MOLECULAR-ORIGINS OF STRUCTURE AND FUNCTIONALITY IN FOODS

A chart is presented that shows the hierarchy of structure and function in food materials. Internal forces, which maintain structural integrity, are distinguished from external forces, which are applied in order to elicit a response during measurement (a property) or which transform the food material. Functionality, a higher-order concept than property, is defined as the important set of responses of specific materials to specific forces applied under particular circumstances of processing, consumption, sensory assessment or storage. Some experimental and theoretical methods for molecular studies are described. The chart also suggests the ways in which molecular knowledge is linked to human intentions.