Australian Standard Measurements:
Learning Intention:1. To provide a reference for Australian Standard measurements,
measuring equipment and abbreviations. 2. To appreciate that food appeals to all of our senses. Success Criteria:1. I can list the appropriate equipment to use when measuring ingredients.
2. I know the abbreviations used in recipes for measurement of ingredients. 1. I understand that I may like or dislike a food because of how it looks, smells, feels or tastes. Su I understand the difference between “use by” date and “best before” date. Australian Standard measurements
Metric measuring cups should be used for dry ingredients; a metric jug should be used for liquid ingredients. The volumes of Australian Standard cup measurements are:
Metric measuring spoons are used for both dry and liquid ingredients. The volumes of Australian Standard spoon measurements are: Abbreviations
Recipes often present measurements as abbreviations, such as those listed in the table below.
Measurement Abbreviation gram g kilogram kg millilitre ml litre L cup C tablespoon Tb or tbs teaspoon tsp |
Measure up!When we cook sometimes ‘a little bit of this and a little bit of that’ works well. But generally, such a casual and creative approach will only come with experience and confidence. Recipes are written and tested using particular quantities of ingredients and in most cases the results will differ (sometimes quite dramatically) when quantities are changed.
Most of the quantities used in recipes published in Australia are presented in Australian Standard spoon and cup measurements. Be careful of internet recipes and books that originate elsewhere. To complete accurate measurements in the kitchen, you need access to the following: • a full set of Australian Standard measuring cups • an Australian Standard liquid measuring jug • a full set of Australian Standard measuring spoons • electronic scales that can be set to tare. Australian Standard measuring cups: Quantity: 1 cup 250 millilitres 1⁄2 cup 125 millilitres 1/3 cup 80 millilitres 1⁄4 cup 60 millilitres Australian Standard measuring spoons: Quantity: 1 tablespoon 20 millilitres 1 teaspoon 5 millilitres 1⁄2 teaspoon 2.5 millilitres 1⁄4 teaspoon 1.25 millilitres Your task: |
Food and our senses
Eating food is one of life’s great pleasures. It is more than likely that the foods you enjoy eating appeal to all of your senses!
Appearance
Appearance is about how a food looks in terms of colour, shape and texture. We often have expectations about how a food should look. This not only makes food more appealing (or not!), but also helps us differentiate between different varieties of a product, and to assess the quality of the food and whether it is fresh or ripe.
our primal ancestors were foraging for food, blue, purple and black were ‘colour warning signs’ of potentially lethal food.
Aroma
The smell or aroma of food plays an important role in our experience of eating. The smells of freshly baked bread, biscuits cooking in the oven or onions sautéing in a frying pan are made possible because of your nose and brain. Olfaction, or the sense of smell, involves the detection and perception of chemicals floating in the air. The olfactory system allows us to interpret smells by converting chemical signals in the form of odours into perception by the brain. Like appearance, aroma is also used to make judgements about food and food quality. Have you ever smelt raw meat to see if it is ‘off’?
Did you know? The olfactory tract transmits signals to areas of the brain such as the olfactory cortex, hippocampus, amygdale and hypothalamus. Many of these brain areas are part of the limbic system, which is involved with emotional behaviour and memory. That is why when you smell something such as food cooking, it can bring back associated memories.
Texture
The texture of food refers to how the food feels in your mouth as you bite, chew and swallow it. We can also experience textures in foods as we touch the food.
Did you know? The term ‘mouthfeel’ refers to a product’s physical and chemical interaction in the mouth. A food is evaluated from initial perception on the palate, to the first bite, through chewing to swallowing and aftertaste.
Taste and flavour
Taste is one of the traditional five senses. We perceive tastes through sensory organs – taste buds – concentrated on the upper surface of the tongue. There are five basic tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami (sometimes called ‘savoury’). It is a common belief that different sections of the tongue specialise in different tastes – a tongue map. Although certain areas of the tongue may be more sensitive to some tastes than others, all taste sensations come from all areas of the tongue.
These basic tastes only partly contribute to the sensation and flavour of food. Other factors such as aroma, texture and temperature are very important.
Did you know? The complete inability to taste is called ageusia, the reduced ability to taste is called hypogeusia, and the enhanced ability to taste is called hypergeusia.
The sensory evaluation of food
When you prepare and eat food, you may use words like ‘yum’, ‘delicious’, or sometimes ‘gross’ to describe what you are eating. However, when evaluating the sensory properties of food in home economics, it is more appropriate to use words which describe the appearance, aroma, texture, taste and flavour more clearly. The table below lists some common descriptive words that you can use:
Appearance:
burnt, clear, cloudy, colourful, crisp, crumbly, curdled, dark, dull, firm, flaky, flat, glossy, golden, hard, light, lumpy, mushy, pale, rough, smooth, sticky, transparent, translucent, uneven, undercooked, well risen
Aroma
acidic, aromatic, bland, burnt, citrus, fishy, fragrant, fruity, mild, rancid, rotten, smoky, spicy, strong, sweet, yeasty, weak
Texture
brittle, chewy, creamy, crisp, crumbly, crunchy, doughy, dry, fatty, flaky, grainy, hard, lumpy, moist, runny, smooth, soft, sticky, tender
Flavour
Basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami Other descriptions: bland, burnt, creamy, fatty, hot, mild, overpowering, rich, spicy, strong, tangy, tart, weak
A hedonic scale
A hedonic scale is a rating scale used in sensory evaluation. It is used by tasting panels where the judges indicate the degree to which they like or dislike the food. The most widely used one is a nine- point scale, in which the person rates their preference for the food, ranging from ‘extremely dislike’ to ‘extremely like’ with the mid-point of five being neutral.
