Food
Concept: Sources and Storage of Food
Anything which gives us energy to do work is called food. There are two main
1. Food from plants:
- Fruits:
- Vegetables:
- Grains:
- Oil:
- Oil is obtained by pressing the plant seeds.
- Mustard oil is obtained from mustard seeds.
- Groundnut oil from groundnut seeds.
- Castor oil from castor seeds.
- Other seeds that are used to obtain oil are olive, almond, sunflower, coconut, etc.
Examples:
i) Edible parts of plants:
a) Edible leaves:
b) Edible stem:
c) Edible flower:
d) Edible root:
e) Edible seeds:
- All pulses we eat are seeds.
Examples:Moong, gram, rajma, etc.
f) Edible fruits:
- The fruits we get from plants like orange, mango, guava, and grapes are all edible.
- Moreover, vegetables like tomato, brinjal, ladyfinger, beans, etc. are born as fruits of their respective plants.
ii) Processed food from plants:
- The food we get from the plant is consumed directly or converted into different food items before consumption.
- Such food is called processed food.
Examples:
- Bread is made with wheat.
- Idli is made with rice.
- Potato chips are made using potatoes.
- Fruit juices are made using fruit pulp.
- Jams and jellies are made with fruit pulp mixed with sugar.
2. Food from animals:
i) Processed foods from animals:
3. Storage of food:
- It is necessary to store food properly.
- Improper food storage may lead to the attack of germs, which makes the food unsuitable for eating.
- Different methods are used for storing different food items. Some of them are mentioned below—
a) Freezing:
- Storing food items in very cold conditions in a refrigerator is called freezing.
- Food items like fruits, vegetables, raw meat, raw fish, etc., can be preserved by freezing.
b) Drying:
- Drying stands for the removal of water from the food item for its storage.
- Pulses, rice, wheat, chips, fish, etc., are preserved by this method.
c) Canning:
- Canning stands for the packing of food items in an airtight container for its storage.
- All processed food items are stored using this method.
d) Salting
- Salt does not allow germs to grow on the food items and is used for storing them.
- Fish, raw vegetables, and pickles are preserved by salting.
e) Adding oil and vinegar :
- Oil and vinegar keep the food items fresh and unaffected by germs
- They are used for making pickles that can be consumed for many days.
New Words:
Edible: Anything which is suitable for eating
Energy: The capacity to do work.
Did You Know?
- Bread slices can be kept fresh for a long time by keeping them in a tightly closed packet outside the refrigerator.
- People used to dry food items by keeping them in sunlight in ancient days, but at present, food can be dried in minutes using modern equipment like a microwave.
- The part of broccoli we eat is the flowers that haven’t opened.