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What is Food Science?
So, you’ve landed on a website dedicated to food science. But, you don’t really know what food science is? No problem! We’ll give you a quick introduction to the field, so you know what you can (and cannot) find on the FoodCrumbles websites.
Food science is all around us, it’s the science of all the foods (and drinks) we consume on a daily basis. Food scientists study these foods and may ask themselves a wide range of questions, such as:
- Why does the green color of broccoli change during cooking? (It’s the chlorophyll!)
- How long can we store this carrot cake for?
- Why did you muffin expand and then collapse in the oven? (Probably the baking soda or baking powder.)
- What packaging should we use to store these freshly roasted coffee beans? (Definitely one with a little hole inside to release gases.)
- Why shouldn’t you store ripe fruits next to a bunch of bananas? (It’s ethylene at work!)
- How can I produce 1000 loaves of my home-style bread recipe? (Scaling up recipes is a challenge!)
Raw, uncooked broccoli 
Broccoli prepped in 5 different ways
Definition of Food Science
Simply said, food science is the science of foods. But that may be too simple if you’re looking for a more formal definition. So, we’ve gathered a few definitions from the web for you:
Food Science is (…) used to describe the application of scientific principles to create and maintain a wholesome food supply.
https://foodscience.ucdavis.edu/about/what-food-science
Food science is the application of basic science and engineering principles to the creation and maintenance of a safe, abundant and wholesome food supply.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/agricultural-and-biological-sciences/food-science
Looking for a proper, but quick, introduction to Food Science? Why not take our (free) mini course: Introduction to Food Science?
Food science draws from many disciplines, including biology, chemical engineering, and biochemistry to better understand food processes and improve food products for the general public.
https://www.ift.org/career-development/learn-about-food-science
Food Science is a multi-disciplinary field involving chemistry, biochemistry, nutrition, microbiology and engineering to give one the scientific knowledge to solve real problems associated with the many facets of the food system.
https://www.mcgill.ca/foodscience/what-food-science
Notice two recurring themes in all of these definitions:
- Food Science is a multi-disciplinary field of science applied to food
- With the aim to create a wholesome food supply (from farm to table)
Food Science Disciplines
So food science is a multi-disciplinary field. You might be wondering which disciplines are involved? Well, many! To name just a few:
Food Chemistry
Food is full of chemistry and this chemistry plays an important role when storing and preparing food! Food chemists study this extensively. They determine which molecules are present in food. They study their role and how they might react and change over time.
It’s a broad and fascinating field of applied chemistry.
Food Physics
You can also study the physics of foods! Food physicists may study how foods flow, break, stretch, squeeze, dissolve, and more. The impact of temperature and processes is very interesting for food physicists.
Foams, emulsions, gels, these are all studied by food physicists.
Food Microbiology
Microorganisms grow in and on our food. Sometimes, we want them to be there – there wouldn’t be cheese, beer, wine, and many breads, without microorganisms. Other times, we don’t since some can make us sick.
Food microbiologists study the microorganisms in our food. It’s a crucial field for being able to make safe and reliable food.
Food Engineering
Making 1 liter of apple cider, poses very different challenges than making 1000 liters of that same apple cider.
This is where the engineers come in. Scaling up food production in a safe, but also reliable manner is very important. On a large scale, cooling, heating, transporting, storing, etc. needs to be done in a different way than at a small scale.
What about nutrition & health?
Whereas food scientists do study the basics of nutrition and the impact of food on our bodies, they are two different fields. Nutritionists and dieticians know a lot more about the impact of food on our human body than food scientists do! It’s a different course of study with its own expertise areas. Of course, nutritionists and food scientists need to work together closely, to ensure healthy, good food is developed.
On FoodCrumbles.com we do not write about nutrition and health. It’s not a core competency of a food scientist and requires a specific set of expertise!
Many, many expertise areas!
Every food scientist will have a basic understanding of the chemistry, (micro)biology, physics, and engineering of our food. But it really starts to get interesting when you combine all these different fields and apply them to actual food.
As such, it doesn’t end there. There are many, many sub-fields within the world of food science. Below, we’ve highlighted just a few.
Science of the humble apple
Foods aren’t simple systems. They don’t consist of just one or two molecules or structures. Instead, a food is mightily complex. All sorts of molecules interact. Structures change all the time. And, to make things more complicated, a lot of foods are alive!
As such, even the science of a humble apple can keep a food scientist busy for their whole career!
Just a few ideas of the topics they could study:
- Why does an apple turn brown when you cut it? (enzymatic browning)
- How can you make apple cider out of apples? (using fermentation)
- Which apple is best suited for making an apple pie? (choosing the right apple plays a huge role!)
- How does apple butter spoil? (hint, microorganisms!)
- Why do apples turn soft when cooked (breaking down of cellular structures)?
- How best to store apples? (under a controlled atmosphere)
- How to easily prep apples when making thousands of apple pies per day?
- How to store said apple pies?
- And so much more!
What do food scientists do?
But why study the science of all those foods? What’s the use? Let’s look at some examples of what a food scientist may do!
Determine shelf life
For food to be safe to eat, you need to define for how long you can keep it. Food scientists help determine this ‘shelf life’.
An example: grated cheese. You’d need to know which microorganisms grow on the cheese. Whether the color or flavor changes during storage, etc. Which packaging material is most suitable. Then, you can recommend a shelf life!
Manufacturing problem solving
When things go wrong when making food, especially on a large scale, food scientists can come in to troubleshoot!
Why did the caramel not turn brown? Why is the consistency off?
Once you understand the science of your food and its processes, you can start looking for answers.
Ensure Food Safety
We wouldn’t want people to become sick when eating food! Food scientists help ensure food is safe to eat.
Knowing which microorganisms might be in a food, or which chemical contaminants can be a hazard is crucial here.
New Product Development
Making tasty, stable, safe, healthy food is a challenge right up a food scientist’s alley! To develop a new product you need to be creative, but also understand how the ingredients work and interact and know how to manufacture this at scale!
Make large quantities
Making 1000 vs 1 liter of maple syrup requires different equipment and processes. This is where food scientists can come in, using their food engineering skills!
Why learn more about food science?
Everyone can learn more about the science of your food. If you work in food manufacturing, all the applications above are relevant. But also if you don’t work in food, there are plenty of good reasons to better understand how your food works!
- As a chef/cook:”I would like to understand my recipes better so I can improve them.”
- As a (science) teacher: “I would like to use every day food to explain science.”
- As a student, (aspiring) scientist: “I’m hoping food will help me understand science.”
- As a chef/cook: “I would like to develop my own recipes & processes!”
- As a aspiring food entrepreneur: “I would like to scale up my food product.“
How to learn more about food science
You’ve come to the right place for learning more about food science! We’ve got two great options for you:
We have hundreds of posts on the science behind a wide range of foods.
Use the search button to get going!
Want a more structured approach to your food science journey? Explore our food science courses!