WJEC GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition: Food commodities (Area 1) overview
An overview of Area 1 (Food commodities) in WJEC GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition, mapping the commodity groups from bread, cereals and potatoes to fats and sugars, the nutrients each provides, their working characteristics, and how this content is examined in Component 1.
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The first area of content sets out the main groups of foods you cook with, called food commodities. For each group you learn what it provides in the diet, the main types, how it behaves when prepared and cooked (its working characteristics), and how to store it safely. This page maps the area and links to a focused answer page for each group.
The food commodity groups
- Bread, cereals, flour and potatoes
- Starchy staples and the main source of energy, plus fibre and B vitamins, with the working characteristics of gelatinisation, gluten formation and dextrinisation. See Bread, cereals, flour and potatoes.
- Fruit and vegetables
- Sources of vitamin C, beta-carotene and fibre, the five-a-day message, enzymic browning, and how to cook them to keep vitamin C. See Fruit and vegetables.
- Milk, cheese and yoghurt
- Dairy foods rich in calcium and HBV protein, heat treatment of milk, coagulation, and safe storage. See Milk, cheese and yoghurt.
- Meat, fish, poultry and eggs
- HBV protein foods with iron and B12, the many functions of eggs, and the safe cooking and storage of high-risk foods. See Meat, fish, poultry and eggs.
- Soya, tofu, beans, nuts and seeds
- Plant protein foods, biological value and protein complementation, and their role in vegetarian and vegan diets. See Soya, tofu, beans, nuts and seeds.
- Butter, oils, margarine, sugar and syrup
- Concentrated energy foods, the health risks of too much fat and sugar, and the working characteristics of shortening, aeration and caramelisation. See Butter, oils, margarine, sugar and syrup.
How this area is examined
Food commodities is assessed in Component 1, the written exam worth 50% of the GCSE, and is drawn on in the Component 2 practical tasks. Expect questions that ask you to link a commodity to the nutrients it provides, to explain a working characteristic with an example dish, and to describe safe storage and cooking, especially for high-risk foods.
How to study this area
Food commodities rewards organised, group-by-group learning.
- Learn the key nutrients per group. Be ready to say what each commodity gives the body and why it matters.
- Memorise two or three working characteristics per group. Name the property, what it does, and an example dish.
- Know the high-risk foods. Meat, fish, eggs and dairy need safe storage and a core cooking temperature of 75 degrees Celsius.
- Learn the functions of eggs cold. Aeration, coagulation, binding, emulsification and glazing, each with an example.
- Connect to the science of food. Working characteristics overlap with Area 4, so revise them together.
For the official specification
WJEC Eduqas publishes the full specification, past papers and mark schemes at eduqas.co.uk. Always revise from the current specification and the board's own past papers.
Sources & how we know this
- WJEC Eduqas GCSE Food Preparation and Nutrition specification (from 2016) — WJEC Eduqas (2016)