What is bread?

What is bread? bread is merely a paste of flour or meal and water cooked over or surrounded by heat. More complex breads are leavened using yeast in various ways and contain salt and other ingredients, particularly fat and sugar. Although bread is usually thought of as being made from wheat, it can be made from virtually any grain like rye, corn, barley, oats, and rice. Only wheat, however, has the gluten that is essential to a risen loaf, so unless these other grains are mixed with wheat, the loaves will be flat.

Why eat fruits?

Why fruits?

Fruits are nature’s wonderful gift to the mankind; indeed, they are life-enhancing medicines packed with vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants and many phyto nutrients. They are an absolute feast to our sight, not just because of their color and flavor but for their unique nutrition-profile that help human body free from diseases and keep it healthy! Fruits are natural medicine of our body which is very effective and delicious. This is a good way to treat our body which is experiencing diseases. 

It is always good to practice ourselves eating fruits daily or make it a habit for  us to live a healthy life.

What is Chocolate?

Chocolate, a typically sweet, usually brown, from  a Theobroma cacao seeds, which is made in the form of a liquid, paste, or in a block, or used as a flavoring ingredient in other sweet foods. Cacao has been cultivated by many cultures.  The seeds of the cacao tree have an intense bitter taste and must be fermented to develop the flavor.

After fermentation, the beans are dried, cleaned, and roasted. The outer cover is removed to produce cacao nibs, which are then ground to cocoa mass, pure chocolate in rough form. Because the cocoa mass is usually liquefied before being molded with or without other ingredients, it is called chocolate liquor. The liquor also may be processed into two components: cocoa solids and cocoa butter. Unsweetened baking chocolate (bitter chocolate) contains primarily cocoa solids and cocoa butter in varying proportions. Much of the chocolate consumed today is in the form of sweet chocolate, a combination of cocoa solids, cocoa butter or other fat, and sugar. Milk chocolate is sweet chocolate that additionally contains milk powder or condensed milk. 

Cocoa solids are one of the richest sources of flavanol antioxidants. They also contain alkaloids such as theobaramine, phenethylamine and caffeine. These have physiological effects on the body and are linked to serotonin levels in the brain. Some research has found that chocolate, eaten in moderation, can lower blood pressure but whether or not this results in improved outcomes is unclear. 

Chocolate has become one of the most popular food types and flavors in the world, and a vast number of foodstuffs involving chocolate have been created.

Why water is important?

Getting enough water every day is important for your health. Healthy people meet their fluid needs by drinking when thirsty and drinking with meals. Most of your fluid needs are met through the water and beverages you drink. However, you can get some fluids through the foods that you eat. For example, broth soups and foods with high water content such as celery, tomatoes, or melons can contribute to fluid intake. Water helps our body in many different ways, it cleanse our body, keep our temperature normal and so on.

As an advice for today’s season which is hot, it is good if we can bring with us water always so we will never feel thirsty. Also if we feel ill, water is a good remedy and treatment for our illnesses.

Ready-to-Eat Foods

What are ready-to-eat foods? Ready-to-eat food are foods you don’t need to cook and food that has already been cooked. These are also food products  that require no further  processing to ensure their safety. We store these on our shelf, in refrigerator or freezer, and consume these until we are ready to use and eat them. Although ready-to-eat food is convenient, some still require proper  handling to ensure food safety. Commonly this is generally called as instant food by most people.

Most of what we have in our kitchen are considered as a ready-to-eat food such as canned goods, salad, sandwiches, cheese, dry cereal, and nuts are a few of the many food items that we do not need to cook before consuming. These are particularly convenient when we need a food to eat.

“Healthy eating, Wealthy living”

Healthy eating means consuming the right amounts of foods from all food groups in order to achieve a healthy life. Maintaining a healthy balanced diet is also an important part of maintaining good health and weight and can help you feel your best by avoiding certain health problems.

Healthy eating is not about limiting yourself to a strict diet or depriving yourself of certain classes of food. Study shows that eating healthy lowers the risk of declining memory/ thinking skills. For those already diagnosed with mental health problems, eating healthy can help to manage the symptoms and regain control of your life.

What you need to know about Food Poisoning

Food Poisoning

Food poisoning is an illness caused by eating contaminated food. It’s not usually serious and most people get better within a few days without treatment.

In most cases of food poisoning, the food is contaminated by bacteria, such as Salmonella spp. or Escherichia coli (E. coli), or a virus, such as the norovirus.

