P640 Foods and Nutrition

Foods and Nutrition

The detailed study of all essential food constituents:

(a) The chemical and physical nature of each constituent

(b) The function of the food constituents in nutrition in relation to age, occasion and climate. The result of deficiencies in nutrients.

(c) The effect of cooking on each food constituent. The influence of agents such as moist and dry heat, acid, alkalis and altitude upon the cooking food.

The digestion and absorption of food.

The circulatory system and metabolism in so far as this affects food requirements.

The study of foods used in cookery:

(a) their sources

(b) transport and distribution

(c) causes of decomposition and deterioration

(d) selection, purchasing and storage of food

(e) preservation of foods.

Planning, cooking and serving of family meals for everyday and special occasions. The special considerations which are necessary when planning diets for:

(a) expectant and nursing mothers

(b) growing children and old people

(c) convalescents and invalids

(d) vegetarians

The cookery processes should be allied to modern trends and should include the discriminating use of prepared and "convenience foods".

The influence of available food and environmental, traditional and nutritional practices in different parts of East Africa.

• Includes current world food problems.

Kitchen planning. Emphasis should be on time and motion sutdy in relation to work in the kitchen, planning of equipment and equipment design.

Safety in the home.

Science in the Home

Forces

principle of centrifugal force; application to domestic appliances

Simple Machines:

levers, with application to scales and windows. Gas, water pressure, the barometer. Applications to water supply, stop-taps, lift and force pumps, syringe, siphon, lavatory flush. Specific gravity, hydrometers.

Expansion of solids, liquids and gases.

Temperature and thermometers: clinical, maximum and minimum; thermostatic control. Effect of pressure and dissolved substances on the boiling point of liquids and on the melting point of ice; pressure cookers. Cooling by evaporation. Refrigeration. Moisture in the atmosphere; relation to drying clothes. Conduction, convection and radiation. Application to domestic hot water supply, ventilation, modern methods of eliminating droughts, different types of fires, slow combustion stoves and grates, vacuum flasks, loss of efficiency in cooking due to scaling, grease and soot. Modern methods of space heating.

Fuels:

Electricity, gas, wood, charcoal, petrol, kerosene, (coal). The comparative costs of different fuels, lamps, primus stoves, gas lamps, etc. The dangers of such fuels. Construction and operation of those appliances.

Electricity:

Reading and interpreting electric meters; use of electricity, fire, lights, cookers, water heaters, fuses, irons, refrigerators, conductors, insulators, heating effect of electric current, wiring of a 3-point fused plug, types of plugs, agnetic effect, electric appliances in the home, electronic irons, spin dryers, food mixers, electric floor polishers, vacuum cleaners, etc.

Illumination:

Its efficiency, relative merits of bowls and shades; strip lighting, color scheme and the effect of light on colors.

Water:

Water purification, water supply, types of water - hard water, temporary and permanent hardness of water, soft water measurement and removal of hardness. Sources of water: rain, springs, wells. Storage, uses, etc.

Detergents:

Constituents and uses of soap, soap powder and soapless detergents. Traditional - ashes, plants and sand, soap manufacture, traditional and other detergents (Vim and Ajax), preparation, uses and comparison with soap. Comparative costs.