Program Overview

Program Overview

The MSc Programme in Food Innovation and Health offers a comprehensive course, NFOK13004U Food Science and Culinary Techniques, which aims to provide students with a scientific approach to cooking by applying various culinary techniques during food processing.

Course Description

The course includes a series of lectures that give a scientific description of foods as chemical and physical systems, relating to proteins, lipids, carbohydrates, and general chemistry topics. Practical kitchen exercises are used as a learning tool to understand culinary techniques, and students evaluate the effects of food processing on chemical reactions, flavor, taste, and color, as well as physical properties.

Learning Outcome

A student who has fulfilled the course's aim should be able to:

• Describe important chemical reactions and physical changes during food processing
• Describe carbohydrates, lipids, and proteins and their basic functions and characteristics in food
• Evaluate the effects of culinary processes on physical, chemical, and sensory conditions of food components
• Describe the effect of physical processes on the structure of food during cooking

Skills

• Work in a gastronomic laboratory with specific culinary techniques and follow instructions to obtain a well-defined product
• Explain the changes in foods taking place during preparation from a chemical and physical point of view
• Predict the outcome of various preparation methods and recipes based on a simple experimental design
• Evaluate a complex food and communicate the compositional structure of the product
• Identify factors of relevance for detection, perception, and loss of aroma and flavor compounds in different food systems
• Evaluate the effect of various culinary techniques on the food structure and flavor
• Perform simple statistical analyses using Excel or other related software
• Give and receive peer feedback
• Communicate scientific topics within food science and culinary techniques in academic English

Competences

• Plan experiments related to the effect of a culinary technique on the sensory properties of food
• Integrate scientific disciplines (food chemistry and food physics) in planning and evaluation of practical experiments
• Cooperate with other students on planning and performing practical exercises
• Perform written and oral feedback and evaluation of the theoretical outcome

Literature

The list of course literature is available on Absalon.

Recommended Academic Qualifications

A basic knowledge of chemical reactions involving carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids, as well as basic statistics, is highly recommended. Academic qualifications equivalent to a BSc degree are recommended.

Teaching and Learning Methods

The teaching combines a general understanding of food chemistry and physics with practical kitchen exercises in a gastronomical laboratory to examine the influence of various processing methods on food components. The practical kitchen exercises set the frame for group work and are evaluated by afterlab discussions, problem-based learning, and answering questions from lecturers.

Remarks

It is recommended to follow the course on the first year of the MSc Programme in Food Innovation and Health.

Workload

• Lectures: 43 hours
• Preparation: 110 hours
• Theory exercises: 28 hours
• Practical exercises: 21 hours
• Exam: 4 hours
• Total: 206 hours

Exam

• Type of assessment: On-site written exam, 4 hours under invigilation
• Type of assessment details: Individual written 4-hour exam on specific topics based on the course curriculum
• Examination prerequisites: Approval of all assignments for all practical kitchen exercises
• Aid: All aids allowed except Generative AI and internet access
• Marking scale: 7-point grading scale
• Censorship form: No external censorship, several internal examiners
• Re-exam: Same as ordinary exam, possibility to edit and re-submit all non-approved assignments from the practical kitchen exercises one week before the re-exam

Course Information

• Language: English
• Course code: NFOK13004U
• Credit: 7.5 ECTS
• Level: Full Degree Master
• Duration: 1 block
• Placement: Block 2
• Schedule: A
• Course capacity: 55

Study Board

The Study Board of Food, Human Nutrition and Sports is responsible for the course.

Contracting Department

The Department of Food Science is the contracting department for the course.

Contracting Faculty

The Faculty of Science is the contracting faculty for the course.

Course Coordinators

The course coordinators are Karsten Olsen, Bodil Helene Allesen-Holm, and Esteban G Echeverria Jaramillo.