Culinary Technology

Other teachers

• Núria May Masnou
• Francesc Molera Fabré

Objectives

The Culinary Technology subject is part of the Food Sciences subject, included within the Food Sciences and Food Hygiene and Safety module corresponding to the compulsory training of the degree in Human Nutrition and Dietetics.

There are no prior requirements, but it is recommended to have taken the subjects Food Chemistry, Basic Nutrition and Bromatology.

The general objectives of this subject are:

• Know the basic aspects of culinary technology.
• Become familiar with different cooking techniques.
• Identify the nutritional, physical, chemical and sensory changes secondary to cooking processes.
• Know how to minimize nutritional losses during cooking processes.
• Apply different culinary techniques to the preparation of menus adapted to health and illness situations and emerging social needs.

Learning outcomes

• LO1. Identify the modifications that foods undergo as a consequence of the main technological processes.
• LO2. Identify and classify foods and food products and ingredients.
• LO3. Knows the chemical composition, physicochemical properties, nutritional value, bioavailability and organoleptic characteristics of foods and food products and ingredients.
• LO4. Know the production systems and basic processes in the preparation, transformation and conservation of the main foods.
• LO5. Interprets and handles databases and food composition tables.
• LO6. Interprets the modifications that foods, food products and food ingredients undergo as a consequence of technological and culinary processes.
• LO7. Know the culinary techniques to optimize the organoleptic and nutritional characteristics of foods, with respect for traditional gastronomy.
• LO8. Collects and interprets data and information on which to base their conclusions, which include scientific reflections.
• LO9. Identifies their own training needs and is capable of organizing their own learning with a high degree of autonomy in all types of contexts (structured or not).

Competencies

General skills

• Meet the health needs of the population and the challenges of the profession itself through innovative and flexible attitudes.

Specific skills

• Analyze modifications of foodstuffs arising from technological and culinary processes and know about available tools for optimizing their nutritional and organoleptic characteristics.
• Apply basic knowledge of anatomy, physiology, chemistry, biochemistry, biology, anthropology and psychology to human nutrition and dietetics.
• Identify, classify and use foodstuffs through knowledge of their chemical composition, physical and chemical properties, organoleptic properties, nutritional value and bioavailability of nutrients.

Basic skills

• Students have demonstrated knowledge and understanding in a field of study that builds on general secondary education with the support of advanced textbooks and knowledge of the latest advances in this field of study.

Core skills

• Become the protagonist of one's own learning process in order to achieve personal and professional growth and acquire all-round training for living and learning in a context of respect for linguistic, social, cultural, gender and economic diversity.

Content

1. Introduction to culinary technology
   1. Basic concepts and terminology of culinary technology
   2. Objectives of culinary technology
   3. Application of culinary technology in the dietitian-nutritionist profession
2. Thermal energies for heat transfer. Types of cooking
   1. Cooking in a non-liquid medium
   2. Cooking in liquid medium
   3. Cooking in medium fat
   4. Special cookings
3. Secondary modifications in culinary processes
   1. Physicochemical modifications
   2. Nutritional modifications
   3. Sensory modifications
4. Food conservation and regeneration techniques

Evaluation

According to the Academic Regulations for undergraduate studies at UVic-UCC, there is only one official call for applications that provides for two different evaluation periods:

• Ordinary period, which takes place as part of the training process and within the school period.
• Complementary evaluation period, in which the student can be evaluated again for the tasks, activities or tests that he or she did not pass satisfactorily within the framework of the first period.

Ordinary period

Continuous evaluation of the activities carried out by the student is carried out through:

• Specific evaluation test: 30%
  • Final exam: retakeable
• Monitoring of work done in the internships: 35%; non-recoverable
  • The practice grade is calculated based on the following items:
    • Practical session in the classroom: 20%
      • Attendance and punctuality: a 10 is given for attendance, a 5 for lack of punctuality or leaving the classroom early without a justified reason and a 0 for non-attendance.
      • Hygiene and work attire: you must wear a gown, hair tied up and covered, personal hygiene...
      • Cleaning of work spaces
      • Proactive attitude
    • Practice memory: 15%
• Completion of assignments and projects (seminars): 35%; recoverable
  • The seminar grade is calculated based on the following items:
    • Practical session in the classroom: 15%
      • Attendance and punctuality: a 10 is given for attendance, a 5 for lack of punctuality or leaving the classroom early without a justified reason and a 0 for non-attendance.
      • Proactive attitude
      • In the case of seminars held at the Taste Laboratory, hygiene, work clothing and the cleanliness of the work spaces are also valued.
    • Seminar report: 20%

The average grade of the exams must be equal to or greater than 5. Likewise, in order to make a weighted average, the retrievable activities must have a minimum grade of 5.

Subject-specific criteria

• Attendance at practical sessions (practicals and seminars) is mandatory and, for the grade to be averaged with the rest of the activities, it is necessary to have attended 80% of the sessions of the subject.
• Non-attendance at a practice session or seminar implies a zero in the evaluation of this practice.
• An exercise proposed and submitted after the deadline can only be worth 50% of the total assigned to that exercise.
• In the case of blended learning students, seminars and practicals that must be done at home (according to the work plan) are fully assessed by the practical/seminar report.
• The final grade for the subject is the result of the weighting of the grades obtained in each of the parts.

Complementary evaluation period

Students who do not pass some of the activities considered retakeable may retake them during this period, as long as the total number of parts of the subject not passed does not represent 50% of the final grade.

Important

Plagiarism or copying someone else's work is penalized in all universities and, according to the UVic-UCC coexistence rules, constitute serious or very serious faults. Therefore, during the course of this subject, plagiarism or the improper appropriation of texts or ideas from other people (see What is considered plagiarism?) and the improper or undeclared use of artificial intelligence in an activity automatically result in suspension or other disciplinary measures.

To cite texts and materials appropriately, you must consult the academic citation guidelines and guidelines available on the UVic Library website.

Methodology

The subject is structured around:

• Theoretical sessions in the classroom
• Seminar sessions in the Taste Laboratory or in the classroom
• Practical sessions in the Taste Laboratory

Bibliography

Key references

• Bello Gutérrez, José (2011). Ciencia y tecnología culinaria. Díaz de Santos.