Untitled Quiz

GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition (8585)

• AQA GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition is a linear qualification, meaning students will sit their exam and submit all non-exam assessment at the end of the course.

Specification at a Glance

• The qualification consists of two assessments: Paper 1 (Food preparation and nutrition) and a Non-Exam Assessment (NEA).

Subject Content

• The specification sets out the knowledge, understanding, and skills required to cook and apply the principles of food science, nutrition, and healthy eating.
• The majority of the specification should be delivered through preparation and making activities.
• Topics and themes include:
• Food, nutrition, and health
• Food science
• Food safety
• Food choice
• Food provenance
• Food groups studied include:
• Bread, cereals, flour, oats, rice, potatoes, and pasta
• Fruit and vegetables
• Milk, cheese, and yoghurt
• Meat, fish, eggs, soya, tofu, beans, nuts, and seeds
• Butter, oil, margarine, sugar, and syrup

Food Preparation Skills

• 12 skill groups have been integrated throughout the specification to show how the content can be taught through practical activities.
• Skill groups include:
• General practical skills
• Knife skills
• Preparing fruit and vegetables
• Use of the cooker
• Use of equipment
• Cooking methods

Skill 1: General Practical Skills

• Weigh and measure accurately
• Prepare ingredients and equipment
• Test for readiness
• Judge and modify sensory properties
• Present and style food

Skill 2: Knife Skills

• Bridge hold, claw grip, peel, slice, dice, and cut into even size pieces
• Fillet a chicken breast, portion a chicken, remove fat and rind, fillet fish, slice evenly and accurately.

Skill 3: Preparing Fruit and Vegetables

• Mash, shred, scissor snip, scoop, crush, grate, peel, segment, de-skin, de-seed, blanch, shape, pipe, blend, juice, and prepare garnishes.

Skill 4: Use of the Cooker

• Use a range of foods on the grill, oven, or hob.
• Char/grill, toast, bake, roast, casserole, tagine, braise, steam, boil, simmer, blanch, poach, dry fry, shallow fry, stir fry.

Non-Exam Assessment (NEA)

• Task 1: Food investigation (30 marks)
• Task 2: Food preparation assessment (70 marks)
• Students will prepare, cook, and present a final menu of three dishes within a single period of no more than three hours.### Food Preparation Skills
• Prepare, combine, and shape food using various techniques, such as rolling, wrapping, skewering, mixing, coating, and layering meat, fish, and alternatives.
• Demonstrate technical skills, including preventing cross-contamination and handling high-risk foods correctly.

Sauce Making

• Make starch-based sauces, such as roux, all-in-one, blended, and infused velouté or béchamel.
• Understand how starch-to-liquid ratios affect viscosity.

Reduction and Emulsion

• Reduce sauces to concentrate flavor through evaporation, changing the viscosity of the sauce.
• Make emulsion sauces, such as salad dressings, and understand how to stabilize an emulsion.

Tenderise and Marinate

• Use acids to denature protein and marinate vegetables, meat, fish, and alternatives to add flavor and moisture.

Dough and Raising Agents

• Make dough for bread, pastry, and pasta, using technical skills such as shortening, gluten formation, fermentation, and proofing.
• Understand the uses of eggs, self-raising flour, baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and yeast as raising agents.

Setting Mixtures

• Remove heat to set mixtures using starch or protein, such as in layered desserts or eggs.

Macronutrients

• Understand the functions, sources, and effects of deficiency and excess of protein, fats, and carbohydrates.
• Modify recipes for vegetarian diets and demonstrate knife skills for meat, fish, and alternatives.

Micronutrients

• Understand the functions, sources, and effects of deficiency and excess of vitamins A, D, E, K, and the B group.
• Demonstrate cooking methods, such as steaming, boiling, simmering, and poaching, to preserve nutrients.

Minerals

• Understand the functions, sources, and effects of deficiency and excess of calcium, iron, sodium, fluoride, phosphorus, and iodine.
• Prepare vegetables, meats, or alternatives high in these minerals.

