More Cooking Innovations

Professor Amos Nussinovitch was born in Kibbutz Megiddo, Israel. He studied Chemistry at the University of Tel Aviv, and Food Engineering and Biotechnology at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology. He has worked as an engineer at several companies and has been involved in a number of R&D projects in both the United States and Israel, focusing on the mechanical properties of liquids, semi-solids, solids and powders. He is currently at the Biochemistry and Food Science Department of the Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, where he leads a large group of researchers working on theoretical and practical aspects of hydrocolloids. Prof. Nussinovitch is the sole author of the books: Hydrocolloid Applications, Gum Technology in the Food and Other Industries; Water-Soluble Polymer Applications in Foods; Plant Gum Exudates of the World Sources, Distribution, Properties, and Applications; Polymer Macro- and Micro-Gel Beads – Fundamentals and Applications; Adhesion in Foods, Fundamental Principles and Applications. He and his present co-author Dr. Madoka Hirashima (see below) recently co-authored the book: Cooking Innovations, Using Hydrocolloids for Thickening, Gelling, and Emulsification. Prof. Nussinovitch is the author or co-author of numerous papers on hydrocolloids and on the physical properties of foods, and he has many patents. This book is devoted specifically to more cooking innovations: specifically, using traditional and numerous novel hydrocolloids for special dishes. The author has been working in this area for many years and has studied gel textures and structures, textures of hydrocolloid beads and texturized fruit, liquid-core hydrocolloid capsules, different hydrocolloid carriers for encapsulation, novel hydrocolloid cellular solids and edible hydrocolloid coatings of foods, among many other applications. Several years ago, Prof. Nussinovitch received a lifetime award from the Manufacturers Association of Israel for his unique and considerable contributions to both academics and the food industry in Israel. Madoka Hirashima, Ph.D., was born in Kyoto, Japan. She studied the rheological properties of curdlan and cornstarch at the Graduate School of Human Life Science, Osaka City University. She worked at a food company as a novel food developer, and then as a lecturer at several colleges. She is currently in Home Economics Education at the Faculty of Education, Mie University, where she teaches cooking as well as cooking science. She continues to study the rheological properties of polysaccharides, with a focus on the textures of starch and konjac products.

1 Novel hydrocolloids—where, why and when? 2 Arabinogalactan. 3 Bacterial cellulose. 4 Cereal -glucan. 5 Chitin and Chitosan. 6 Dextran. 7 Gum ghatti. 8 Gum karaya. 9 Gum tragacanth. 10 Inulin. 11 Larchwood arabinogalactan. 12 Levan. 13 Mesquite gum. 14 Milk Proteins. 15 Other Microbial Polysaccharides: Alternan, Elsinan, Levan, and Scleroglucan. 16 Pullulan. 17 Soluble soybean polysaccharide. 18 Vegetable protein isolates. 19 Xyloglucan. 20 Future ideas for hydrocolloid processing and cooking.