Separation Process
Separation Process
Food Process |
Purpose |
Food Use Examples |
Used at Home |
Benefits |
Drawbacks |
Centrifugation |
Use of a rotational force to separate food components, (e.g., fat) by size, density, shape or thickness |
Separation of butterfat in milk, fruit pulp in fruit juice |
No |
Enables separation and concentration of food components |
Separation can remove some nutrients present in the original food or beverage source |
Coagulation |
Adhesion or collection of particles into a common mass (e.g. cheese curd) to increase density, solidify, or separate solid from liquid |
Cheese and eggs |
Yes |
Enables concentration of food components, such as protein in cheese curd in making cheese; change in the protein structure could help with consumption of a food product (e.g., hard-boiled eggs vs. raw egg) |
Separation of some nutrients present in the food, for example, whey proteins in milk; changes in the protein structure could affect digestion |
Crystallization |
Precipitating a solid food component from a liquid mixture as crystals |
Sugar, candy, butter and margarine, solid fats, ice cream, and fudge |
Yes |
Easy to use/consume the food product (e.g., dissolves better or improves mouthfeel); changes the melting point at which the product (e.g., fat crystals) melts to keep the product stable in warm climate |
Loss of beneficial nutrients due to separation from original food product |
Filtration & Separation (including membranes) |
Separating larger components by passing a fluid under pressure through size restricted porous membrane |
Water, fruit pulps, milk, whey, and other dairy products |
Yes |
Improves quality, safety, or taste by removing unwanted components (e.g., salts from water); concentrates desired components important in product formulation (e.g., proteins in milk to formulate beverages with high protein content) |
Loss of beneficial nutrients due to separation from the original food source |
Sorting |
Separating food products/ingredients from other materials by size, color, shape, appearance, or other criteria |
Fruits and vegetables, grains, coffee beans, potato chips, and corn chips |
Yes |
Removes damaged or undesirable food products (e.g., burnt cereal pieces or bruised fruit) to maintain and improve food quality |
Food waste (edible food is not used because the food product does not meet certain quality specification, leading to additional food waste) |
Thermal Concentration & Evaporation |
Heating a liquid food or ingredient to vaporize more volatile components (e.g., water) to obtain a higher concentrated product or ingredient |
Milk and dairy products, fruit juice, starch, food flavors |
Yes |
Provides a concentrated product (e.g., evaporated milk); easy to transport the product due to reduced volume (e.g., concentrated juice); food safety due to lower water content |
Potential loss of heat-sensitive vitamin(s); changes flavor, color, and appearance of food |