Signs and symptoms

The symptoms of food poisoning usually begin within one to two days of eating contaminated food, although they may start at any point between a few hours and several weeks later.

The main symptoms include:

• feeling sick (nausea)
• vomiting
• diarrhea, which may contain blood or mucus
• stomach cramps and abdominal (tummy) pain
• a lack of energy and weakness
• loss of appetite
• a high temperature (fever)
• aching muscles
• chills

In most cases, these symptoms will pass in a few days and you will make a full recovery.

How is food contaminated?

Food can become contaminated at any stage during production, processing or cooking. For example, it can be contaminated by:

• not cooking food thoroughly (particularly meat)
• not correctly storing food that needs to be chilled at below 5C
• leaving cooked food for too long at warm temperatures
• not sufficiently reheating previously cooked food
• someone who is ill or who has dirty hands touching the food
• eating food that has passed its “use by” date
• the spread of bacteria between contaminated foods (cross-contamination)

Foods particularly susceptible to contamination if not handled, stored or cooked properly include:

• raw meat and poultry
• raw eggs
• raw shellfish
• unpasteurised milk
• “ready-to-eat” foods, such as cooked sliced meats, pâté, soft cheeses and pre-packed sandwiches

Reference: NHS Choices. (2015).  Food poisoning. Retrieved from http://www.nhs.uk/conditions/Food-poisoning/Pages/Introduction.aspx

What is MAP ( Modified Atmosphere Packaging) ?

Everyone knows that food does spoil and does not stay fresh forever. Fish smells nasty, bread and rice become moldy, cheese tastes sour and most foods become inedible for human. There are a lot of factors that can cause food spoilage. Microorganisms tend to grow and multiply because of F.A.T.O.M or Food, Acidity, Temperature, Oxygen, and Moisture. These are the factors that lead for the spoilage of food. These microorganisms feed and grow on the food product, causing it to go bad. A lot of changes may occur in the foods if it spoils because of the microbes.

There are actually lots of ways to prevent these from happening and one key technology for achieving this goal is to seal the food product in a Modified  Atmosphere Packaging (MAP) which contains a mixture of natural gases in carefully controlled proportions that significantly slow down the process of decay and spoilage is markedly reduced and the shelf life of the product is increased.

“Why I Choose Philippine Women’s College of Davao?”

As I remember, I started enrolling here way back 2013 it was fun then although I was very shy at first because my first choice was not to enroll in this school because I actually had a hard time on choosing what school and course to take. I was enrolled first in the different school and I took Accountancy course and it was summer that time but suddenly after several weeks i withdrew enrolling and took my credentials back because i decided to take Bachelor of Science in Food technology in Philippine Women’s College of Davao, because I found this course as an interesting course and this is the only school aside from University of the Philippines that offers this type of course. It was really difficult for me since my mom was against with my decision, I had a tough moments fixing all my stuffs during those days.

Later on, As I spent my days here I found the people, the professors and other Personnel of this school as approachable and kind. This has been my second home, It allowed me to become a better me, and get out from the box. I was molded as a good student leader here applying all the things I have learned from my advisers and mentors. I also started to become more responsible and dependent since this school has taught me to be the best that I can be. Although PWC of Davao isn’t a perfect school but I guarantee you this is a school where you also wanna stay, where you wanna enjoy learning, exploring, discovering and experimenting things. It’s all about endless learning here, it’s all about art and also fun.

PWC of Davao also upholds its Mission, Vision. This school also offers different programs such as Hotel Restaurant Management, Tourism, Business Administration (Finance and Entrepreneurship), Education, Food Technology, Information Technology, Fine Arts and they are also offering TVET. It’s an advantage if you will study here since PWC of Davao is in Trimestral mode which means, after three years you can graduate and then work.

Staying here for three years, I can say that “Life is here in PWC  of Davao!!”

What Food Technology is all about?

People tend to think that Food Technology is about cooking, eating, tasting but, No it’s not just like that. It’s actually knowing the chemistry and science behind the food. It’s about making sure that the food is safe from farm to fork. Knowing what Food tech does will make you understand what and how we do things. Part of our curriculum is studying, tons of Mathematics subjects, Chemistry, and Microbiology and a lot more.

The foods we consume every day are the result of extensive food research, continuous study into a different foods’ properties and compositions. After the primary stages of research and development comes the mass production of food products using principles of food technology. Without us, there is much higher possibility that the food served in your plate is not safe for consumption.