BOOKS
The ICC Handbook of Cereals, Flour, Dough & Product Testing
Analytical techniques are keys for judging food quality. Now we have a very useful book on methods for cereals, flour, dough, and product testing. Specific chapters have been written with practitioners in mind, for example, cereal breeders, grain traders, millers, bakers, even non-specialists. A well known figure in this sector, Stan Cauvain, contributed to a large share of this book, but this is really a joint effort by 14 authors, all specialists. Fortunately, contrary to most multiple-authored books, there is little repetition between chapters, if any. A large chapter—135 pages or one-quarter of the book—covers cereals testing equipment, which makes this publication highly profitable to any person willing to get a thorough overview on specialized equipments and companies in this field.
Most books on cereal science and technology concentrate on dough rheology aspects. This textbook goes well beyond that and collects hard-to-find information on other analytical aspects such as grain physical condition, cleaning steps, mycotoxins, gluten and food allergens, dietary fibre, test baking, and image analysis. Editors may also be thanked for including chapters on non-wheat testing methods, as well as non-bread bakery foods and animal feeds.
Some readers might be annoyed by the use of black and white pictures. However, this is not a major issue because it might have kept the price of this book as low as possible for the benefit of those from less developed countries. This is an ICC Handbook, which means that a brief description of ICC cereals testing methods is given. First called the International Association for Cereal Chemistry, ICC now stands for the International Association for Cereal Science and Technology, a nonprofit organization devoted to the development of international cooperation and the dissemination of information related to cereal science. This book is an essential reference for any person in the cereal sector, including research scientists, students, and non-specialists.
Reviewed by Pierre Gélinas, Research Scientist, Food Research and Development Centre, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Saint-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada.
References
Fat Detection: Taste, Texture, and Post Ingestive Effects. Jean-Pierre Montmayeur and Johannes le Coutre, eds. CRC Press LLC and Taylor & Francis Group1. ISBN: 978-1-4200-6775-0.
Fishery Products. Hartmut Rehbein and Jörg Oehlenschläger, eds. Wiley-Blackwell2. ISBN: 978-1-4051-4162-8.
Sensory Evaluation: A Practical Handbook. Sarah E. Kemp, Tracey Hollowood, and Joanne Hort. Wiley-Blackwell2. ISBN: 978-1-4051-6210-4.
Statistical Methods for Food Science. John A. Bower. Wiley-Blackwell2. ISBN: 978-1-4051-6764-2.
1 CRC Press LLC and Taylor & Francis Group; www.crcpress.com.
2 Wiley-Blackwell; www.wiley.com.