Kinds of Food Products

Food is the source of energy for the maintenance of life. That's why there are many kinds of foodstuffs in the world. We get food from animals and birds, plants and fish.

A large number of people in the world have to depend on plants because they give them fruits, vegetables and cereals. Fruits and vegetables play a very important role in the human diet. They are important sources of the mineral elements needed by the body, they are rich in calcium and iron, they are valuable sources of vitamins. Vitamins are essential for growth, for reproduction, and for the maintenance of health. Can you imagine how drab our meals would be if we had no gardens? We would miss most of the colour in our meals - the colour of a ripe tomato, a bright orange, the greenness of fresh peas, the rosiness of red apples. We would also miss much flavour in our meals.

The common fruits are: apples, pears, oranges, tangerines, lemons, plums, peaches, apricots, bananas, cherries, strawberries, grapes, gooseberries, raspberries, black and red currants, figs, olives, grapefruits, etc. We also eat various kinds of vegetables: potatoes, cabbages, cauliflower, beetroot, carrots, onions, tomatoes, radishes, cucumbers.

Have you ever thought of all kinds of foods which come from cereals? First think of bread, made from wheat, rye, oats, corn. Then there are the so-called "pasta" like makaroni, spaghetti, vermicelli and many others.

Meats represent one of the most popular sources of protein. We get meat from the cow (beef), from the pig (pork), from the sheep (mutton), from the duck and hen (poultry). Meats also contain fats, water, inorganic salts, carbohydrates, enzymes and pigments. Due to meats we have a great assortment of sausages (blood, liver, saveloys, hard smoked and so on), frankfurters, ham, bacon, rolled beef, smoked pork, shortening and other animal fats, canned meat and by-products.

The best change for any meal of the day is fish. There are more than 200 commercial species of fish. Fish takes an important place in food nutrition. A specific taste and aromas of fish meat are due to extractive substances. Fish is a valuable source of protein. The amount of fat in different kinds of fish varies greatly. The flesh of white fish, such as cod, haddock, whiting contains only 1-2 percent of fat. But its amount in fatty fish (herring, mackerel, trout, salmon) varies from 10 percent to more than 20 percent. We eat also fish caviar: black caviar, pressed caviar, fresh- grain caviar; fish delicacies, tinned fish, quick frozen fish.

Milk is widely used by man. For centuries it has been recognized as an indispensable food for mankind. Milk contains all the food constituents required in the human diet. It can serve as a basis for many important foods. Milk is used for producing many dairy products, such as cream, butter, cheese, ice-cream, condensed milk, skim milk and fermented milk. It is a basic product for preparation of some kinds of bread, cakes and sweets.