FROM THE PREFACE

The purpose of this laboratory manual is to facilitate the understanding of the most relevant unit operations in food engineering. The first chapter presents information on how to approach laboratory experiments; topics covered include safety, preparing for a laboratory exercise, effectively performing an experiment, properly documenting data, and preparation of laboratory reports. The following eleven chapters cover unit operations centered on food applications: dehydration . . . . , thermal processing, friction losses in pipes, freezing, extrusion, evaporation, and physical separations. These chapters are systematically organized to include the most relevant theoretical background pertaining to each unit operation, the objectives of the laboratory exercise, materials and methods . . ., expected results, examples, questions, and references. The experiments presented have been designed for use with generic equipment to facilitate the adoption of this manual . . . .