Answer Suggest Corrections 4 As we have discussed earlier, different food items contain various nutrients in different amounts. The presence of these nutrients in the food (both raw and cooked) can be tested using some tests, among which the tests for carbohydrates, proteins and fats are some of the simple ones and are discussed below. Following are the different tests for the confirmation of nutrients in the food items. Take a small amount of the food materials that are to be tested.
Observation: The appearance of the blue-black colour indicates the presence of starch in the tested food item. Inference: Iodine that was added to the food reacts with the starch present in it. This forms a Starch-Iodine complex that is blue-black. Thus, the appearance of colour change to blue-black colour confirms the presence of starch in the food item. Blue-black colour indicates the presence of starch in the tested food item. A video that explains the test for starch in various food items - potato, rice, salt, and sugar is attached below: Benedict's test: Benedict's solution is a clear blue solution of sodium and copper salts used to test for simple sugars, such as glucose. The blue solution turns orange, yellow, or brick-red in the presence of simple sugars, depending on the amount of sugar.
Important! Copper sulphate solution is prepared by dissolving \(2g\) of copper sulphate in \(100ml\) of water and caustic soda solution is prepared by dissolving \(10g\) of caustic soda in \(100ml\) of water. Observation: The sample of the food turns violet or purple in colour. Inference: The change in colour to purple or violet confirms the presence of protein in the food. The video below displays a test for protein in milk and salt solution: It is a very simple test.
Observation: The paper turns translucent and becomes greasy. Inference: The given food sample contains fat. The video below displays the test for fat:
A white (milk-like) emulsion indicates the presence of fats or oils. The nutrients such as carbohydrates, proteins, vitamins, minerals, fats are highly essential to make a person healthy and make a balanced meal. These are the major nutrients of a meal. In addition to these, we also need dietary fibres and water to make the absorption of all the nutrients easier. Let us see how each of these nutrients helps us to be healthy and active, and how to make a balanced diet which will contain all the above nutrients.Reference: http://www.docbrown.info/ebiology/foodtests.htm .copyrighted image. http://www.docbrown.info/ebiology/foodtests.htm .copyrighted image https://www.tuttee.co/blog/biol-biological-molecules-carbohydrates-proteins-and-lipids. copyrighted image https://socratic.org/questions/what-should-you-use-to-test-if-a-type-of-food-has-starch-sugar-or-fat . copyrighted image |