Food science and technology

 Sugar refers to the monosaccharides and disaccharide form of carbohydrates. However commercially sugar almost always refers to sucrose. There are three Main sources of sugar a. SUGAR CANE b. SUGAR BEET c. HONEY. Other sources include d. The corn syrup e. The maple syrup. 1.1.1 SUGAR CANE This is a tall perennial grass with tillers at the base and a branched stem. There three main varieties of sugar cane: The botanical name for sugarcane is Saccharium officinarium This has been known for over 12000 years. Its origin is New Guinea where it landed in the hands of Christopher Columbus. VARIETIES OF SUGAR CANES a. Wild/original variety which has thin stems, a lot of trash/ leaves and not self -cleaning. It has low sugar content. b. Noble variety which is self -cleaning and has high sugar content, thick stem and low fibre content. c. Hybrid variety which has intermediate properties. 1.1.2. The sugar beet Production of sugar from the sugar beet started in the 19th century. It originally cont

  The main cereal crops: wheat, maize rice WHEAT Classification of wheat i)                     Botanical species: Tritichum durum Tritichum compactum Tritichum aestivum ii)                    Hardness of wheat Hard wheat Semi-hard wheat Soft wheat* Strong flour Durum flour Semi-strong flour Pastry flour Weak flour Bread making Pasta processing Bread making Pastries   Kenyan variety: soft wheat   Wheat kernel The three main parts: germ (embryo), endosperm and bran. The bran is the outermost layer and has a protective function. It has the aleurone layer. The germ lies at the basal of the grain and is rich in vitamin E and lipids. Endosperm contains starch and proteins. Longitudinal section of a wheat kernel (Spurway, 1988) : Wheat milling The primary aim of milling wheat: separate completely the bran and the germ from the end