Other interesting facts about taste
Appearance
Appearance is about how a food looks in terms of colour, shape and texture. We often have expectations about how a food should look. This not only makes food more appealing (or not!), but also helps us differentiate between different varieties of a product, and to assess the quality of the food and whether it is fresh or ripe.
- What foods are appealing to you because of their appearance? Are you ‘put off’ other foods because of how they look?
- There are many different varieties of apples; you can differentiate between a Granny Smith and a Pink Lady because they are different colours. Can you give some other examples?
- Packaged foods have a ‘use by’ or ‘best before’ date stamped on the box, wrapper or bottle, which gives the consumer an idea about the freshness and quality of the product inside. But what about fresh foods such as fruit, vegetables, meat, fish and poultry? Give some examples of how appearance helps us decide if these foods are of high quality or are fresh or ripe.
our primal ancestors were foraging for food, blue, purple and black were ‘colour warning signs’ of potentially lethal food.
Aroma
The smell or aroma of food plays an important role in our experience of eating. The smells of freshly baked bread, biscuits cooking in the oven or onions sautéing in a frying pan are made possible because of your nose and brain. Olfaction, or the sense of smell, involves the detection and perception of chemicals floating in the air. The olfactory system allows us to interpret smells by converting chemical signals in the form of odours into perception by the brain. Like appearance, aroma is also used to make judgements about food and food quality. Have you ever smelt raw meat to see if it is ‘off’?
Did you know? The olfactory tract transmits signals to areas of the brain such as the olfactory cortex, hippocampus, amygdale and hypothalamus. Many of these brain areas are part of the limbic system, which is involved with emotional behaviour and memory. That is why when you smell something such as food cooking, it can bring back associated memories.
Texture
The texture of food refers to how the food feels in your mouth as you bite, chew and swallow it. We can also experience textures in foods as we touch the food.
Did you know? The term ‘mouthfeel’ refers to a product’s physical and chemical interaction in the mouth. A food is evaluated from initial perception on the palate, to the first bite, through chewing to swallowing and aftertaste.
Taste and flavour
Taste is one of the traditional five senses. We perceive tastes through sensory organs – taste buds – concentrated on the upper surface of the tongue. There are five basic tastes: sweet, sour, bitter, salty and umami (sometimes called ‘savoury’). It is a common belief that different sections of the tongue specialise in different tastes – a tongue map. Although certain areas of the tongue may be more sensitive to some tastes than others, all taste sensations come from all areas of the tongue.
These basic tastes only partly contribute to the sensation and flavour of food. Other factors such as aroma, texture and temperature are very important.
Did you know? The complete inability to taste is called ageusia, the reduced ability to taste is called hypogeusia, and the enhanced ability to taste is called hypergeusia.
The sensory evaluation of food
When you prepare and eat food, you may use words like ‘yum’, ‘delicious’, or sometimes ‘gross’ to describe what you are eating. However, when evaluating the sensory properties of food in home economics, it is more appropriate to use words which describe the appearance, aroma, texture, taste and flavour more clearly. The table below lists some common descriptive words that you can use:
Appearance:
burnt, clear, cloudy, colourful, crisp, crumbly, curdled, dark, dull, firm, flaky, flat, glossy, golden, hard, light, lumpy, mushy, pale, rough, smooth, sticky, transparent, translucent, uneven, undercooked, well risen
Aroma
acidic, aromatic, bland, burnt, citrus, fishy, fragrant, fruity, mild, rancid, rotten, smoky, spicy, strong, sweet, yeasty, weak
Texture
brittle, chewy, creamy, crisp, crumbly, crunchy, doughy, dry, fatty, flaky, grainy, hard, lumpy, moist, runny, smooth, soft, sticky, tender
Flavour
Basic tastes: sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami Other descriptions: bland, burnt, creamy, fatty, hot, mild, overpowering, rich, spicy, strong, tangy, tart, weak
A hedonic scale
A hedonic scale is a rating scale used in sensory evaluation. It is used by tasting panels where the judges indicate the degree to which they like or dislike the food. The most widely used one is a nine- point scale, in which the person rates their preference for the food, ranging from ‘extremely dislike’ to ‘extremely like’ with the mid-point of five being neutral.
Other interesting facts about taste
- Ayurveda, an ancient Indian healing science, has its own tradition of basic tastes, including: astringent, bitter, pungent, salty, sour, and sweet.
- The tongue can feel other sensations that are not generally included in the basic tastes. These are largely detected by the somatosensory system and include calcium, coolness, dryness, fattiness, heartiness (kokumi), numbness, spiciness (such as piquancy) and temperature.