following
Ragi     ---------------- Calcium
Wheat    ---------------------------- Gluten
Cereals   --------------------------------- Cheapest source of energy
Para boiled rice -------------------  Thiamine

True or False 
#  Ghee is good for health and should be used for all cooking if you have the money to buy it. (True/False)
A  False; vegetable oils are good for health and should be used for all cooking as far as possible.

#  Oils have less calories than ghee. (T+/False)
A  False; both oil and fats provide the same amount of calories.

#  Hydrogenation makes fat liquid at room temperature. (T/F)
A  False; hydrogenation makes oils solid at room temperature.
#  Oils provide us with unsaturated fatty acids that are essential for our health. (True/False)
A  True

#  Ghee and vanaspati are low in poly-unsaturated fatty acids.'(True/False)
A   True

#  The process of refining an oil adds flavour and colour to the oil. (TrueIFalse)
A  False; the process of refining an oil removes the flavour and colour of the oil.

#  Mustard and coconut oil cannot be refined. (True/False)
A  False; all oils can be refined, but generally, mustard and coconut oils are not refined but used as such.

#  All fats provide 4 calories per gram. (True/False)
A  False; all fats provide 9 Kcal/gm.

#  Fats are a good source of proteins. (True/False)
A  False; fats are a good source of energy.

#   Potatoes are a good substitute for pulses. (True/False)
A   False; potatoes are a good substitute for cereals.

Q  What is brown sugar?
A   Brown sugar is crystallized molasses.

Q  How is the brown sugar generally available in Indian markets made?
A   By colouring white sugar with caramel or molasses.

Q  How is liquid sugar made?  
A  Liquid sugar is made by breaking down sucrose into glucose plus fructose with the help of an enzyme.

Q  What is icing or castor sugar?
A  Castor sugar is finely powdered ordinary sugar with about 5 per cent starch added to it.

Q  It is generally observed that dairies standardise milk. What is standardising?
A   In standardizing milk the dairies either add cream to milk or take a bit of the cream out of the milk to get uniform quality.

Q  Why do dairies tone milk?
A    Dairies tone milk to stretch the supply of milk so that it can reach more people.

Q  What is pasteurisation of milk?
A   Pasteurisation involves heating the milk to a certain temperature in order to destroy the microorganisms present in it and then cooling it down fast. Heating of milk at 62.8*C for 30 minutes.

Fill in the blanks
#  Dal proteins are rich in ( lysine
#  Wheat, rice have proteins that contain the adequate level of  (methionine, & cystine)
#.(Bengal gram). dal produces the most gas in our body.
#  .(pulses). is the chief source of proteins for most in India.
#  When fat is removed from the milk, the resultant milk is called .(skimmed) milk.

SELECTION OF PROTECTIVE/REGULATORY FOODS 

Fruits and vegetables as protective/regulatory food groups make an important contribution of vitamins and minerals as well as fibre in our diet.
Selection of Vegetables -
Vegetables are rich sources of carotene and vitamin C. They also provide high proportions of cellulose (fibre) to the diet and help alleviate constipation. From the point of nutritional contribution to the diet, vegetables are classified into two categories: (a) the leafy vegetables; and (b) other vegetables which include all those that are neither leaves nor roots or tubers.

a) Leafy Vegetables: - They are a good source of Vitamin A and Vitamin C. Leafy vegetables also make a very significant contribution in terms of minerals. As a rule, they are valuable sources of both iron and calcium. While buying leafy vegetables make sure they are tender, firm, crisp, and of good green colour. Do not buy wilted or insect eaten ones or the ones with white insect eggs-on the leaves. Look for them on the underside of the leaves.

b) Other Vegetables: There are many vegetables in India that do not classify as either leafy vegetables or roots and tubers. Tomatoes, brinjals, ladies fingers, beans of different varieties, carrots and cucumbers are some of the common ones eaten in India.
Waste in Vegetables - Frequently poor quality means a high percentage of waste, for example, poor quality ladies fingers which have been sitting on the shelf for 2 to 3 days, are likely to have a higher number of hard and fibrous ones which cannot be eaten and, therefore, must be discarded; limp and thin-skinned capsicum is likely to get spoiled faster even .in the refrigerator than the dark green, fleshy and firm ones. Size, as mentioned above, also makes a difference - in small onions, carrots or ladies fingers, the wastage in terms of tops and ends, or in terms of the peels is much more than in the case of larger sizes.  

Fruits -
Bananas - A banana should be just ripe and yellow in colour. It should not be over-ripe with
too many dark spots or dark brown skin or under-ripe with greenish skin and hard and pronounced ridges. Before a banana ripens the carbohydrate in it, is present in the
Form of starch. As it ripens it changes into sugar making the banana sweet.
Oranges - Fully ripe oranges, no matter what the variety is, have a pleasant odour. They should be firm and heavy with no soft or moulded spots.
Lime - Look for yellow lines with thin and shiny skin. They are juicier than the ones with thick skin.
Custard apple: - When you are buying custard apple either buy ready to eat ripe ones. These must be firm but pliable to the touch with yellowish-green skin with the crevices between the eyes white in colour. There should be no brown discolouration on the outside and the skin must not be brittle and hard. You cannot keep these for more than 24 hours as they deteriorate very fast.
Pineapples: - Plump, square fruits are better to buy than those that are long and tapering. There should be no mould at the base. Pineapples picked too green are not good to buy.
Papaya: A common fruit in our country, it is a rich source of carotenes. Unripe papaya is a rich source of the enzyme papain which digests proteins. It is used to soften meat or dals in cooking. A ready to eat papaya should be firm and turning yellow in colour.