← Food Preparation & Nutrition syllabus

EnglandFood Preparation & Nutrition

Section C: Cooking and food preparation

6 dot points across 6 inquiry questions. Click any dot point for a focused answer with worked past exam questions where available.

What are the main cooking methods, and how do we choose between them?

The water-based, fat-based and dry cooking methods, how each affects nutrients, flavour and texture, and how to select an appropriate method for a given food and a healthy outcome.
A focused answer on cooking methods for OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition (J309), covering water-based, fat-based and dry methods, how each affects nutrients, flavour and texture, and how to choose a suitable and healthy method for a food.
9 min answer →

What roles do fats and oils play in cooking, and why do cut fruit and vegetables go brown?

The functional and chemical properties of fats and oils (shortening, aeration, plasticity and emulsification) and of fruit and vegetables (enzymic browning and oxidation), with food examples and ways to control each.
A focused answer on the functional and chemical properties of fats and oils and of fruit and vegetables for OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition (J309), covering shortening, aeration, plasticity, emulsification and enzymic browning, with examples and control methods.
9 min answer →

What happens to starch and sugar when food is heated?

The functional and chemical properties of carbohydrate: gelatinisation of starch, dextrinisation and caramelisation, with the temperatures, conditions and food examples for each.
A focused answer on the functional and chemical properties of carbohydrate for OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition (J309), covering gelatinisation, dextrinisation and caramelisation, the temperatures and conditions for each, and their food examples.
8 min answer →

What happens to proteins when food is whisked, heated or mixed with water?

The functional and chemical properties of protein: denaturation, coagulation, foam formation (aeration of egg) and gluten formation, with food examples and the conditions that cause each.
A focused answer on the functional and chemical properties of protein for OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition (J309), covering denaturation, coagulation, foam formation and gluten formation, the conditions that cause them and their food examples.
9 min answer →

How is a gas introduced to make baked products rise?

Raising agents and how they make products rise: biological (yeast), chemical (bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, self-raising flour) and mechanical (trapped air and steam), with the gas produced and food examples.
A focused answer on raising agents for OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition (J309), covering biological (yeast), chemical (bicarbonate of soda, baking powder) and mechanical (air, steam) raising agents, the gas each produces and food examples.
8 min answer →

Why do we cook food, and how does heat travel into it?

The reasons food is cooked (safety, digestibility, palatability, variety and shelf life) and the three methods of heat transfer into food: conduction, convection and radiation.
A focused answer on why food is cooked and how heat is transferred for OCR GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition (J309), covering the reasons for cooking (safety, digestibility, palatability, variety, shelf life) and conduction, convection and radiation.
9 min answer →