Many books on food chemistry have been published in recent years. Gener￾ally, they have dealt only indirectly with the role and function of specific compo￾nents in foods. A review of those roles and functions is the subject of this book.
The four questions most commonly asked by workers in the biological sci￾ences are What? How much? Where? and What function? In the food sciences,
the first question—What?—relates to the identity of the components in the food
system under investigation. Although much useful information can be gained
from a number of sciences and technologies, the fundamental understanding of a
food system comes from a knowledge of the biochemical identity of its compo￾nents. How much? questions the quantity of components identified in the food
system, recognizing that one page of sound, well-substantiated quantitative data
is superior to hundreds of pages of loose talk. Where? is asked in order to
localize a given component in plant or animal tissue or in processed food.