Water and Hydration

• Understand the importance of hydration and the functions of water in the diet.
• Prepare fruit and vegetables, make juices and smoothies, and consider water intake in meal planning.

Nutritional Needs and Health

• Understand the current guidelines for a healthy diet, including the eatwell plate and portion sizes.
• Plan balanced diets for different life stages and dietary groups, considering nutritional needs and cooking methods.

Energy Needs

• Understand the basal metabolic rate (BMR) and physical activity level (PAL) in determining energy requirements.
• Demonstrate portion sizes according to life stage and PAL level.

Nutritional Analysis

• Understand how to use current nutritional information and data, such as food tables, to plan and modify recipes and diets.

• Calculate energy and nutritional values for healthy diets.### Food Science

• Food is cooked to make it safe to eat, develop flavors, improve texture, improve shelf life, and give variety in the diet.

• Heat is transferred to food through conduction, convection, and radiation.

• Cooking methods can conserve or modify the nutritive value or improve palatability of food.

Cooking of Food and Heat Transfer

• Conduction is the transfer of heat through direct contact between particles or objects.
• Convection is the transfer of heat through the movement of fluids.
• Radiation is the transfer of heat through electromagnetic waves.
• Preparation and cooking affect the appearance, color, flavor, texture, smell, and overall palatability of food.

Selecting Appropriate Cooking Methods

• Selection of appropriate preparation, cooking methods, and times can conserve or modify the nutritive value or improve palatability of food.
• Water-based cooking methods include steaming, boiling, blanching, poaching, and simmering.
• Dry heat cooking methods include baking, roasting, grilling, and dry frying.
• Fat-based cooking methods include shallow frying, stir frying, and deep frying.
• Microwave cooking is also used to cook food.

Functional and Chemical Properties of Food

Proteins

• Protein denaturation occurs when proteins are exposed to heat, acid, or alkali.
• Protein coagulation occurs when proteins denature and aggregate.
• Gluten formation occurs when proteins in flour combine to form a network.
• Foam formation occurs when proteins are whipped to incorporate air.
• Marinades can be used to tenderize and flavor meats and alternatives.

Carbohydrates

• Gelatinization occurs when starches absorb water and swell.
• Dextrinisation occurs when starches break down to form dextrins.
• Caramelisation occurs when sugars are heated to form new flavor compounds.
• Starch gelatinization affects the viscosity of sauces and soups.

Fats and Oils

• Shortening occurs when fats are used to tenderize and add flavor to foods.
• Aeration occurs when air is incorporated into foods to add texture and volume.
• Emulsification occurs when fats and oils are mixed with water to form stable mixtures.
• Plasticity occurs when fats and oils are used to add texture and mouthfeel to foods.

Fruit and Vegetables

• Enzymic browning occurs when fruits and vegetables are cut or bruised and react with oxygen.
• Oxidation occurs when fruits and vegetables are exposed to oxygen and react to form new compounds.

Raising Agents

• Chemical raising agents include baking powder, bicarbonate of soda, and self-raising flours.
• Mechanical raising agents include whisking, beating, folding, sieving, creaming, and rubbing in.
• Biological raising agents include yeast and steam.

Food Safety

Food Spoilage and Contamination

• Microorganisms include bacteria, yeasts, and moulds that can cause food spoilage and contamination.
• Growth conditions for microorganisms include temperature, moisture, and time.
• Enzymes are biological catalysts that can cause food spoilage and contamination.
• High-risk foods include ready-to-eat moist foods that can support the growth of pathogenic bacteria.

The Signs of Food Spoilage

• Enzymic action can cause food spoilage and contamination.
• Mould growth occurs when microorganisms grow on food surfaces.
• Yeast action occurs when microorganisms ferment sugars to produce carbon dioxide.
• Recognising the signs of food spoilage is important to prevent foodborne illness.