Food Commodities

The food commodities

A food commodity is a raw or basic food that a cook buys and works with, such as flour, eggs, milk, meat, fruit or sugar. The specification sorts these into groups: bread, cereals and flour; milk, cheese and eggs; meat, fish and poultry; fruit and vegetables; fats and oils; sugar; and soya, beans and nuts. Each group has a value in the diet, meaning the main thing it gives the body, and each has working properties, meaning the useful jobs it can do in a recipe. Flour builds structure, eggs can set a mixture, sugar sweetens and browns, and fats make pastry short. This module looks at the groups, what each one is valued for, and how a cook chooses a commodity for its working property.

Words for the kitchen

Learn what each of these means before you use it.

Foods from animals and plants

Sorting commodities by where they come from is a quick way to see what each group is valued for.

How to describe a commodity

When a question asks about an ingredient, there is a simple habit that turns a bare name into a strong answer. Say which group the commodity belongs to. State what it is valued for in the diet. Name a working property, meaning a job it does in a recipe. Then give a use that depends on that property. A weak answer stops at naming the food. A strong answer always links the commodity to what it does and why a cook would choose it for a particular dish. Practise moving straight from the ingredient to its job and its use.

Match the commodity to its working property

Which commodity gives bread its structure?

A baker wants a loaf to rise and hold a light, springy structure. Which commodity provides the gluten that makes this possible?

• wheat flour
• sugar
• cooking oil
• table salt

The protein foods

Select the TWO commodities that are valued mainly as protein foods for growth and repair.

• Fish
• Eggs
• Sugar
• Butter

How many commodity groups?

The specification sorts food into 7 main groups of commodities. A simple recipe uses ingredients from just 3 of them. Subtract to find how many of the commodity groups the recipe does not use.

Order the white sauce

A white sauce shows the thickening property of flour. Put the steps in a sensible order.

• Melt the fat in a pan
• Stir in the flour to make a smooth paste
• Add the milk a little at a time, stirring
• Heat and stir until the sauce thickens

Complete the commodity facts

Wheat _____ forms gluten, which gives bread its structure. When _____ are whisked they trap air and can set a mixture in baking. Adding _____ sweetens food and helps it turn brown when heated. _____ such as butter and oil make pastry crumbly and short.

Match the commodity to its value in the diet

Spot the true commodity facts

Tap the TWO statements that are true.

• Flour provides the gluten that gives bread its structure
• Fruit and vegetables are a useful source of vitamins and fibre
• Sugar is the main protein food for growth and repair
• Cooking oil forms gluten to make bread rise

Choose the commodity

Read each aim and choose the commodity that serves it best, then think about why.

• A cook needs to thicken a runny sauce. Which commodity works best?
• A baker wants a cake to be light and full of air. Which pair of commodities beaten together traps air well?
• A recipe needs a plant-based protein for a vegetarian main dish. Which commodity fits?

Explain food commodities

A friend is revising Food Preparation and Nutrition and does not understand why the same ingredient can do several different jobs. Explain what food commodities are and how their working properties are used in cooking.

• Explain what a food commodity is and name three of the groups
• Explain one working property of flour and a dish that uses it
• Explain one working property of eggs and a dish that uses it
• Explain why sugar and fats are useful beyond adding flavour
• Finish by explaining why knowing the value of a commodity in the diet helps a cook plan a dish