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Food structures, building blocks and food properties - Solid-liquid transitions - Liquid to solid: Crystallization

5 important questions on Food structures, building blocks and food properties - Solid-liquid transitions - Liquid to solid: Crystallization

Which components in food can crystalline?

Water, sugars, fats and some biopolymers (e.g. Starch).

In water, which temperature determines the point between the crystals and the liquid?

The melting temperature.

What is eutectic phase behaviour?

The melting temperature of the mixture falls below the melting points of the two individual components.
The eutectic points is where the solute and the solvent equilibrium curves intersect.

Does water show eutectic phase behaviour?

No, because water has a very low molecular weight compared to the solute molecules (e.g. Biopolymers), it is unusual that a eutectic solid will form.

Why have state diagrams been developed?

Phase diagrams describe the phase behaviour at thermodynamic equilibrium. However, many food products are not in thermodynamic equilibrium because of kinetic constraints. This makes a state diagram more useful, as it contains certain aspects of non-equilibrium.